Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat - August 2006

[JellyJam]

I still wonder about diversions.

I've had the same concerns. Everyone's focused on airports; meanwhile, the Islamofascists are truly focused on something else - and much bigger.

[nwctwx]

Swab test was positive.

I don't know much about the specific tests, but I do know that there have been a lot of different false positives over the past couple of years. Most have been related to other types of things, but I think it's good to take that first test with a small grain of salt. The fact that she is Pakistani is interesting, given the "plot."

[nwctwx]

Yeah, well... the info today said the plot was OK'ed by Zawahri, so I guess it might be legit. I have wondered about it since it was uncovered, for some reason. It does fit into their MO of going back to finish a failed job, but 10 planes blowing up - however terrible it would be - would likely not have the same impact as 9/11.

I too believe that there is something much bigger in the plans.

[JellyJam]

All I can say is ... that bomb-sniffing dog deserves lots and lots of Scooby snacks for a job well done.

[Velveeta]

The fact that she is Pakistani is interesting, given the "plot."

Agree. Also interesting is the fact that she lives in Huntington, WV - yet was heading to North Carolina on a one-way ticket.

[Velveeta]

Hawaii UFO looked like a wayward missile



HILO, Hawaii, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- No one Thursday was claiming ownership of a tubular flying object that buzzed a Hawaii airport this week and looked a lot like a missile.

Officials at the Pohakuloa Training Area told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin that there were no military exercises involving missiles taking place when the object was spotted Tuesday over the Hilo Airport on the Big Island.

Witnesses told the newspaper the silver object was silver and emitted a vapor trail; however it had no apparent fins or markings on it.

One man told the newspaper, "The noise was super loud."

The object didn't seem to threaten any air traffic around the airport, the report said.

Hawaii officials said the FBI and Transportation Security Administration were looking into the matter.

http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read/31126

[freeperfromnj]

Just curious, are they covering these airline stories on TV or has it been JonBenet all day?

[KylaStarr]

And here's another strange story:

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060817-032235-5391r

Hawaii UFO looked like a wayward missile
>>HILO, Hawaii, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- No one Thursday was claiming ownership of a tubular flying object that buzzed a Hawaii airport this week and looked a lot like a missile.

Officials at the Pohakuloa Training Area told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin that there were no military exercises involving missiles taking place when the object was spotted Tuesday over the Hilo Airport on the Big Island.<<

[backhoe]

You betcha- also, that "crazy woman on the plane" yesterday is here:

http://www.sweetness-light.com/archive/woman-on-diverted-plane-might-be-lefty-journalist

[Velveeta]

JonBenet all day. ~groan~

[Velveeta]

LOL, I beat you to it, by 2 posts. :-)

[JellyJam]

ABC News is saying that N. Korea appears to be preparing for another missile test. Getting ready for 8/22?

[Velveeta]

Gaaads. I just saw the FR thread here:

North Korea Appears to Be Preparing for Nuclear Test
ABC News ^ | 8/17/06 | JONATHAN KARL


Posted on 08/17/2006 4:28:46 PM CDT by finnman69


There is new evidence that North Korea may be preparing to for an underground test of nuclear bomb, U.S. officials tell ABC News.

"It is the view of the intelligence community that a test is real possibility," says a senior State Department official.

A senior military official tells ABC News that a U.S. intelligence agency has recently observed "suspicious vehicle movement" at a suspected North Korean test site.

The activity includes the unloading of large reels of cable outside an underground facility called Pungyee-yok in northeast North Korea. Cables can be used in nuclear testing to connect an underground test site to outside observation equipment. The intelligence was brought to the attention of the White House last week.

Even before this most recent intelligence, there has been growing concern within the U.S. government that North Korea is moving toward a nuclear test. North Korea is believed to have enough nuclear material to build as many as a dozen nuclear bombs, but it has never tested one. A successful test would remove any doubt that North Korea is a nuclear power.

"What does he have to lose?" asked one senior military official, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.


(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1685507/posts

[KylaStarr]

Oh geez...he just can't stand not being the center of attention can he?

sigh..

[nwctwx]

U.S COMPETES WITH AL-QAIDA FOR SOLDIERS

American commanders in Iraq are finding themselves in direct competition to recruit soldiers with insurgency organizations, including al-Qaida, according to the Associated Press. An imbalance of political power is blamed for feeding insurgency recruitment programs because Iraqis that aren’t in the leading political parties are rejecting the Iraqi government.

As the violence rages on between sectarian groups, American forces are caught between them. The Iraqi government is in need of more soldiers in order to gain control over the region. However, young Iraqi men, especially Sunni Arabs, are seeking to join the ranks of the insurgency. When the war in Iraq began, al-Qaida members fighting in Iraq came from neighboring countries, but now U.S. commanders believe that the majority of them are young Iraqis.

The U.S. is sending an additional 12,000 troops to Baghdad in order to reduce sectarian violence, but additional troop deployments are not seen as a total solution. Because the commanders believe that it is impossible to use brute force efforts to hold the country militarily, they are shifting to emphasize diplomatic and political strategies. However most local leaders have proven to be unwilling to meet or negotiate. In one case, a U.S. commander asked local insurgent leaders in Haditha for a list of reconstruction projects that wouldn’t be attacked but he never received an answer.

[freeperfromnj]

Remember this story?

Germany may have been terror target

Germany's Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper says that the country may have been the target of a terrorist attack similar to the one last year in London. The paper says an investigation has revealed that two bombs hidden in suitcases and found at train stations in Dortmund and Koblenz last month appeared to be part of a terrorist plot. The daily was quoting unidentified high-level security officials. One of the security experts is quoted as saying that the power of the bombs would have caused destruction on the same level as last July's attacks on the London Underground.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/function/0,2145,12215_pg_1,00.html

[freeperfromnj]

Report: UK bomb suitcase found

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/08/17/uk.terror.plot/index.html

[freeperfromnj]

Two Arrested for Trespassing at Newark Airport

http://www.1010wins.com/pages/70456.php?contentType=4&contentId=190159

[Velveeta]

Yes, I sure do remember, thanks.

[BurbankKarl]

The post I saw was they were prepping for a nuke test....