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Posted on 09/29/2002 10:31:17 PM PDT by Salvation
Al-Qaida's favorite
October target dates
Military intelligence specialist offers
possible imminent terror scenarios
© 2002 WorldNetDaily.com
A U.S. military intelligence specialist is warning two significant dates in October are highly likely times for new terror attacks by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.
Christian M. Weber, contributing editor for Soldiers for the Truth, an organization headed by Col. David Hackworth, points out Oct. 2 is the anniversary of the federal court conviction of blind Sheikh Omar Abdel al-Rahman, the spiritual mentor of bin Laden and his top lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in connection with the first World Trade Center bombing.
An even more important anniversary occurs a few days later, Oct. 7, says Weber. That marks the date on which the United States began the attack on Taliban and al-Qaida forces in Afghanistan.
Because al-Qaida training manuals emphasize targets containing large numbers of Americans, condensed areas with strong economic and cultural significance and major media centers, Weber warns of two potential terror scenarios on those dates.
"If we overlap the training manual criteria with our two significant dates next week, we see that the New York Yankees are scheduled to play Game 2 of the American League division playoffs in New York on Oct. 2, 2002, and Oct. 7, 2002, is a Monday Night Football game between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears in Chicago," he writes for Soldiers for the Truth, an organization headed by Col. David Hackworth. "These two events represent the strongest targets of opportunity for an impending attack, most likely a suicide bombing via private plane with secondary car bombs in the parking lot."
Weber explains the importance of dates to al-Qaida.
"Sept. 11, 2001, was a date emblazoned on the minds of Islamic terrorists as the five-year anniversary of the conviction of World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef," he writes. "The al-Qaida bombing of the embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, occurred on Aug. 7, 1998, the eighth anniversary of President Bush's 1990 commitment to send U.S. troops to protect Saudi Arabia."
Weber also says the Feb. 26, 1993, bombing of the World Trade Center was intended to coincide with the two-year anniversary of the beginning of the ground war in Operation Desert Storm Feb. 23, 1991.
Weber also warns of the possibility of an al-Qaida smallpox assault on a major U.S. urban area within one month of an October attack to capitalize on the seasonal potential for transmission of the virus – which is most dangerous in November and December.
He speculates that al-Qaida could easily introduce the biological weapons by dispersing smallpox-contaminated blankets to homeless people, most likely those on subways and other forms of mass transit.
"Targeting the homeless population would enable al-Qaida to infect a segment of society that is far less likely to immediately seek medical attention at the onset of symptoms, thus increasing the window of time between the spread of contagion and awareness of and reaction to the outbreak," he says. Soldiers for the Truth is a grass-roots, non-profit, educational organization started by a group of concerned veterans and citizens to inform the public, the Congress, and the media on the decline in readiness of the armed forces. Weber is a first lieutenant specializing in military intelligence in the New York Guard’s Civil and Military Affairs Division.
Asked to comment on Weber's scenarios, a military intelligence source told WorldNetDaily: "First, the terrorist in general will only want to strike the softer targets – whenever we let our guard down. Any big game is a ripe target for a terrorist attack via any means – suicide attackers with automatic weapons or a bio weapon. Although I think they are less concerned with significant dates than they are with effect."
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