Posted on 11/14/2002 7:48:21 AM PST by newuserOH2002
Edited on 11/14/2002 8:03:24 AM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
At a time when a tape handed over to the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television station has received widespread expose for its purported comments by Osama bin Laden in praise of recent terror events around the world, another al-Qaeda message released to the same station has received little coverage.
Al-Jazeera was granted an interview with one Mohammed al-Usuquf, allegedly al-Qaeda's number three. Al-Usuquf is said to be a doctor in physics and to hold a masters degree in international economics. A copy of the interview was sent to the prestigious Arab-language daily Al Quds Al Arabi, edited in London, but it was not printed.
Asia Times Online has obtained a copy of the interview, and reproduces excerpts here, with the caveat that the identity of the man has not yet been confirmed, nor has his membership within al- Qaeda.
Al-Usuquf says that al-Qaeda's Kuwaiti spokesman, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, and bin Laden himself, suggested that he grant the interview. Bin Laden, he says, is "alive and healthy, along with his commanders Mohammed Atef, Khalid Shaik Mohammed and Mullah Omar".
Al-Usuquf starts by criticizing Washington's disrespect of the Kyoto Protocol on climatic change, the International Criminal Court and the Palestinian cause, as well as the "financial greed" engendering speculative gains over Third World countries. He also criticizes the manner in which America wastes wealth, like US$80 billion a year on gambling. "They [have] lost the notion of spirituality and only live in sin."
For this reason, America must be destroyed, and al-Usuquf insists that "aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines and spy satellites will be worthless in the next war".
Al-Qaeda, according to him, has 5,000 first rank operatives and around 20,000 all over the world. Of all the prisoners in the US, only "20 or 30" are al-Qaeda, and all of them "second-rank". Confirming Asia Times Online information, he swears that there are no first- rank prisoners in Guantanamo in Cuba. Al-Usuquf says, "We have more than 500 first-rank and 800 second-rank [operatives] inside the US." "First rank" are considered ones that have lived in the US for more than 10 years, most of them married with children. "They have an idea about the plans, and they are just waiting for a call." "Second-rank" operatives arrived in the past five years and "have no idea about the plans". They are all willing to die.
Al-Usuquf insists that September 11 "was just the beginning. It was a way to call the world's attention to what's going to happen." He then details a plan to destroy the US by "attacking the heart of what they consider the most important thing in the world: money".
"The American economy is an economy of false appearances," says al-Usuquf. "There's no real economic weight. American GNP is something around $10 trillion, but only 1 percent comes from agriculture, and only 24 percent from industry. So 75 percent of its GNP comes from services, and most of it is financial speculation. For someone who understands economics, and apparently America's Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill does not, or cannot, the US as a whole behaves like an immense dot.com, and dollars are its stocks. The value of stocks from a given company is directly proportional to its profitability. When a company only provides services, but does not produce goods, the value of its stocks depends on its credibility. What I'm saying is if US credibility is affected, its stocks - the US dollar - will fall at tremendous speed, and the whole American economy will collapse."
Al-Usuquf is absolutely positive, "because, in a smaller scale, this is exactly what big financial conglomerates do with Third World countries to collect profits in one month that no Swiss bank would guarantee in four to five years". Al-Usuquf says that al-Qaeda could do the same by "provoking a deficit of $50 to 70 trillion, the equivalent to five to seven years of the GNP of the US". How? By "destroying America's seven largest cities and some other measures". The means? "Atomic bombs." Al-Usuquf's most startling revelation is that the bombs "won't be launched, they are already there". "Seven nuclear heads have already been positioned on American soil, before September 11, and they are ready to be detonated. Before September 11, American security was a fiasco, and even later, if we needed, we could position the bombs there. They arrived through seaports, as normal cargo. A nuclear head is not bigger than a fridge, so it can easily be camouflaged as one. Thousands of containers arrive at a seaport every day, and even with very efficient security, it's impossible to check and examine each one of them."
Al-Usuquf says that the bombs were bought on the black market: five from the former USSR and two from Pakistan. The five Russian heads "are from T-3 missiles, also known as RD-107, and their power is around 100 kilotons each, that is five times the Hiroshima bomb. The Pakistani ones are less powerful, something around 10 kilotons each."
Each of the Russian bombs would have cost around $200 million. Al-Qaeda was able to raise the money "because we have many sponsors. Many countries sponsor us, and also some very rich people." And not all of these are Arab countries. "Some European countries as well are also interested in the fall of the US." As to the "rich people", they are "people who are also tired of seeing the US bleeding the rest of the world."
And Iraq's Saddam Hussein, says Al-Usuquf, is not one of these people, "but just a collaborator, represented by Abdul Tawab Hawaish, his vice prime minister and responsible for Iraq's arms program".
Al-Usuquf says that the bombs cannot be detected by US authorities. "Even if they are old, they were modernized and are very well hidden. Even if they were located, they have autodetonation mechanisms in case something or someone gets close. Even an electromagnetic pulse is not capable of deactivating them." The bombs allegedly cannot be detected because "they are enveloped in thick layers of lead". They could be detonated "by various methods - cellphone call, radio frequency, seismic shock or by their regressive clock".
Al-Usuquf details the whole plan. "First, one head would be detonated, which would cause the deaths of 800,000 to 1 million people and a chaos never seen before. During this chaos, two or three planes, which are now disassembled inside barns near empty roads in the US countryside, would take off in suicide missions to pulverize another two or three big American cities with chemicals. Once the disease was identified, all seaports and airports would be quarantined. Land borders would also be closed. No plane, boat or car would enter or leave the US. This would be total chaos." The first target would be the city "that would offer the best conditions, for example bright sky and winds of eight or more miles an hour blowing towards the center of the country, so radioactive dust can contaminate the largest possible area".
This attack would not knock out the US, recognizes al-Usuquf, "But the process would be initiated. As with the World Trade Center, it would be just a question of time for the whole economic structure to be turned to dust. If the objectives are reached with one bomb and diseases, probably we will save the lives of other people, but it's risky, and probably six more bombs will be detonated, one a week, and more attacks with chemical weapons will be launched." According to estimates made by al-Usuquf "and Ayman al- Zawahiri", al-Qaeda's number 2, about 15 million people would die, victims of the bombs and the radiation. Among those contaminated by diseases, "25 percent will die, a figure around more than 5 million, plus many others due to the chaos and disorder".
Al-Usuquf does not fear an American military response. "Even if five or 10 cities are chosen at random to be destroyed, it will still be a small price to pay. The problem is that the economic despair will be so great that even if it saves [money] by not using weapons, American liquidity will be near zero, and the US will make more money selling a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier to Turkey or Italy for $5 billion, because they will urgently need to recapitalize. But it will be too late. Moreover, what will remain of an American soldier's morale to fight knowing that his whole family died and his country ceased to exist? To fight for what?"
The world economy would not collapse, says al-Usuquf, although "in the beginning, it will be very difficult. But without the US the world will soon rise in a more just and fraternal manner. Nothing can stop the plan."
And whatever America does, "it's too late". When will the attack begin? "I can't tell."
(Excerpt) Read more at atimes.com ...
A lot of people on this thread seem to think that if we are attacked we could just round 'em all up and ship 'em out. The problem, me thinks, is that they may not be the turban wearing, camel riding types that are typically associated with Islam. Don't forget about Farakhan, those people hate this country and would move to capitilize on any opportunity presented.
Many of you have pointed out the many flaws in this supposed plan. But the point isn't whether or not such a plan would "work" or whether or not it made sense. The point is whether or not the AlQaida people believe that this plan (or something like it) will work. If they are operating under a plan that they believe will work, then that is the plan we need to be operating against, whether it makes sense or not, and whether it is effective or not.
I truly doubt that any guy who really knows the full plan is just going to blab the whole thing to some reporter. There is a considerable amount of disinformation and propaganda in here. But there are probably also nuggets of truth, especially where their war aims and broad strategy are concerned. The talk about a plan to do grave damage to our economy is probably genuine. Whether they can succeed or not is not the point -- the point is, this is apparently their intention. Why didn't they just let loose with everything at once? While that might have been the thing that makes the most sense to us, that is not the point. The point is that THEY believe that doing a little bit at a time is what makes sense to THEM, so that is what they ARE going to do.
About the nukes: Getting some stuff from the Russian Black Market is credible. I am more doubtful about the claim that they have gotten anything from Pakistan, mainly because I suspect that the Paks need every single milligram of everything they can get their hands on. They are engaged in an arms race with India and are struggling hard to keep up. It is simply not credible that they are going to let a couple of precious warheads out of their hands. The Russians are another matter. They have more than they can use, and more than they can keep secure, so it is not out of the realm of possibility that AlQaida has indeed gotten a few.
It is also not out of the realm of possibility that AlQaida has snuck these into the US, especially pre-9/11/01. Let's admit it, we were pretty naive, sloppy, and negligent back then. We still haven't completely gotten our act together even now.
Again, while there might be considerable disinformation in this article, this guy might also have let some things slip. We have been very worried about the old Soviet "Suitcase Bombs", but that is apparently NOT what they have. What they have is not that portable and concealable. The good news is that we probably don't need to worry that they are going to put one of these things in the back of an SUV, throw a blanket over it, and drive right up to an especially critical target. The bad news, however, is that we are apparently looking at a considerably larger device. I wouldn't necessarilly presume that they are just using the Soviet devices as-is. My guess is that what they got on the black market were devices minus some critical parts. They may have had to put devices together by combining components obtained from multiple sources. They probably have people with the electronics expertise to develop their own control mechanisms. Several people on this thread have talked about Tritium and its short shelf life. This would be a critical issue with a suitcase bomb; it is less of an issue if they got hold of some of these big guys. They could have canibalized and refabricated into something that would have a much lower yield but still ruin many a person's day. Also, we should not take everything said here as the gospel truth. It could be that contrary to what the guy has said, the devices are not kept ready to go off at any moment, but instead are waiting to be charged with fresh tritium just before being deployed -- tritium that even now they might be able to smuggle in. The talk about the bombs being set up with multiple triggering mechanisms may just be disinformation to discourage the FBI & NEST from tracking them down -- something that they should be urgently doing immediately.
And inflame the Islamocrazies into massive suicidal attacks worldwide? I don't believe the President thinks that's in Americans' best interests, to say the least. If there is another major attack, whether nuclear or conventional, it will be more than evident that Islam is "a virulent and dangerous cult," and no amount of sweet talk will hold back the tide. We know American can survive, but, unfortunately, they don't.
Yes, they are. Cunning and tactically smart, but long range and strategicly they are stupid.
Bingo!
We not only would do no less, we did more. We supplied arms and food to our own armies, and those of most of our allies, including the Soviets. Of course it was a little easier for us, safe, more or less, behind the two largest oceans of the world, but it was also less urgent for the same reason.
-you don't have to be a rocket scientist to own a nuke, you only have to have enough money.
-bin Laden, al Qaeda and the Saudi financiers certainly have enough money.
-desperate, starving ex-Soviets would sell one for that kind of money.
-getting one in on a container ship, at least before 9/11 scrutiny, would be easy.
-if it were in their power to kill millions of Americans, al Qaeda would do so.
Given only the facts, and believing none of the stories and rumors, I'll live my life but carry my potassium iodate.
I can't imagine a better motivator for them. Like using your tool to stir up a nest of fireants. No, while you might want to hit the holy cities, the most important thing is to remove their ability to fight, symbolic targets have no place in such an effort. Of course removing that ability might mean killing them all. But if you are going to do Mecca, Medina, Oom, etc, then you might as well kill them all, because if you don't you will have to fight them all.
Noy if most of the electronics and antennas are outside the lead. Only the nuclear material and whatever form of detonater they use, i.e, gun or lens, along with a minimum amount of other stuff need be shielded.
The internet is a distributed network. It was originally designed to survive a nuclear war. It won't be all that easy to take out, even if one goes for a "soft" rather than "hard" kill. I think it was tried a couple of weeks ago, and the "attack" was barely noticible to the average user, if it was noticiable at all.
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