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| Debate emerges over al-Qaeda navy |
| 2004-02-19 |
| A debate has emerged among intelligence services over whether Al Qaida has a naval capability. The debate includes those who assert that Al Qaida has control over as many as 300 vessels for smuggling and attacks on Western and allied shipping. They are pitted against intelligence analysts who maintain that Al Qaida does not have a credible naval capability. The debate took place during the two-day annual meeting by Israeli, Indian and U.S. strategists and officials in Herzliya, Israel. The meeting was attended by Israeli ministers and the commander of the navy. "An Al Qaida navy is a contradiction in terms," Israel Navy commander Vice Adm. Yedidya Yaari said. "It is completely impossible. The minute they have a navy in existence, they become vulnerable." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #18 For terrorist actions, all you need to do is have access to rustbucket freighters with the right cargo (explosives, or cash cargos, or terroists in zodiacs, or a stolen anti-ship missle etc) in the right place at the right time. You guys are making amateur mistakes. Let me steer you in a different direction: A Navy isnt the ships. Its command control communications intelligence and infrastructure that makes it effective. Look at the US Navy in early WW2 - the Japanese quantitatively and (arguably) qualitatively was better in terms of ships. Our C3I and the support infrastructure amplified the force effectiveness vastly at Midway and other places. And in these terms, the AlQ could certainly have a Naval capability that needs to be dealt with. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2004-2-19 10:57:49 PM |
| #17 An Al-Q navy would probably look like the little boat that boomed the USS Cole. And it might have bigger freighters full of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, which would make an even bigger boom. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-2-19 4:59:29 PM |
| #16 So much for my attempts at cultural references... Quotes and references, m'lad. Many of the oldsters can't remember their name half the time (myelf included). My smartass remark aside, an Al-Q 'navy' would be a navy, albeit a most unconventional one. Intel-gathering, mine-laying (remember the Libyan freighter that did this), saboteur support, smuggling, personnel/weapon/cargo transport and insertion, piracy. It's been done before by other nations and is still done. The PRC doesn't have a large merchant marine just to move cargo. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2004-2-19 3:38:49 PM |
| #15 famous movie Rob Reiner made in 1987,"The Princess Bride". famous -now that is funny. meathead can take a hike |
| Posted by: Dan 2004-2-19 1:20:46 PM |
| #14 Pass the Iokane powder. |
| Posted by: domingo 2004-2-19 1:13:36 PM |
| #13 Gromky - I have shoes older than you. Nice to see the youngun's are holding their own in Rantburg smartassery though! |
| Posted by: Doc8404 2004-2-19 12:11:01 PM |
| #12 I'm guessing that they don't have an organized navy, but they do have a certain number of pirates in Indonesia and throughout the area who could be called upon to do some wet-work if necessary. |
| Posted by: Rabbi M. 2004-2-19 11:53:19 AM |
| #11 Gromky, I caught the reference and I'm a lot older than you. |
| Posted by: Matt 2004-2-19 11:40:38 AM |
| #10 Rob Reiner is excellent at doing what he knows: movies and TV (Spinal Tap, etc.) - but an idiot in politics |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-2-19 10:36:07 AM |
| #9 Gromky, I caught the reference as I am a 31 yr old pup myself. That's a great scene. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2004-2-19 10:13:43 AM |
| #8 I am just picturing the ALQ navy with Buicks on rafts....Unfortunately they have been somewhat succesful in the past |
| Posted by: dataman1 2004-2-19 10:06:47 AM |
| #7 You're still a pup, gromky. |
| Posted by: whitecollar redneck 2004-2-19 10:05:20 AM |
| #6 ...I was starting to think I was kind of old at 33... You'll get over it. :) When I was 33, Doctor Zhivago, and a Man For All Seasons were playing in the theaters. |
| Posted by: GK 2004-2-19 9:58:58 AM |
| #5 Sigh...it's a quote from the famous movie Rob Reiner made in 1987,"The Princess Bride". So much for my attempts at cultural references...I was starting to think I was kind of old at 33... |
| Posted by: gromky 2004-2-19 9:20:04 AM |
| #4 I would think that 500#hi-ex/3 or 4 Go-Fast boats,in the right place at the right time. It would make a significant strike. |
| Posted by: Raptor 2004-2-19 9:16:03 AM |
| #3 Gromky, your comment is an enigma. It impossible to comprehend who you are criticizing or how the word "inconceivable" may have been misused. To be believable, your comments must be more explicit. |
| Posted by: GK 2004-2-19 6:31:49 AM |
| #2 "Inconceivable!" "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." |
| Posted by: gromky 2004-2-19 4:54:49 AM |
| #1 ". The minute they have a navy in existence, they become vulnerable." "I gotta tell ya, Moshe, this sure beats computer simulations." "Damn straight, David. Okay, next contact, call it Pogey-Bait 4, range 12,000 ..." |
| Posted by: Steve White 2004-2-19 12:47:12 AM |