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| US warns of al-Qaeda attack |
| 2004-05-26 |
| Federal officials have information suggesting that al Qaeda has people in the United States preparing to mount a large-scale terrorist attack this summer, sources familiar with the information said yesterday. Attorney General John D. Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III intend to hold a joint news conference this afternoon to discuss the threat and to ask Americans to watch for several suspected al Qaeda operatives who may be in the country, officials said. The concerns are driven by intelligence deemed credible that was obtained about a month ago indicating an attack may be planned between now and Labor Day. That information dovetails with other intelligence "chatter" suggesting that al Qaeda operatives are pleased with the change in government resulting from the March 11 terrorist bombings in Spain and may want to affect elections in the United States and other countries. "They saw that an attack of that nature can have economic and political consequences and have some impact on the electoral process," said one federal official with access to counterterrorism intelligence. Intelligence and law enforcement officials are trying to strengthen security at the presidential nominating conventions this summer in Boston and New York. They are also concerned about the possible targeting of other prominent events, starting with the World War II Memorial ceremony Saturday in the District, the G-8 Summit June 8-10 in Sea Island, Ga., and the Summer Olympic Games in August in Athens. Federal officials have been discussing raising the national threat level between now and Jan. 21, 2005, the day after the presidential inauguration, although Homeland Security Department officials said yesterday no such announcement is scheduled. The Justice Department and the FBI plan to ask for the public's help today in locating several suspected terrorist sympathizers, including some whose names have not been made public before. The bureau likely plans another public push to find Aafia Siddiqui, 32,, a Pakistani woman who has a doctorate in neurological science and has studied at MIT and Brandeis University in the Boston area, as well as in Houston. The FBI also could seek help locating a man Siddiqui has been linked to, Adnan G. El Shukrijumah. He is a suspected al Qaeda member who spent time in Florida, and his name has come up in interrogations of captured al Qaeda lieutenant Khalid Sheik Mohammed. In April, an FBI bulletin to law enforcement agencies warned of possible truck bombs. A source familiar with the government's threat discussions said yesterday truck bombs are a primary concern. "I'm more worried than I was at Christmastime," said one senior U.S. intelligence official, comparing the "election threat" to the cancelling of specific airline flights around the holidays. He said the U.S. government is convinced there are still as yet unidentified al Qaeda operatives residing in the United States, waiting for the word to launch plots. "They are here, and there are indications they are preparing" attacks, said the official, who government policy bars from being named. Another FBI bulletin, issued last week, urged law enforcement officials to be on the alert for possible suicide bombers. Officials were urged to take note of people dressed in bulky jackets in warm weather, clothing smelling of chemicals or trailing electrical wires, and they warned that potential bombers may be dressed in uniform or even disguised as pregnant women. Within the last three weeks, members of the House and Senate intelligence committees have received briefings from the CIA and FBI on what the CIA counterterrorism center has termed the "election threat." The members have asked the agencies for more specific, follow-up briefings, including an assessment of al Qaeda's presence in the United States, congressional sources said. One counterterrorism official said al Qaeda still aims to carry off a attack that would kill large numbers of people, and is aiming at modes of transportation such as airlines and ships. Anything less than a spectacular attack, such as a simple suicide bombing, would appear weak to al Qaeda's financiers, according to the counterterrorism official. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #7 Frank G, Reread what I said. I said that I don't think they'll attack the US, that this is a smokescreen and that they realize if they hit us they get hurt. |
| Posted by: ruprecht 2004-05-26 1:58:10 PM |
| #6 The only presidential nominating convention they might have to worry about protecting would be the Republican convention! 11A5S is correct about deception. Look for layer upon layer. That's part of the second track--i.e., building toward the "BIG ATTACK." Like the W.W.II Kamikazes, these men have committed, already, to their own deaths, so anything and everything else--deception, botched plans, some of their own being caught or killed--is just "small potatoes" to them. Death is now integrated into their identity. They'll keep experimenting until they find out what works. Key: "Anything less than a spectacular attack, such as a simple suicide bombing, would appear weak to al Qaeda's financiers." (Kind of hard to top the WTC 9/11 attack, huh guys? You sick Islamic bastards.) The Moslem male mind (is that an oxymoron?) has 2 tracks: First and foremost the "BIG ATTACK" against the infidels, and the second is, building toward the "BIG ATTACK" against the infidels. Lesser attacks along the way are okay, if they accomplish progress, but the focus is still on track 1. The "BIG ATTACK(s)" if they can get it to happen, is equivalent to a coordinated group orgasm to them, so it's really important. (This is what they do with their masculinity. They seek to disseminate destruction.) They don't want to fail, so they'll plan and wait and plan and wait and plan and wait, until they're pretty sure they can pull it off. Otherwise, they will consider themselves impotent. They will be "humiliated." Humiliation regarding "manhood" is what is feared the most by all Islamoidz, world-wide. Right now, everyone is trying to equivocate their actions with what OBL pulled off. Their "dream" is to do something even more dramatic (then they get to be the "biggest" men in their peer group). Blowing things up is the preferred choice, obviously, considering the psychological context, but causing death and mayhem is okay with them too--they simply adjust, and equate mass murder with the "explosion" of their sexuality. Their greatest enemy is our President, George Bush. They hate him and they fear him. And they fear him more than they hate him, because he has mounted an effective campaign against them. He is "humiliating" them. Therefore, one of the best strategies the average American can employ to help win the WOT, is to work to assure that the best CIC resides in the White House (with occasional trips to Crawford, TX!) |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2004-05-26 1:14:41 PM |
| #5 Then there was all the chatter predicting an attack on the US preceeding this past Christmas. I stated then and still think that it was Maskirovka: a deception plan to focus US attention elsewhere while AQ moved resources into Spain, Jordan, Iraq, Suadi Arabi, etc. AQ has already proven itself capable of psyops, infiltrating Arab intel services, launching coordinated operations -- why not deception ops? |
| Posted by: 11A5S 2004-05-26 11:34:57 AM |
| #4 ruprecht - I think you give far more credit to AQ's politico-military strategy than they deserve. If they can hit us and cause a Spain (in their minds) they'll be on it like a fly on shit. I expect the results would be contrary to the intended results, but they never seem to think that far ahead, nor do they understand the "American mind". They should never have launched 9/11, instead spreading under the radar.... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-05-26 11:21:08 AM |
| #3 I know conventional wisdom says that Al Queda will try to pull a Spain here in the US come election time but my gut tells me they won't. Al Queda has claimed numerous great attacks against the US in the past two years and so far nothing. Al Queda knows the one really successful attack against the US caused the President's poll numbers to shoot through the roof and caused them to lose Afghanistan. Clearly they know the US responds differently than Spain. I believe they know how to manipulate the chatter and cause false alarms which cost us money and increase the terror. They can do this at little risk to themselves. I think the Olympics is the next target and the US summer attack is just a smokescreen and I think Europeans will probably be the targets. From a tactical point of view this has a few advantages the most obvious are further European capitulation and American complacency for not having been attacked since 2001. Of course its possible that they are just foaming at the mouth fanatics who don't think long term, but if that's the case then the idea of a pre-election attack rings kind of hollow as well. |
| Posted by: ruprecht 2004-05-26 10:53:55 AM |
| #2 JerseyMike - Now, now. No using logic or facts here. That's mean and uncalled for. How do you feel about things? That's the key question. |
| Posted by: Laurence of the Rats 2004-05-26 8:55:47 AM |
| #1 Why oh why do they hate us? Surely if we were to leave Iraq and elect John effin Kerry, AQ would realize that we've seen the error of our ways and no longer want to kill us. C'mon people now smile on your brother everybody get together try to love one another right now!!! Oh right..they're murderous lunatics and this is a war. |
| Posted by: JerseyMike 2004-05-26 7:37:59 AM |