Stopping the Next Sept. 11

Opinion Journal ^ | Sunday, June 2, 2002 12:01 a.m. EDT | FRED IKLE

[Mathlete]

Americans are not amused by officials sending out warnings about the threat du jour--the Golden Gate Bridge yesterday, the Statute of Liberty today, the Brooklyn Bridge tomorrow. This is harmful because it distracts, is costly, invites enemy deception and seems a tad cowardly.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

So far, I'm pretty disappointed with our response to terrorist attack. What have we done, hit some al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. What about Iraq? Why are we letting them off scot free?

[It'salmosttolate]

Every day is Sept 10, oops maybe Sept 11.

[John Jamieson]

Logical Speculation:

1. Terrorists are warning of another even bigger hit on the US.

2. Rumors of Scuba purchasing terrorists in NY and Miami.

3. Hatred of the Jews.

4. To kill lots of people, you need lots on people in a small three dimensional volume. Flat concentrations are too spread out.

5. To kill lots of people, they need to be contained so they can'y get away from fire, etc.

6. Two containers meet the bill, large highrise buildings, and large cruise ships. Highrise building must be hit on weekdays when they're full, but emergency services are available. Cruise ships can be hit on a weekend when emergency services are much less available.

7. I think a large cruise ship will be hit on a Sunday, probably in port just as it's ready to leave. It will be in Port Miami, on the world's largest cruise ship the Royal Caribbean Voyager (4 to 5 thousand on board including crew). A very high percentage of Jews will be onboard.

8. Attack will be from below the water, above the water, and on board, and possibly from the air.

8. I hope I'm totally wrong.

[Mathlete]

You are scaring me dude! And I hope I’m not the only one. Any FBI readers out there?

[gcruse]

Targetting Jews would have the effect of further moving the US into support of Israel. Bad move. Target the target, ie ordinary Americans. Fear is the name of the game.

[JudyB1938]

I don't think you're wrong. That's why my son has cancelled his cruise with his daughter. Pain in the rear. First the European tour was cancelled, and we thought a cruise would be safe. Then I read about those scuba trainees. My little granddaughter is so disappointed. She's only 12 and eager to see the world.

[ChadGore]

Well, now that we know that 9/11 will be on September 11th, we can be extra carefull. < /sarcasm >

[VOA]

Americans are not amused by officials sending out warnings about the threat du jour...

(Commercial TV advert.):
Today's Threat Du Jour, brought to you by Senators Daschle and Rodham-Clinton, and
The Democratic Party!

Yep, those are the folks who caused this Bravo Sierra!

[MarMema]

My money is on destroying the country, as opposed to killing people. MIlitary, power plants, bridges and more financial targets. If they want to kill a lot of people they're going to go biological.

[John Jamieson]

Voyager seems to leave on 7 day cruises every Monday. That probably means returns are on Sunday. Make that "just as it returns".

[John Jamieson]

I don't doubt that individual cells will try the smaller stuff, I'm trying to scope the next big coordinated hit. They made new threats today:

"The pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published on Sunday what it said was a statement from an al Qaeda spokesman warning the United States to get ready for another attack. "What is coming to the Americans will not, by the will of God, be less than what has come," the paper quoted al Qaeda spokesman Sulaiman bu Ghaith as saying in a statement. "So beware, America. Get ready. Get prepared. Put on the safety belt," he said in a statement al-Hayat said was published on the www.alneda.com Web site."

[VOA]

President Bush did not exaggerate, alas, when he said in his State of the Union
address that "our war on terror is well begun, but it is only begun. This campaign
may not be finished on our watch."
Indeed, the "war on terrorism" will be finished neither in this decade, nor the next.

Dubya told the truth. This is a long haul conflict.
Churchill didn't tell the Brits that they'd have a quick and easy time...
and he had an enemy that was foolish enough to put on uniforms and make good targets.

Dubya may not finish off the war on terrorism, but he certainly didn't sugar-coat the situation.

[John Jamieson]

Try a smaller, less famous ship with lots of non-Americans on board. Start in another country.

[John Jamieson]

PS. Please adopt me! I can't afford to go on a cruise.

[concerned about politics]

Americans are not amused by officials sending out warnings about the threat du jour--the Golden Gate Bridge yesterday, the Statute of Liberty today, the Brooklyn Bridge tomorrow. This is harmful because it distracts, is costly, invites enemy deception and seems a tad cowardly.

But....but.....the Democrats demanded it!
Dashole, Gepfart, Hillary!
They all knew what was best for America, and they demanded we be warned about any potential attack.
Gee, were they wrong, again?

[John Jamieson]

"Abdul Rahman Yasin, a conspirator in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, says Jewish neighborhoods in Brooklyn -- not the twin towers -- were the bombers' original target."

These people aren't concerned with the level of our response, except that it might not be big enough to cause the world war they desire.

[MarMema]

A cruise ship is not big enough. Certainly not bigger than the last attack. So they are either going to do lots of smaller attacks all over the place, or the nuke or bio option.
ha, ha, and that's assuming they are telling the truth.

So I guess they got some nukes and they're desperate, or they are lying to make us scared.

[John Jamieson]

Voyager is the world's largest but others are under contruction. There's about 20 ships at Port Miami, is that big enough?

[concerned about politics]

So I guess they got some nukes

On TV this AM I heard that Russia is missing 40 suitcase nukes. They just don't know where they are. Some talking head was reading the news article on the show. I was still half awake.