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Iraq-Jordan
Foiled al-Qaida Attackers Caught Red-Handed With WMDs
2004-04-18
Two members of an al-Qaida cell connected to top terror master Abu Musab al-Zarqawi have been caught in Jordan with chemical weapons and poisonous gas for a planned attack that Jordanian officials say would have killed up to 20,000 people. The officials told the London-based newspaper al-Hayat on Friday that the al-Qaida plotters planned to launch a WMD attack against a Jordanian Military Intelligence installation, the U.S. Embassy in Amman and a government building in the country. According to the Israeli newspaper Maariv, the al-Qaida terrorists managed to smuggle three cars packed with explosives into Amman. Jordanian security forces found a chemical charge in one vehicle. "The bomb, had it been detonated, could have affected people in a one-kilometer radius and cause the deaths of up to 20,000 people," Jordanian officials told Maariv.
Qaeda keeps trying for the spectacular, multi-thousand death strike. It doesn't matter to them where it takes place, or who gets killed, just as long as there are thousands dead...
According to United Press International, the al-Qaida car was intercepted just 75 miles from the Syrian border and "carried explosives, a chemical bomb and poisonous gas." The discovery of the al-Qaida WMD plot is sure to renew speculation that some of Saddam Hussein’s missing weapons of mass destruction were hidden in Syria before the U.S. attacked in March 2003, and have now found their way into al-Qaida’s hands.
Either that, or that Syria has its own WMD and is handing them out. Either way, Syria's on the poop list...
As of Saturday morning, the White House had not commented on the al-Qaida WMD plot and its possible ties to Iraq.
Posted by:tipper

#10  RED HANDED ???

I though this stuff would do more than discolor ones hands!
Posted by: Anonymous4052   2004-04-19 12:03:08 AM  

#9  Oh... Debka.... never mind.
Posted by: Shipman   2004-04-18 6:47:13 PM  

#8  Yes, I know; and I'm not disputing the story, only voicing skepticism until I read something sourced other than from DEBKA or from some Arab official. Obviously, the story is quite plausible.

But there've been plenty of times when Arabs have made claims about this or that, only to have them turn out to be BS; so I'm going to reserve judgement.
Posted by: Dave D.   2004-04-18 11:20:11 AM  

#7  there are plenty of sources for this, dave. http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&edition=us&q=jordan+chemical+al
Posted by: PlanetDan   2004-04-18 11:02:54 AM  

#6  Newsmax is always an interesting read, and I wouldn't do without it; but it's a source of perpetual annoyance for me that they haven't yet grasped the concept of linking to sources.

I hate having to empty my saltshaker over stories I strongly suspect are true, but can't verify by reading the sources myself: though I want to trust Newsmax, I won't until they start linking.

As to the story itself, I'm skeptical: it seems to me that Arabs have an ingrained habit of exaggerating, boasting, and speaking in extravagant terms. The bottom line is, wait and see what--if anything--comes of this story.
Posted by: Dave D.   2004-04-18 8:38:55 AM  

#5  virginian> because it is in the interest of all the anti-war forces to suppress it

Actually it seems in the interest of all the anti-war-with-Syria forces to suppress it, which currently seems to include the Bush administration given how they've got their hands tied in Iraq and seem to be trying to compromise with the other regional powers.

Syria as a supporter of Islamofascism? Who would have thought! I mean they were only openly supporting Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who would have thought they'd have ties to global terror!

The above paragraph was sarcastic in case anyone wondered.
Posted by: Aris Katsaris   2004-04-18 8:29:43 AM  

#4  If this "chemical charge" is a true chemical weapon, this story is BIG news. Syria has just become a state sponsor of Al Qaeda. I don't expect this story to get much play however, because it is in the interest of all the anti-war forces to suppress it, and that includes most of our western media.
Posted by: virginian   2004-04-18 8:04:35 AM  

#3  Pit stop in the Bekka Valley????
Posted by: Anonymous2U   2004-04-18 3:55:25 AM  

#2  so Debka was right about this..
Posted by: lyot   2004-04-18 3:50:41 AM  

#1  Interesting, wonder what kind of chemicals they were.
Posted by: Valentine   2004-04-18 1:57:52 AM  

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