Terrorist threat closes Fla. highway - ME men detained said "Americans would cry on 9/13"

Associated Press ^ | September 13, 2002 | Associated Press Staff

[MeekOneGOP]

Terrorist threat closes Fla. highway

09/13/2002

Associated Press

NAPLES, Fla. - Officials shut down Alligator Alley, the main East-West highway crossing the Everglades, and people in two vehicles were detained after a possible terrorist threat, police said.

Bomb-sniffing dogs alerted authorities to material in both vehicles, said E.J. Picolo of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Explosive charges were being used to blast open what appeared to be a backpack taken from one of the vehicles. A suitcase was also set out beside the car.

"The information we have is very specific," Picolo said.

AP

He said the three people had not been arrested, but were being detained.

The Florida Highway Patrol shut down a 20-mile stretch of Interstate 75 shortly after 1 a.m., when the vehicles were stopped. It was still closed more than six hours later.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation had issued an advisory Thursday after a waitress in Calhoun, Ga., in the northwestern part of that state, told police she overheard three men of Middle Eastern descent discussing terrorist plans Wednesday night.

The Georgia woman said the men were talking about amounts of explosives and warned that Americans would "cry on 9/13," said Miami Police Lt. Bill Schwartz, quoting from the Georgia advisory.

Alligator Alley is the main road from Naples to Fort Lauderdale across the Everglades in South Florida.

The highway patrol said the road was blocked off from a toll booth east of Naples to State Road 29.

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Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/091302dnnatflaterror.19f1bb46.html

[MeekOneGOP]

Terrorist threat closes Fla. highway - ME men
detained said "Americans would cry on 9/13"

Heads up, Florida. Just fyi......

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my Florida ping list!. . .don't be shy.

[alisasny]

I just heard on Fox that the 3 or 4 detainees are legal but they are not saying if they are hispanic of muslim.

[alisasny]

THe reporter on Fox while commenting on this said.."just to show you how stupid these guys are....."

I have felt for a while that the major terrorists who had some brains all perished on 911 last year and that it is going to take a long time to replace those 19.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I have felt for a while that the major terrorists who had some brains all perished on 911 last year and that it is going to take a long time to replace those 19.

You give the 911 bombers too much credit, but I agree with the rest of your assessment, except that the Taliban/Al Queda are finished and have been ever since, much to their surprise and dismay, we went into Afghanistan and cut through them like a hot knife through butter.

[MrB]

not saying if they are hispanic of muslim

What do you think they are?

I have yet to see a toddler or a 80 yr old grandmother or a nursing mother get caught trying to commit a terrorist act.

Time to profile -
Middle Eastern Men - ages 14 to 50. Open a special line at the airport, and search them all. Let the uniformed Marines, the grandmothers, and the Amish women go through without wasting resources on searching them.

[A Vast RightWing Conspirator]

I believe that "detained but not arrested" means that the cops are having a conversation with them but they haven't been read their rights. They are probably trying to learn from them as much as they can before some Mohamedan lawyer or some civil rights do-gooder comes to 'represent' them.

[Sabertooth]

I have felt for a while that the major terrorists who had some brains all perished on 911 last year and that it is going to take a long time to replace those 19.

So, we've detained a suspect in the anthrax letters?

[claptrap]

No kidding? They are forigen nationals?
The media acts so pathetic they call them
anything but what they are "Middle-eastern thugs,
from the fourteenth century, who treat their wives like cows
and their neighbors like dung!" The whole middle-eastern mentality better wise up they are headed for the ashheap
of history!

[E. Pluribus Unum]

So, we've detained a suspect in the anthrax letters?

The fact that the remnants of Taliban/Al Qaeda are a bunch of morons is a separate issue from the fact that the FBI are a bunch of incompetent bureaucrats whose primary concerns are of the political correctness class.

[js1138]

I count the 19 among the stupid. The organization was no doubt damaged in Afghanistan. There is no safe place where large numbers can congregate, train and plan. They are being watched everywhere. I suspect that a few have spilled the beans during interrogation (not that WE would resort to using illegal methods to prevent NY from being nuked, or anything).

[Illbay]

Anthrax was domestic terrorism.

[Real Cynic No More]

"I have yet to see a toddler or a 80 yr old grandmother or a nursing mother get caught trying to commit a terrorist act."

No, but it is certainly possible that terrorists could plant harmful items on them or in their bags and possessions after they get through security, for later retrieval.

[Teacher317]

Friday the 13th part 77, Attack of the brain-dead Muslims?

[genefromjersey]

I'm a bit curious : if these worthies were Middle Eastern, how come they were speaking English ? ( I assume that was their language , since no mention was made of the waitress being fluent in Arabic, Spanish, etc. )

This suggests English was their primary language, or English was a common language for three people of different language backgrounds.

Mmmmmmmm........ Veddy interesting - schtupid too !

[Coop]

the Taliban/Al Queda are finished and have been ever since, much to their surprise and dismay, we went into Afghanistan and cut through them like a hot knife through butter.

I think the Taliban is washed up, but not Al Qaeda. While it's certainly disorganized, those hate-filled terrorists are also still financed, active and angry.

[MeekOneGOP]

Photo updated on article, just fyi......

AP

An aerial image from WFOR-TV via CNN shows the suspect's vehicle stopped on I-75 early Friday.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

...those hate-filled terrorists are also still financed, active and angry.

True enough, which is why we need to slap Saudi Arabia down after we are through with Iraq. Without Saudi financing, al Qaeda are just a bunch of sand monkeys jerking each other off.

[MeekOneGOP]

You have a valid point regarding language. FOX News has been talking to Eunice Stone on the phone (the lady that overheard the conversation and reported it along with the license plate - Illinois plate, I believe). They both question why they would speak in English. Of course, the terrorists have yet to convince me of their intellectual supremacy so far.

[bankwalker]

Anthrax was domestic terrorism.

Are you stating a fact or just speculating?