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| Al Qaeda's Goal: Cripple Amtrak's N'east Corridor |
| 2008-11-28 |
| (CBS) ― The world's economic fears were violently pushed aside on Wednesday by another global threat -- terrorism. A massive coordinated attack was launched in Mumbai, India just hours after the FBI warned that Al Qaeda may be targeting New York's subways and railroads. If Al Qaeda terrorists have their way there will be chaos and mayhem here this holiday season, a mass transit bomb plot that would probably affect all the subway and train lines at Penn and Grand Central stations. "The threat is serious, the threat is significant, and it is plausible," said Congressman Peter King, R-Long Island, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee. Uniformed officers, including this NYPD Counter Terrorism Squad members and Amtrak cops with M-16s, flooded Penn Station Wednesday after the FBI said it had received a "plausible but unsubstantiated" report that Al Qaeda operatives discussed a plan two months ago to bomb New York City's mass transit system. The report said: "These discussions reportedly involved the use of suicide bombers or explosives placed on subway/passenger rail systems." Sources told CBS 2 HD the plot involved the Long Island Rail Road. If the explosion went off in Penn Station, the source said, it would affect transportation of Amtrak's northeast corridor between Boston and Washington, LIRR service and New York City subway service. "This is definitely linked to Al Qaeda and they had very significant details about exactly how they would carry out the attack, where they would carry it out -- that's what makes it sound so plausible," Rep. King said. The NYPD and Metropolitan Transportation Authority said they were on high alert and adding extra manpower. Even before the threat became public Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said he was adding more cops. "We always have to be concerned when we have large gatherings like on Thanksgiving," Kelly said. "We always have to have sufficient deployment of police officers." New Yorkers had this reaction to the new threats. "I've got to get on a train, but that's horrible," commuter Carolyn Tobin said. "I mean ... the memory ... but just like after 9/11, we just kept going on." Added Ryan Barreiro: "I'm not too worried about it. That's exactly what they want. If they're gonna get you, they're gonna get you." "I'm not afraid," Rick Hendrickson said. "I've lived here my whole life, in Manhattan, so has my wife and we just take life as it comes along." Riders can expect a heightened law enforcement presence -- cops, federal agents, canine teams and inspectors. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #17 MIL FORUM POSTERS > INDIA CANOT HOPE TO BE A GREAT POWER IFF IT CANNOT EFFECTIVELY OR SUCCESSFULLY HANDLE AND RESOLVE THE MUMBAI CRISIS AND HINDU-MUSLIM SECTARIANISM. Ditto CINA wid its UIGHURS ETC.; + TURKEY wid its KURDS [majority of World's Kurds live in Turkey]. E.g. MIL FORUMS > A PREVIEW OF WHAT THE FUTURE TO COME: THE KURDIZATION OF TURKEY, + THE IRANIAN MOUNTAINS ARE ALSO THE CAUCASIAN MOUNTAINS. See PRAVDA > "KILL THE RUSSIANS/SLAVS" INTER-ETHNIC STUDENT VIOLENCE AT MAJOR RUSSIAN UNIVERSITIES-TRAINING SCHOOLS. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-11-28 23:15 |
| #16 And then theres WORLD MIL FORUM [paraph = Google Chinglish translation] > MULTIPLE ISLAMIST AND ETHNIC REGIONAL TERROR GROUPS ARE INTENTIONALLY FOSTERING GEOPOLITICAL AND ETHNO-SECTARIAN CONFLICTS AND TENSIONS ALL OVER SOUTH ASIA. Despite noteworthy or selective successes and multilateral intensive efforts, INTER-NATION SOUTH ASIAN ANTI-TERROR COOPERATION HAS MOSTLY BEEN A FAILURE??? Also, INDIA: REGIONAL TERROR GROUPS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE CONFRONTATIONISMS WID STATES' MILITARIES, POLICE, AND GOVT FORCES. * WAR OUTSIDE OF IRAQ > Again, the US is now engaged vee Radical Islam in a struggle for DE FACTO CONTROL = DOMINATION OF LARGE PARTS OF THE ASIAN MAINLAND + AFRICA [Eurasia in long-term, East-South Asia + Africa in near-term]. * ISLAMIC/MUSLIM MIL HISTORY > once nuclearized + weaponized, Radical islam will likely return to IRAQ, etc. TO REFIGHT THE BATTLE/WAR FOR IRAQ AND REGAIN MUSLIM-PERCEIVED "LOST HONOR". |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-11-28 23:07 |
| #15 lotp, I usually yield to you, but as far as tanking GCT or Penn, it would take some serious boom stuff, not the kind of thing a team can hand-carry. An attack of the 'normal' terrorist type would be physically pretty minor (those old buildings are SOLID) - the impact would mainly be psychological. The London and Tokyo rail hubs are every bit as vital to those major cities as are the NYC hubs. For that matter, the junction under the WTC was an important one and it was destroyed, and the city adapted. Terrorist attacks are mostly about the head, not the infrastructure, and they are only as effective as the victims are vulnerable (weak, wussy, etc.) - I think New Yorkers would turn out to be pretty tough once they were forced to be (except for the useless twits who think they're all so wonderful and important, and in a crisis nobody would even notice them - silver lining to the dark cloud.) |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2008-11-28 23:03 |
| #14 ZAWAHIRI has reportedly dared the US to send a new army into PAKISTAN to be defeated or destroyed by Islam. IMO ZAWAHIRI'S DARE INDIRECTLY PROVES MY CONTENTION THAT RADICAL ISLAM IS OUT TO DESTABILIZE AND BREAK UP IFF NOT DESTROY PAN-ASIAN ORDER AMAP ASAP, i.e. RUSSIA, CHINA, INDIA, + LARGE PARTS OF THE SMALLER OR LESSOR ASIAN NATIONS [e.g. PHILIPPINES, THAILAND, etc.]. * SAME/TOPIX > US: PAKISTAN [IMO read, EAST-SOUTH ASIA]HAS REPLACED IRAQ AS AL-QAEDA'S TARGET [primary War Front/Focii]/IRAQ IS NOW A "REAR-GUARD" ACTION. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-11-28 22:49 |
| #13 I thought that it read "Al Qaeda's Goat" |
| Posted by: classer 2008-11-28 22:03 |
| #12 why should we think a terrorist hit on NY rails should be anything close to crippling? Because it will tank a major economic, transportation and communication hub for the country. You don't have to like the NYC metro area to realize what an effect a successful dual attack on the underground transfer centers at Penn and Grand Central would have. Billions of dollars of infrastructure damage, a huge economic hit and very high casualties from those stations alone. Add in several rail overpasses along the main Amtrak lines outside the port and the result would hit YOU in the wallet fast and hard. |
| Posted by: lotp 2008-11-28 21:30 |
| #11 Vulnerable you say? Phuech'em, they could have had McCain and Palin. Just when I start thinking that you're not a dispschidt... |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-11-28 17:58 |
| #10 LOL, Darrell. As soon as motor mouth can say that without segueing to some lying anecdote, I'll adopt it. Until then, he's Joe "Plugz" Biden, champion of Iraqi Shiitestan |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-11-28 17:41 |
| #9 "plausible but unsubstantiated" That pretty much covers anything the MSM puts in print these days. Except for the "plausible" part, that is. |
| Posted by: Jolutch Mussolini7800 2008-11-28 17:23 |
| #8 "plausible but unsubstantiated" That pretty much covers anything the MSM puts in print these days. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2008-11-28 16:19 |
| #7 "Joe Biden rides that train" That's "The Honorable Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., Vice President Elect of The United States of America" to you, Frank. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2008-11-28 16:18 |
| #6 Those bastards! Joe Biden rides that train, lunchpail in hand |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-11-28 16:03 |
| #5 Terrorists hit Japanese subway with poison gas some years back - limited effect. Then Islamic terrorists hit the London subways - limited effect. In general, Americans, even New Yorkers, are less pacified than either of those populations, so why should we think a terrorist hit on NY rails should be anything close to crippling? |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2008-11-28 15:28 |
| #4 Vulnerable you say? Phuech'em, they could have had McCain and Palin. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-11-28 13:33 |
| #3 Rich, Amtrak, NJ Transit, LIRR and others all share infrastructure - tracks and stations. An attach on one is an attack on all commuter rail into and out of NYC and the NE corridor. And there ain't much other ways of getting into or through NYC. buses and car traffic are already at their limit. |
| Posted by: Hellfish 2008-11-28 13:30 |
| #2 Living out west, it's difficult for me to imagine that any significant volume of passengers ride Amtrak. They sure don't out here. |
| Posted by: Richard of Oregon 2008-11-28 13:00 |
| #1 Have we still not smote them down adequately? Oh well, back to the salt mines. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-11-28 11:09 |