Terror plot foiled...

[CVsIS250]

According to sources, the plot was to take place around the anniversary of 9/11 and was to have killed as many people.

— The plan called for the flights to be blown up in-flight almost simultaneously, close enough so that flight controllers would not be able to ground planes, and far enough out in the Atlantic so that pilots would have no place to land.
— The plan was to have the attacks carried out near the 9-11anniversary, but apparently no specific date had been set for the attacks.
— The attacks were planned for "up to 10 flights" on four airlines: Continental, United, American, and British Airways.
— The loss of life was planned to be "comparable to the death toll of 9/11,” meaning close to 3,000 dead.
— The attack was planned as a suicide mission.
— The official said that there is "very good reason to believe that this is al-Qaida.”

Props to the Government for figuring this one out!

So I ask you all...blind luck or better systems in place now.

CV

[DASHOCKER]

Props to the Government for figuring this one out!

Props goes to Scotland Yard not Blair or Bush for unraveling the plot. You know they will try and take the credit There will unfortunately be a long line of plots no thanks to the U.S stance with Israel. France has nothing to worry about, and can contiue to sleep on their hammocks. Not to hijack your thread but, did you guys here the story about the 11 foreign exchange students who came to the U.S recently from Egypt on student visas? 8 of those students are unaccounted for. Possible sleepers? One of the 9/11 hijackers came here on a student visa if you recall. This current conflict involving Israel has done it now.

[oohpapi44]

The students have NOT been classified a threat by anyone or anyplace. 2 of the 3 found students were separated from their group at the airport and got lost, speaking no English they contacted the only person they knew in the US, a man in NJ and made their way there where he promptly contacted the police and the situation is OVER for those three.

NONE OF THE MISSING STUDENTS HAVE BEEN CLASSIFIED AS A TERROR THREAT.

The govt will get props from me as well, they are doing their job finally and it is much appreciated.

[CVsIS250]

Originally Posted by DASHOCKER

Props goes to Scotland Yard not Blair or Bush for unraveling the plot. You know they will try and take the credit There will unfortunately be a long line of plots no thanks to the U.S stance with Israel. France has nothing to worry about, and can contiue to sleep on their hammocks. Not to hijack your thread but, did you guys here the story about the 11 foreign exchange students who came to the U.S recently from Egypt on student visas? 8 of those students are unaccounted for. Possible sleepers? One of the 9/11 hijackers came here on a student visa if you recall. This current conflict involving Israel has done it now.

I heard that those students that posed a threat were found and the others were considered to not be a problem.

Anyway, to the subject at hand. Scotland Yard is like Homeland Security/CIA/FBI. They all worked together on this one. SY did not do it alone.

CV

[DASHOCKER]

Originally Posted by CVsGX470

I heard that those students that posed a threat were found and the others were considered to not be a problem.

Anyway, to the subject at hand. Scotland Yard is like Homeland Security/CIA/FBI. They all worked together on this one. SY did not do it alone.

CV

Your right. Law enforcement should never be lax in this day in age. Communication between various agencies is key.

[DASHOCKER]

Regarding the students

Three Egyptian students in custody; 8 remain missing
Group of 11 didn't show up at school in Montana
From Kevin Bohn and Jeanne Meserve
CNN Washington Bureau



Wednesday, August 9, 2006; Posted: 9:20 p.m. EDT (01:20 GMT)


The students would have had to register fingerprints on a machine such as this one at JFK International Airport.


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Three of the 11 Egyptian students who failed to show up at a Montana university last month were taken into custody Wednesday.

The FBI on Saturday issued a nationwide alert to law enforcement agencies. Included were the students' names, ages, passport numbers and photographs.

"At the present time there are no known associations to any terrorist groups. Approach with caution," the lookout bulletin said. (Watch Homeland Security work on the mystery -- 2:22)

Mohamed Ragab Mohamed Abd Alla and Ebrahim Mabrouk Moustafa Abdou, both 22, turned themselves in to police in Manville, New Jersey, after seeing news reports that federal agents were looking for them, a law enforcement source said.

The two men showed up at the police station and asked why they were being sought, the source said.

Sam Aboelata, the owner of a Manville restaurant, said Abdou and Abd Alla were given his number after getting lost and calling their parents. They were distressed and crying when they arrived at his eatery, he said.

Aboelata dropped Abdou and Abd Alla off at Manville police headquarters, said Police Chief Mark Peltack.

Eslam Ibrahim Mohamed El-Dessouki, 21, was arrested without incident about 11 a.m. (noon ET) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, according to a statement from FBI Special Agent Richard Kolko.

"El-Dessouki was taken into custody on an administrative immigration violation as an out-of-status student," Kolko said.

El-Dessouki "was located through source information," a federal law enforcement official said.

Authorities gave no indication what he was doing in Minnesota, but a family member said El-Dessouki went to visit relatives and that he wanted to go to school there.

"Preliminary investigation has not identified any credible or imminent threat posed by El-Dessouki or the other missing Egyptian students," Kolko said.

The search continues for the eight remaining Egyptian students, authorities said.

Federal authorities began thoroughly tracking international students after learning that one of the 9/11 hijackers was in the country on an expired student visa.

FBI and immigration officials confirmed there's no evidence pointing to criminal activity or a terrorist threat. However, The Associated Press quoted a law enforcement official as saying that the students could be sent home when found because they violated the terms of their visas.

They were part of an all-male group of 17 students that landed July 29 at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. Six of them arrived later at Montana State University in Bozeman as part of an exchange program; the other 11 did not, prompting school officials to contact the government.

A source with knowledge of the investigation said the men, who range in age from 17 to 22, may be staying in New York, visiting relatives and trying to find jobs.

"We have run their names through the wringer," a Department of Homeland Security official said.

U.S. authorities are working with foreign intelligence agencies to make sure there is nothing suspicious in the students' backgrounds, federal sources said. Those sources added that 20 students applied for student visas to go to Montana State, but three applicants were denied.

"We do want to talk to them. But at this point there's no reason to believe they pose any criminal or terrorist threat," said Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Julie Myers, who heads Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The remaining eight students were identified as:

• El Sayed Ahmed Elsayed Ibrahim, 20

• Alaa Abd El Fattah Ali El Bahnasawi, 20

• Ahmed Refaat Saad El Moghazi El Laket, 19

• Ahmed Mohamed Mohamed Abou El Ela, 21

• Mohamed Ibrahim Elsayed El Moghazy, 20

• Moustafa Wagdy Moustafa El Gafary, 18

• Mohamed Saleh Ahmed Maray, 20

• Mohamed Ibrahim Fouaad El Shenawy, 17

Mike Ahlers contributed to this report

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/09/egy...nts/index.html

[DASHOCKER]

Sad reality that profiling is in effect for folks from the Middle East.

[CVsIS250]

Originally Posted by DASHOCKER

Sad reality that profiling is in effect for folks from the Middle East.

I agree. I don't like it either. I just can't give you a better start. You've got to start somewhere and you can't investigate everyone. I just don't know how to prevent this from happening...

CV

[Lil4X]

Originally Posted by DASHOCKER

Sad reality that profiling is in effect for folks from the Middle East.

Agreed. Profiling smacks of discrimination, but realistically we don't have the resources to detain and investigate everyone - we have to go with the most likely terrorists. We can't afford to be too PC on this.

The TSA policy of searches is laughable - targeting random passengers, patting down little old Chinese ladies and even the pilot for weapons (I watched them darn near strip search the pilot before boarding the aircraft at DIA). Oh yes, THESE are the people we should worry about. I'm sorry, but if green-skinned humanoids over seven feet tall are the ones blowing up aircraft, subways, and vegetable markets, HANG the protocols, they OUGHT to be at the top of the suspect list. We can search grandma later.

IF we had some way to quickly check everyone, male, female, adults, kids - even pets - I'd say, sure, screen everyone - but sad to say, given our inept TSA, we have to concentrate our resources and work with the tools at hand.

: A big congrats to the Yard for foiling this one - with the help of the Pakistani security people. One of the best defenses against terror is communication between national security forces. Well done, chaps! There would have been a couple thousand people dogpaddling in mid Atlantic right now if not for your professionalism

[mmarshall]

Originally Posted by DASHOCKER

Props goes to Scotland Yard not Blair or Bush for unraveling the plot. You know they will try and take the credit There will unfortunately be a long line of plots no thanks to the U.S stance with Israel. France has nothing to worry about, and can contiue to sleep on their hammocks. Not to hijack your thread but, did you guys here the story about the 11 foreign exchange students who came to the U.S recently from Egypt on student visas? 8 of those students are unaccounted for. Possible sleepers? One of the 9/11 hijackers came here on a student visa if you recall. This current conflict involving Israel has done it now.

Scotland Yard indeed is one of the world's best intelligence agencies...perhaps second only to Israel's Mossad. It gets strong support ( not without reason ) from both Bush and Tony Blair....though Blair's government, of course, does most of the financing.
France has plenty to worry about........Paris and French airlines are as vulnerable as those in any other country.
Israel the reason for this plot? Nonsense. Terrorists have been hitting airliners long before the current Israeli raids on Southern Lebanon. If Israel and Hezbollah were not currently at war the terrorists would find some other excuse.

[DASHOCKER]

Originally Posted by mmarshall

Scotland Yard indeed is one of the world's best intelligence agencies...perhaps second only to Israel's Mossad.

The Mosaad??? Following the words of our chaps at Scotland Yard, this is poppy cok.

[CVsIS250]

Originally Posted by mmarshall

Scotland Yard indeed is one of the world's best intelligence agencies...perhaps second only to Israel's Mossad. It gets strong support ( not without reason ) from both Bush and Tony Blair....though Blair's government, of course, does most of the financing.
France has plenty to worry about........Paris and French airlines are as vulnerable as those in any other country.
Israel the reason for this plot? Nonsense. Terrorists have been hitting airliners long before the current Israeli raids on Southern Lebanon. If Israel and Hezbollah were not currently at war the terrorists would find some other excuse.

I firmly believe that France has taken their hard-lined anti-USA ideas to the extreme because they are doing everything they can to disassociate themselves from us. I honestly believe that they think they will not be harmed if they do this.

ALSO...was listening to the radio and heard that all of this stuff is believed to be the start of WWIII (which we have discussed). One idea was from Glenn Beck (I know, he is nutty). He feels that Russia is alligning with Iran and Venezuala to attack us. Maybe not militarily but economically. If Iran and Venezuala can reduce our oil imports we all know that would hurt us. However, it would hurt them too IMHO. Also, heard that a physical attack would take place too and that the first step would be these planes. Other internal attacks in USA would occur too. I think that is why we are at Red.

CV

[mmarshall]

Originally Posted by DASHOCKER

Sad reality that profiling is in effect for folks from the Middle East.

I don't particularly like the idea of Mid-East profiling either. I would probably find it offensive if I was from that part of the world, but unfortunately under the circumstances we live in today, there is little alternative. You can't just wave a magic wand and expect terrorists to run up to you and turn themselves in. Scotland Yard has just proved, once again, that profiling works. And it is a fact of life that, like it or not, most of the major terrorists in the last several decades, outside of the Irish IRA, have been either Middle Easterners or people strongly connected with groups from that area. Of course, that does not mean that every man wearing a turban or kafiyyeh or every woman wrapped up from head to toe works for Osama Ben Laden, but the connections are often more than just co-incidental.
A smart terrorist ( and I sure hope this doesn't give them ideas ) will disguise himself or herself to look like somebody else.....( maybe a Boy Scout leader or a clergyman )......instead of the traditional Mid-East appearance, so even profiling, of course, only has limited effectiveness.

[oohpapi44]

ALSO...was listening to the radio and heard that all of this stuff is believed to be the start of WWIII (which we have discussed). One idea was from Glenn Beck (I know, he is nutty). He feels that Russia is alligning with Iran and Venezuala to attack us. Maybe not militarily but economically. If Iran and Venezuala can reduce our oil imports we all know that would hurt us. However, it would hurt them too IMHO. Also, heard that a physical attack would take place too and that the first step would be these planes. Other internal attacks in USA would occur too. I think that is why we are at Red.

It's not that far fetched of an idea and if you want to take it a step further 9/11 was the first step of the economic war. The attack was never designed aim at killing Americans. The terrorist considered them 'collatera damage' but instead it was aimed at crippling our economy. We can't sit back and say that it wasn't there intent because obviously the intended target was hit. So if it was originally about killing as many Americans as possible, why not hit the towers at 9:30 or 10 instead of when you knew there would be less people. Or even worse, there are 60,000 people at a football stadium every Sunday, why not hit there? Someone else has mentioned the value of the $$$ declining worldwide for various reasons so it is something to take notice of. Are we playing directly into the hands of our enemies?

[mmarshall]

Originally Posted by CVsGX470

I firmly believe that France has taken their hard-lined anti-USA ideas to the extreme because they are doing everything they can to disassociate themselves from us. I honestly believe that they think they will not be harmed if they do this.

I understand what you are saying...that they think they will not be harmed because they squabble with Bush. Well, we'll see. I don't want to see any civilized country ( including France, even though I have a low opinion of them ) targeted for terrorist attacks, but the French government made a lot of enemies last year when they had the clash with the Muslim rioters. Some of those rioters may be looking for a way to get even.