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| FBI warns of possible terrorist attack in US around September 11 |
| 2005-08-12 |
| WASHINGTON (AFP) - An FBI terrorism task force in Los Angeles earlier this week warned of possible Al-Qaeda attacks with tanker trucks in three major US cities around September 11, a media source reported. Law enforcement officials questioned the reliability of the warning, while government officials who were briefed on it described it as credible and specific enough to warrant attention, said The New York Times. Issued Wednesday, the warning said "Al Qaeda leaders plan to employ various types of fuel trucks as vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices in an effort to cause mass casualties in the US prior to the 19th of September," according to law enforcement officials who have read it, the daily said. It warned that terrorist would seek to hijack gasoline or oxygen tankers or trucks and ram them into a gasoline station to cause major explosions."Attacks are planned specifically for New York, Chicago and Los Angeles," it said, adding that it was "unclear whether the attacks will occur simultaneously or be spread out over a period of time." The attackers, the advisory said, "will be members of small Al-Qaeda cells which are spread throughout the US." Their goal, added the advisory, "is to collapse the US economy." An unnamed law enforcement official told the Times said the advisory had information about "a generic threat ... trucks have been talked about by Al-Qaeda all the time. They used that tactic around the world..." "The information is uncorroborated, and the source is of questionable reliability," said Department of Homeland Security spokesman Brian Roehrkasse, adding, however, that the information "continues to be evaluated by the intelligence community." Nevertheless, law enforcement officials interviewed by the daily said they were concerned about possible attacks timed with the fourth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist strikes on New York and Washington."There's always that possibility and it's something we always look at very closely because it is such a symbolic day," said a senior Justice Department official who also asked not to be identified. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #9 They also picked up on July 4th and the whole Christmas shopping season (which now begins, I believe, on July 5th.) What they need to do, actually, is get a big almanac called 'This Day in Islamic History' and find all the dates for battles fought centuries ago. Then they might have something less intuitively obvious to even the most casual observer. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2005-08-12 17:27 |
| #8 So the official terrorism task force of the FBI comes up with the possibility of terrorist attacks around the anniversary of 9-11. Frigging brilliant. My dog could come up with that one for a lot less that the gov't can. What we need is the public involved in civil defense. We have eyes and ears all over the country. That is how we watch for terrorists. We do not have the infinite resources to have the professionals protect us agains everything imaginable. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-08-12 15:55 |
| #7 Ima worry more about choo choos with tank-cars of stuff. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-08-12 15:42 |
| #6 This is laughable. Ramming a gasoline tanker into a gas station is only going to cause a huge fire, primarily at the gas station and its next-door neighbors. And an oxygen tanker is even sillier -- oxygen is not a fuel and is not explosive. Its hazard is that it will cause a more-intense fire that air will, because the oxygen in air is diluted with nitrogen. Where's the fuel to go with it? In the underground tanks at the station? Finally, many of these tankers have double walls with insulation between them -- it's not like they're going to easily rupture widely by hitting some gas pumps or the gas station building. How often do you hear about tanker fires? If this is the best AQ can do, they're not much of a threat to western civilization. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2005-08-12 15:13 |
| #5 "Attacks are planned specifically for New York, Chicago and Los Angeles," Somehow, I had a feeling it would be blue areas that would be primary targets. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-08-12 14:32 |
| #4 This is getting to be an annual tradition. Maybe they'll pop the champagne Sept. 12th like the 72 Miami Dolphins do when the last undefeated NFL team loses. |
| Posted by: Chris W. 2005-08-12 12:05 |
| #3 Makes you want to go the Rumsfeld 11September Country Music Jamboree. |
| Posted by: Throluter Creatch6468 2005-08-12 12:00 |
| #2 Semis would work well too. There are a lot of things the terrorists could do, but haven't. Which makes me wonder how effective the cells in the US are now and how much they have been damaged by the WOT. |
| Posted by: mmurray821 2005-08-12 11:57 |
| #1 How many of us have nightmare scenarios -- short of nuclear, and quite possible -- that we refuse to discuss out loud? This comes quite close to mine. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-08-12 11:55 |