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| Binny and Ayman single out Tappahannock, VA as a target |
| 2003-12-24 |
| New intelligence information indicates that al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and his top deputy personally approved the suspected terrorist attack plan that led the government to raise the nationâs terror threat assessment this week, U.S. officials told NBC News on Tuesday. The officials said U.S. intelligence agencies had gathered detailed information about the plan, in which they said al-Qaida operatives would hijack foreign airliners and fly them into targets in the United States. In some instances, the intelligence is so detailed as to include specific flight numbers, they said. The Defense Department said Tuesday that it was broadening air patrols throughout the country. Security forces have put several U.S. airports under intense scrutiny, the U.S. officials told NBCâs Jim Miklaszewski, specifically naming Newark International Airport in New Jersey. Jersey was where Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman ran his operations out of. Any of his flunkies still around? The U.S. officials said the new intelligence indicated that bin Laden himself had approved the most recent plan for major attacks, along with Ayman al-Zawahiri, his deputy. U.S. officials and terrorism experts said that while some of the potential targets might seem unusual, there was a method to al-Qaidaâs plot. For example, the officials said, al-Qaida seems particularly interested in Tappahannock, Va., a tiny town of 2,016 people with no military base or major infrastructure. Such an attack would be intended to generate widespread fear that no one was safe, even in small rural towns, they said. âJust remember that al-Qaida is not just looking to kill as many Americans as possible. Theyâre looking to seriously hurt our nationâs economy,â terrorism specialist Roger Cressey, former chief of staff of the Presidentâs Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, said in an interview. That fits with the story regarding Binnyâs bloodlust from the Turkish al-Qaeda a couple of days ago ... In addition to big cities like New York and Los Angeles, al-Qaida has targeted Las Vegas, the officials said, because of its economic value as the nationâs No. 2 vacation destination and as home to large conventions and trade shows beginning next month. Other possible targets include important infrastructure facilities, such as nuclear power plants and dams. The officials mentioned oil transport facilities at Valdez, Alaska, as a particularly likely target. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #13 Ship, do you think that Rappahanock showed up in the chatter because it was the departure point for the terror attack, not the target? |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-12-24 8:55:59 PM |
| #12 SH yes... agree... I was thinking about Pilot Mt. NC. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-12-24 4:58:34 PM |
| #11 If they hit a small town, it must be a significant town that is recognizable enough to generate significant donations throughout the world. I would expect that it would be something like Kinnebunkport(sp?) or Los Alamos. Wouldn't it be more liekly that they would hit an unprotected Midwest city. Chicago would provide a high deathtoll but Motown would be symbolic, has a sizable Midlle Eastern community and easy access from Canada? |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-12-24 4:41:54 PM |
| #10 AQ needs to be careful up around that part of the country. They could easily run across their 72 Virginians early and they'd likely be holding 72 pieces, uh.. gats... iron you know like sawyers. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-12-24 3:56:12 PM |
| #9 Water reservoirs, transmission towers, railways, rail and highway bridges, power stations, dams, tunnels, ports and railyards, chemical factories and storage tanks... They don't need to hit us on a 9/11 scale again to remind us they're here. Look what those two creeps Malvo and Muhammed did to terrorize a region filled with several million people with a nondescript car and a rifle. Look at the anthrax mailings, too. The number of people whose lives were adversely affected went well beyond the number of direct victims. This morning on FOX I saw part of an interview with Congressman Harold Ford (TN-D), in which he stated the orange alert should be taken more seriously in places like LA and NYC, but not so in Memphis or Nashville. How asinine! That's the complacency that opens up the entire country for attack. Everybody everywhere needs to be on alert. Al Qaeda may be a bunch of crazed fanatics, but they're intelligent enough to strike where we're weakest. |
| Posted by: Dar 2003-12-24 1:37:42 PM |
| #8 I could be wrong but I think the Orange status is a bunch of crap. Al Queda is not gonna hit us they're just sending out increased signals to spread terror. The Government has to respond, just in case. The end result is a lot of scared people and a lot of money spent by the government, and Al Queda managed it on the cheap. Again, I could be wrong but I doubt it. We've almost given mystical powers to Al Queda when in truth Atta gave off every possible clue that he was a terrorist. He threatened peoples lives, asked questions about security at targets, he didn't try to lay low at all. The US had a blind spot pre Sept 11. Any terrorists working now will have to be Hollywood style smooth and I just don't see the Taliban wonderboys as being that capable. |
| Posted by: ruprecht 2003-12-24 12:54:23 PM |
| #7 If they were really going after Rapahanock county, the one target of interest might be the Inn at Little Washington - why target a frou-frou little gourmet establishment in the Virginia Piedmont? Well on any given Saturday night it tends to draw top DC people - lobbyists, pols, and various high mucky mucks. Security is probably light, and if all you have is a truck bomb, you might do better there then in Downtown DC, where youre only likely to kill low level civil servants. If youre AQ you hope you luck out and get someone like Richard Perle, or Don Rumsfeld, and not say a lobbyist for the record industry or the trial lawyers. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-12-24 10:10:01 AM |
| #6 Jersey Mike: "If they succeed, my only hope is our response will be disproportionaly violent." I expect it will be, at least among us hicks down here. 4thInfVet has it right, I think. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2003-12-24 10:02:24 AM |
| #5 Tappahannock has an airport: http://www.flyvirginia.com/airport/W79/ It's midway between Washington, DC and Norfolk, VA. |
| Posted by: Tom 2003-12-24 9:54:22 AM |
| #4 none of this makes any sense. they need something big. after having your network crushed and being chased into a hole, you don't follow up twin towers with uncle ernie's VA farmhouse. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-12-24 9:28:40 AM |
| #3 I feel sorta sorry for the next jihadi mutt to stand up on a flight and start shouting "allahu akbar!". I get the sense from the zeitgeist that their end will be quick and bloody. Same for any attacks that are carried out in the Heartland©- there would be no hesitation by the Bubbas to hauling out the weaponry and putting things to right. I really don't think the obl's of the world understand America, as all they know is what they learned on network media. ps. i ain't a bubba, and i ain't a honkey, so don't shout "racism!" |
| Posted by: 4thInfVet 2003-12-24 12:56:34 AM |
| #2 I'm pretty sure its Rappahannock. You have a good point Barbara, except according to the way the Feds see it, it appears that the Islamofacists plan on ramming a plane into something.If they succeed, my only hope is our response will be disproportionaly violent. |
| Posted by: JerseyMike 2003-12-24 12:31:03 AM |
| #1 The terrorists (spelled "losers") might want to rethink Tappahannock - people out there are likely as not to have guns, and know how to use them. Same for the rest of Virginia, except near D.C. Not to put too fine a point on it, but jihadis would probably stand out in the Tappahannock area, too. If they're serious about attacking us, they might want to pick a place where only the criminals are allowed to own guns. (D.C. comes to mind, with one of the strictest gun laws and highest murder rates in the country - who'da thunk it?) |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2003-12-24 12:20:16 AM |