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New Terror Threat

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VetteMuscle427

is out to lunch.
None
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/07/08/ridge.alqaeda/index.html

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A plot to carry out a large-scale terror attack against the United States in the near future is being directed by Osama bin Laden and other top al Qaeda members, senior intelligence officials said Thursday.

Bin Laden and his top lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahiri, are overseeing the attack plans from their remote hideouts somewhere along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, according to senior intelligence officials.

"This type of plotting, this type of operational activity, is being done with the direct direction and authorization of that senior leadership," said one official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Arrests of terror suspects in Europe and the Middle East resulted in the new warning, said Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.

"We lack precise knowledge about time, place and method of attack," he said. "But along with the CIA, FBI and other agencies, we are actively working to gain that knowledge."

A senior U.S. intelligence official said the warning was based on "a very strong body of intelligence."

The planned attack is "an effort to disrupt the democratic process" before November's elections, Ridge said.

Ridge said he had no specific or credible information about threats to the upcoming political conventions. The four-day Democratic convention kicks off July 26 in Boston, Massachusetts, and the Republican National Convention begins August 30 in New York City.

He also said the nation's color-coded terrorist threat level will remain at yellow, or elevated, he said.

"We have more protective measures in place at yellow today than we did six months or a year ago," Ridge said. "And there will be more put in place on a day-to-day basis every single day, for as long as the department exists."

"We know they have the capability to succeed and they also hold the mistaken belief that their attacks will have an impact on America's resolve," Ridge said.
 

VetteMuscle427

is out to lunch.
None
What do you guys think? A major attack before the election will definatly help Bush. I think the public would rally around him and realize Kerry is not the militant type that would take care of the terror problem.
 

snizo

Supply Officer
I don't know if it would help Bush. It depends on the attack and how much the D's want to risk blaming the current administration (as opposed to us all banding together again)

Meanwhile ... I could definitely see something showing up after an attack along the lines of:

We were told we were winning the war on terror. What happened?
 

nittany03

Recovering NFO. Herder of Programmers.
pilot
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Yeah, it's a question of just how sleazy the Dems want to be. Would they stab the current adminstration in the back and risk it backfiring? Let's hope the question stays academic.
 

Aviator4000

Registered User
It is very hard to say if another terror attack happened how people would vote. On one hand you have Ridge warning of another terror attack, and the mainstream liberal media accusing Ridge of coming out now and saying that the administration is just bringing this up to counter the Edwards bump in the polls (what a joke that is). So I say how stupid would they feel if another attack does occur (god forbid). On second thought they dominate mainstream media and I am SURE they can find a way to spin away and try and make Bush look like he is asleep at the wheel. I can see Kerry coming out and saying how he could have prevented the attacks if he was president. So it is very hard to predict what would happen if an attack occurs. Here is a good scenerio for Bush that you can't spin, a terrorist attack is foiled and a major terrorist cell is arrested. That reminds all the Americans with a short memory for these things that we are still in a dangerous world, and at the same time makes Bush look like his policy is working.

Only time will tell what will really happen. On a personal level I will say this. If we are attacked again, and it is a major attack (along the lines of 9/11 or worse), instead of me trying to get into the Navy BDCP I will be at the Marine enlisted recruiter applying for the earliest spot for an infantryman in bootcamp. :icon_rage :icon_rage :icon_rage
 

Squid

F U Nugget
pilot
Patmack18 said:
we oughta just nuke the afghan-pakistan boarder...


arrrgh. ye shall repell all boarders. batten the hatches, thar' she blows. shiver me timbers.


yes, i believe we will not put our tails between our legs and run like the spanish (perception is everything). we'll bring the fight to them, but with more ferocity.
 

TurnandBurn55

Drinking, flying, or looking busy!!
None
LOL... doesn't anyone remember Spain? A major terrorist attack at Atocha didn't exactly help the incumbent there.

Another hit on the US would probably just convince the electorate the the country is no safer now than it was two years ago...

'Bomb the vote' is becoming al-Qaeda's new motto. Timed after Michael Moore's latest propaganda? Yeah, you think he doesn't want to invigorate that commie's message that the Bush Admin is asleep at the wheel?
 

Fly Navy

...Great Job!
pilot
Super Moderator
Contributor
snizo said:
I don't know if it would help Bush. It depends on the attack and how much the D's want to risk blaming the current administration (as opposed to us all banding together again)

Meanwhile ... I could definitely see something showing up after an attack along the lines of:

Yes Snizo! Your avatar rules! ATHF Unites!
 

zuggerat

Registered User
nuke the paki-afghan border would definitely NOT BE COOL, it'd really screw us over politically, though it would be cool to watch on Fox News

...moab or a few daisy cutters would be a little more politically tame...especially with the nuclear stand off between pakistan and india mere miles away, need to set some sort of example policy wise

im sure Kim Jong II would crap his drawers too ;)
 

VetteMuscle427

is out to lunch.
None
Kim Jong Il is next month's problem... we'll deal with him soon enough. And after him: Iran, Syria, South East DC, etc.....
 

Kycntryboy

Registered User
pilot
Aviator4000 said:
I can see Kerry coming out and saying how he could have prevented the attacks if he was president.

I don't think that anybody would say something like that, all that would do is really piss off a lot of people especially if there is as many casualities as there was on 9/11. On a side note, I wish McCain would have accepted Kerry's Veep spot I think that would have done a lot for him, I can respect any politician who is willing to break the mold and say whats on his mind.
 

VetteMuscle427

is out to lunch.
None
You must have a lot of respect for Kerry then... That whole political mold of "holding a position".... he flip flops like a fish out of water! McCain might be moderate republican... but he is still a republican.
 

Slammer2

SNFO Advanced, VT-86 T-39G/N
Contributor
One of the ramblings that I've heard recently is that we know where osama is and that Bush is waiting until closer to elections to announce his capture/death. Personally, I think that it is a lot of bull. But even if thats the "horrible private agenda of the bush administration so that we can get oil", or whatever they're calling it this month, so what?? If we capture or kill that pig f***** then thats that. He's gone and we got rid of him. And if the military under President Bush can lead us to that victory of capturing or killing him, then I think that thats a pretty damn good job. But to hear that Bush is planning on calling the time and date of his capture is just crazy. If anything, that just proves that we're stronger and more capable.

And the other thing that I'm sure we'll hear is that osama is no longer the great threat that we once was and that we should have been focusing on other major terrorist and insurgent leaders. They'll probably say that his capture or death dosen't really mean too much because he's inactive now and other people have stepped up to take control. Well the reason that he's been so dang quiet is because we pound his a$$ everytime he tries to surface.

I heard this guy calling in to some radio station on the way in to work today complaining about Tom Ridge's report yesterday. He was saying something about how he "knows" that its just a ploy by Bush to "steal thunder" from the announcement of john edwards joining kerry. He said that he knew this was true because he made the announcement but we didn't raise the terror threat level up. I could just imagine the b****ing if another 9/11 scale attack happened. "Why didnt anyone say anything...." If all of these monday morning quarterback radio callers are so much smarter than the president and intelligence community, how come they aren't using their vast knowledge of terrorism, war, and geopolitics to stop all the violence in the world?

I hope that no attack like 9/11 ever happens again in the US. The best thing would be for us to foil some kind of plot and have a bunch of dead terrorists in the end.
 
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