A new plan of economic attack. From WND:
An Arabic-language jihadi website posted a message purporting to be "al-Qaida’s plan of economic attack" on the U.S. that included setting forest fires, according to the Northeast Intelligence Network.The six-point plan appeared Saturday and called for:
• attacks on the assets of large American companies all over the world;
• attacks on U.S. oil refineries;
• attacks on civilian airports with the goal of financially devastating U.S. airlines;
• deliberate pollution of food system;
• setting of fires in the forests – "especially those that provide the American market with the raw materials for the wood and paper and byproducts industries";
• attacks like those on the railway transportation lines in Spain;Last fall, WorldNetDaily reported on al-Qaida's threats against the forests of the U.S. and its allies – and pointed out the rash of devastating wildfires that rages through Europe, Australia and the U.S.
Law enforcement officials suspected several of the California wildfires that killed 18, consumed more than 718,000 acres and destroyed more than 2,400 homes in 10 days were deliberately set – increasing speculation there is a terror connection to the blazes.
Only one man was arrested – Dikran Armouchian, 23, of Pasadena. He pleaded not guilty and has not yet been tried.
Damage estimates exceeded $2 billion. The fires were among the deadliest and costliest disasters in California.
Meanwhile, there is evidence terrorism was behind other wildfires in Europe and Australia last summer.
In the devastating forest fires that swept through the Maures mountains near the French Riviera in late July, investigators found Molotov cocktails, or gasoline bombs, were used to ignite the blazes that killed at least four and destroyed 50 homes.
Luc Jousse, the mayor of Roque-Sur-Argens, called the fires "a new form of terrorism." President Jacques Chirac threatened those responsible with "sanctions of an extraordinary gravity."
The fires in France were the worst ever in the region.
In addition, southern Italy also was hit last summer with devastating wildfires also believed to be the result of arson.
In August, Australian authorities launched an investigation into reports al-Qaida planned to spark brushfires in a new wave of devastating terror attacks.
A June 25 FBI memo to United States law enforcement agencies revealed a senior al-Qaida detainee claimed to have developed a plan to start midsummer forest fires in the U.S.
The terrorist hoped to mimic the destruction that devastated Canberra last summer, killing four people and destroying more than 500 homes, as well as in other parts of Australia.
The memo, obtained by the Arizona Republic newspaper, said the unidentified detainee revealed he hoped to create several large, catastrophic wildfires at once.
"The detainee believed that significant damage to the U.S. economy would result and once it was realized that the fires were terrorist acts, U.S. citizens would put pressure on the U.S. government to change its policies," the memo said.
The detainee told investigators his plan called for three or four operatives to travel to the U.S. and set timed explosive devices in forests and grasslands.
"Australian security authorities are aware of reports that al-Qaida has considered starting brushfires in the U.S. as a form of terrorist attack," said a spokeswoman Australian Attorney General Daryl Williams. "Arson attacks are just one of a wide range of scenarios which have been considered as part of our investigations into al-Qaida's ability to conduct attacks in Australia."
In fact, Arab terrorists in Israel have started dozens of major forest fires over the years.
As far back as 1988, Israeli police caught more than a dozen Palestinian adults in the act of setting fires, while other Arabs confessed to arson after arrest. Some fires followed specific calls by underground Arab terrorists. A leaflet issued by the Palestinian uprising's underground leadership called for "the destruction and burning of the enemy's properties, industry and agriculture."
Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir said at the time: "The need to set fires, which also leads to murders, is in my eyes worse than fundamentalism."
Israeli nature reserve authorities said 408 fires in May and June of 1988 destroyed 400,000 acres of land, nearly seven times the acreage burned from 1974 to 1986.
Last year, Gilad "Gidi" Mastai, chief ranger in the Galilee region of Israel, told the Jerusalem Post: "It's extremely hard to find arsonists, just like it's hard to close off the Green Line to terrorists. The forests here are on the front line."
But, he said, the vast majority of deliberate fires are started by Arabs with political motives.
Forest rangers often need the help of the Israel Defense Forces to battle the terror blazes.
Arson cases account for one-third of Israeli forest fires. "Political" arsonists cause the most with negligent hikers a close second.
If these kinds of attacks start happening, then I feel that we (meaning either just the U.S. or the West in general, if Europe has any spine) will have to confront Saudi Arabia directly and hold them responsible. By that I mean that we should destroy them, since they are the money behind the terrorists, and no amount of hand-wringing on their part will convinced me otherwise.
Perhaps an even better solution would be to warn them now that any attacks will be considered as coming from them, so they had better get on the stick an become the Arab solution to the global problem or face destruction.
Am I the only one that thinks that flattening Mecca will have a profound effect on the nature of the confrontation between Islam and the West?
Yes.
And the barbarians also burned Rome in the
5th century.
This is quite in keeping with the tactics of
barbarians.
Now is the time to stop bribing, cajoling, and
soothing the barbarians. They must be dealt with
and the enemy within must also be dealt with.
Not to say if this is true or not, but the name of the guy arrested for setting fires last year - "Dikran Armouchian, 23, of Pasadena" is surely Armenian-Christian, rather than muslim.
I have often thought about how easy it would be for terrorists to do this. I have heard of some fires being deliberately set in Canada but usually it was either a pyro or someone looking for work fighting the fires.
As for the quote: "The detainee believed that significant damage to the U.S. economy would result and once it was realized that the fires were terrorist acts, U.S. citizens would put pressure on the U.S. government to change its policies," the memo said.
Yup, the government would certainly change its policies - like for example kicking all of their sorry asses off this continent.
Good grief. Last summer, as I watched the fires breaking out with such ferocity and over such a large area, I thought that the terrorists would surely be inspired with the possibilities. I wrote the FBI about my concerns. It seems, thankfully, that I wasn't the only one who was suspicious.
Mass exodus, please.
Remember that part of al queda's plan is to spread fear by disseminating false information, or disinformation as the intel types like to call it. Forrest fires are a common occurrence in the Southwest and California. They are started by lightning, carlessness, etc. The Indians were calling the Great Smokies by that name long before the Europeans came because of the wildfires. I doubt bin laden and crew would risk their limited resources on burning down some trees and killing a few squirrels. They are more interested in big targets that earn them respect and additional funding in the Muslim world.
As everyone knows the war that we are fighting is not a conventional war. So why do we try to make it out to be one. We don't need all of those soldiers in iraq. There is nothing that we can do to stop the sunnis, shits, or kurds from killing each other. Let us get out of there and create our own gurilla war. a mosque bombing here or there will keep them in check and show that we are not afraid of them. when it comes to war I say do unto others as they have done to you. they want to burn our workers we should burn theirs. they want to blow up our hummers we should blow up theirs, even if they are in the US. During Vietnam one of the most sucessful forms of fighting was taking the Viet Cong sniper tactic back at them. The same applies here with the terrorists tactics.
Smokey the Bear is gonna be very upset. Muslims don't do picnics anyway, and they only shoot people, not wildlife. So, if we see one in the woods, we most likely know what they're doing.
Mistake them for a deer, and plug 'em.