From William Webb:
It is time to shut down the political carnival that is the 9/11 commission and return to focusing on the next big strikes aimed at the United States. Al-Qaida communiqués and warnings from intelligence heads around the world that you don't need a top-secret security clearance to understand have been in the public domain for nearly two years now. As before 9/11, the "chatter" is starting up again--and the noise is not a pleasant one. This is the chosen year. From bus and train bombings, to setting wildfires, to a mass casualty situation that an al-Qaida spokesman predicted would kill at least 100,000--the global jihad continues while the 9/11 political carnival attempts to place blame for the past.Sunday, Condoleezza Rice warned of possible terror attacks on Fox news. The opportunity for terrorists to try to influence the election, as was the case last month in Spain, appears to be an opportunity that would "be too good to pass up for them," she said.
"I think that we do have to take very seriously the thought that the terrorists might have learned, we hope, the wrong lesson from Spain. I think we also have to take seriously that they might try during the cycle leading up to the election to do something," she said.
ABS news reported yesterday that an intelligence source suggests an imminent attack may be planned. "The intelligence, received a week ago but secret until now, is from known Muslim extremists who suggested an attack -- possibly in the U.S. -- was imminent, and that operatives were already "in place."
To savvy readers of Jihad Watch, Front Page, debka files, Worldnet Daily, The Foundation For The Defense of Democracies, Williamwebb.org and a host of other fine websites and blogs, Ms. Rice's words and the ABC News report come as no surprise.The Islamist's stated purpose is to kill as many non-Muslims as possible and Americans are at the top of the target list. Bin-Laden in particular has been quite specific in outlining his plans.
We have been lulled into a false sense of security because we haven't been hit within the United States since 9/11. The fact is, there have been a long list of potential events that have been thwarted--from publicized events like shoe-bomber Richard Reed, to the Semtex found in the bus station in Philadelphia--to the reasons behind the much-maligned terror warnings issued by the Department of Homeland security.
The 9/11 commission seems unable or unwilling to consider that we are fighting a global religious insurgency, a jihad from radical and not-so-radical Islamists that is gaining momentum throughout the Muslim world. To the Islamists, it is a RELIGIOUS WAR, an obligation commanded by their God. It is a sad and potentially lethal practice of cynical politics preventing our elected officials to continue to speak otherwise.
When you mix a religious war that one side fails to acknowledge due to a cancer called political correctness, a war on terrorism that is fought with politicians on both sides of the aisle continuing to oppose common-sense domestic intelligence and counter-terrorism policies, and then throw in weapons of mass destruction--you have a prescription for a horror much greater than 9/11.
Just in case you've missed it, al-Qaida has possessed chemical and biological capabilities for sometime now and have not been shy about expressing their plans for using them on American and other western cities.
There have also been reports that al-Qaida has managed to acquire at least one nuclear weapon--the latest coming from Ayman Al-Zawahiri last month in an interview of Zawahiri biographer, Haymid Mir, for an Australian television station.
In conducting research for my upcoming book, I have asked several world intelligence and political leaders whether they could unequivocally state that al-Qaida has NOT acquired WMDs. Not one has been able to reassure me that militant Islamists haven't been able to acquire one.
Instead, the directors of MI-5, CIA, FBI and other top intelligence agencies have issued continued warnings during the past three years concerning militant Islamists attempting to acquire and use WMDs.
MEMRI, the Middle East Media Research Institute, has chronicled the disturbing warnings for some time now. A particularly telling article appeared in January.
In Special Dispatch 650 published on January 27, 2004 Louis Attiya Allah, an alias for one of the leading al-Qaida ideologues in Saudi Arabia, analyzes bin-Laden's most recent speech. One of bin-Ladens statements was, "We continue on our path and in our Jihad against America. We continue to strike at America and we expect that our next blow will cause the collapse of the situation [in Saudi Arabia] due to the vengeful response, the first result of which will be the direct occupation of the oil sources and America's entrance [into Saudi Arabia] with the aim of changing the situation from its foundations."Mr. Allah goes on to help explain the significance and writes, "It will be a surprising blow, that is, one that is completely unexpected. They cannot conceive or imagine the way in which it will be carried out... It is a great blow. That is, the losses that will be caused to America and the Western world in its wake will be very great. Due to its magnitude, the blow will change the international balances of powers..."
Now I am the first to admit there is a tendency in some middle eastern cultures for verbal hyperbole and wildly outlandish conspiracy theories, but you must ask yourself: Why would bin-Laden try to reach out to government leaders who banished him from Saudi Arabia and warn them of a coming "blow?"
What destruction would have to occur that would elicit a response that Mr. Allah predicts, "America will take a mighty blow, will go berserk, and will decide to punish the extremists deep in the Arabian Peninsula, by means of direct occupation."It may not be a WMD, but I would contend that the next attack, or series of attacks are not going to be tactical strikes. And as many have warned, may people are going to have to die this time to get the politicians and the rest of the American public to finally wake up.
In July 2003, radical Saudi Sheik Nasser bin Hamd al-Fahad issued a fatwa, or religious edict, granting legal religious authority to the use of weapons of mass destruction against both the United States and Great Britain and their civilian populations. The article and analysis by Yoni Fighel and Moshe Marzouk can be found at International Policy Institute for Counterterrorism.
Again, you can view this as rabid exaggeration, or a pious Muslim leader taking care to get religious blessing before using WMDs. Why did bin-Laden seek out the fatwa?
For anyone familiar with the operations of Al-Qaida, this fatwa should serve as a grim, horrific warning to read, listen to, and most importantly, understand. Osama bin Laden has cloaked his next planned major mass murder in religious legitimacy by obtaining these rulings prior to the strikes
There are literally hundreds of other articles and reports in which bin-Laden, al-Zawahiri or others promise mortal blows against the United States with casualties ranging from 100,000 to 10 million. Do you think it is prudent to ignore them as the 9/11 commission's findings have proven were the case pre 9/11?
What can you do? Write your elected officials now and demand they pay attention and take necessary action today. Demand the end to the politicization of homeland defense. Write media outlets and demand they drop their biases and start asking the questions and demanding REAL solutions to homeland security, intelligence and defense.
Prepare yourself for the worst--and start thinking of the protections you will demand from the politicians if the big blow happens.
There have also been reports that al-Qaida has managed to acquire at least one nuclear weapon—the latest coming from Ayman Al-Zawahiri last month in an interview of Zawahiri biographer, Haymid Mir, for an Australian television station.
Is this for real? Or is it propoganda? This would not fare well for Islam...
Assuming the worst, and a WMD strike on continental USA occurs as a result of jihadi actions, the immediate, likely American response would be to turn large swathes of the ME into irradiated glass.
But for Muslims living in the US, I'd bet that such an attack would result in a maelstrom against that community. An absolute nightmare scenario for America's Muslims. Do they not realize that Americans hold their Second Amendment rights sacred, and that the Muslims would have more to fear from vigilante retribution than any governmental sanction? I could envision standing militiae springing up specifically with the purpose of wreaking vengeance on all Muslims in a given community.
"...and start thinking about the protections you will demand from the politicians if the big blow happens." Certainly, down the road, the majority would demand the expulsion of ALL Muslims from the US, the interim internment of same and criminal trials for any Muslim involved in such attack. Damn the Bill of Rights, due process, etc. My read on the American public mood would suggest an all-out, armed response against those seen to have been responsible for any further outrage against terra Americana.
I hope that at that point the other Western nations will join in with what Earl describes above - hopefully even Germany and France would wake up were a WMD to be used on the USA, UK or any other of us Western brethren. That ought to shock any Chamberlains amongst us...
FEMA is preparing for Anthrax strikes, I suspect that the Federal Government understands that the Anthrax attacks of 2001 were not perpetuated by a lone upset American but were instead a prelude to a massive strike against the United States. Airborne Dispersal has the potential with the sort of anthrax used in 2001 of killing millions. It will be virtually impossible to stop the attack since all it takes is some small airplane with a homemade dispersal apparatus. That the attackers will die also is of little consequence since the strike itself will be of such magnitude as to make 9/11 seem like Child's play.
Our failure to round up Saddam's WMD's quickly will come back to haunt us and will taint all the successes of the Bush administration to this point. We are not acting as if we are at war...
The problem for the Arab world will be the terrible consequences of the attack. Bin Laden doesn't understand us nor does he understand just how massively we can retaliate. The Death will be on a massive scale.
These are depressing times we live in and I worry that my 3 beautiful children will see a much harsher world than I ever faced.
Pierre
This scenario is so horrifying as to be almost ludicrous. That is why people won't really discuss it openly. Don't expect to hear Dan Rather talking about it on the evening news.
Regardless of what you think about Israel, Iraq, the war on terror, the patriot act, or George Bush, the fact remains: These people want these weapons to use them on us. Once they have them, they will be used. Period.
I'm sort of a liberal myself, but the democratic party in the US has totally lost it. When I hear idealogical talk from democrats about economic issues that are chiefly phenomena of the business cycle and a normally functioning free market economy, it seems trivial compared to what we're facing right now.
Western governments have to win this thing for the sake of all humanity. You haven't seen unrest and dissent until a 5-figure WMD attack takes place.
Three words: Trinitite parking lots
I agree with the emminant attack on the US by the jihadist. It just seems people have their heads in the sand. WHEN it happens, not IF it happens, you will see Texas men and women arm themselves and do everything they can to reward such stupidity from the Muslims and protect this country. As the bible says, "There will be blood up to the hips." I am prepared to fight. How about you?
I've been ready for about 2 years, 7 months, and 9 days.....somewhere around there. Muslims living in America had better pray to their rock that nothing else happens.
This isn't about being politically correct anymore, this is survival.
if we lose a city the response should be immediate i think it takes 35 minutes for one of our minuteman missiles to reach mecca at the same time cairo tehran and damascus should also be hit those are the 4 main countries that preach jihad on every medium at the same time inter or expell every muslim from the country then after some time send in the marines followed by the red cross and followed by christian missionaries [to replace their worshiping of death with how to worship life]
Dearborn, MI is effectively a Muslim city, among other concentrations of Muslims in MI. But, have those good denizens never heard of the "Michigan Militia"? I can see them coming down from UP like the proverbial Horsemen of the Apocalypse should an islamist strike occur again on American soil. I would NOT want to be a MI National Guardsman trying to keep those boys away from the mosques in Dearborn.
(Yes, I thought carefully before posting this. But my innumerable trips Stateside over the decades have made me come to appreciate and respect American patriotism... don't mess with it)
“America will take a mighty blow, will go berserk, and will decide to punish the extremists deep in the Arabian Peninsula, by means of direct occupation.”
This sounds alot like standard Arab desert warfare tactics, doesn't it? Freak out the enemy, lead him into an ambush...I should catch up on my T.E.Lawrence.
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earl writes: "Do they not realize that Americans hold their Second Amendment rights sacred, and that the Muslims would have more to fear from vigilante retribution than any governmental sanction?"
No, prob'ly not. They wouldn't know alot about our past troubles [such as lynchings, race riots, etc.] either. America on a rip is a frightening thing. We kill each other in great numbers apparently for fun- imagine what raging crowds would do?
Earl thanks for the words, and yes all hell would break lose in the united states on all muslims; this is to be expected in order to save the country we love. All religions will come together to fight the islamic devil and its muslim voice. And victory will be ours for the sake of the whole world. It is indeed sad that articles like this are not printed in the public media, but as spencer pointed out, thay are afraid of the back lash on muslims in the u.s. Well if another attack comes in this magnatude, thay will not have to be afraid, there will be pay back. Robert Spencer's book should be read and it should be followed, because if we don't put up a fight, we will lose everything to the muslim.
You forgot our worst enemy. I would start with Saudi as they finance so much of the Devils "religion"
Rogue nukes, yeah.
Sources relate an uncorroborated story of a "6-pack" of compact, ex-Soviet, tactical, "battlefield" devices, each of 5 kilotons yield, which were pilfered by the Russian mafia in 1995 or '96.
Allegedly, two of these were sold to the House of Saud, two to Iran, the mafiosi kept one and the last was purchased by Saddam Hussein.
(It's useful to conceive of the adversary in this "War on Terror" as not the Islamo-fascists alone, but their ubiquitous running-dogs as well, plus their accomplices in diverse criminal mafias - motivated by sheer opportunism - to boot. ... I know, it all sounds a bit like SPECTRE).
The fate of these armaments? the Russian mafia retains its bomb on ice somewhere in Siberia; Saddam's was deconstructed and made the subject of reverse-engineering; likewise one of the Iranian bombs, with the other salted away for emergencies.
The duo which the Saudis bought are not operable today, as they haven't been maintained or serviced. One lies locked in a bunker under a remote dune-field in the Rub el-Khali, the other's in an armoured vault beneath a Prince's pleasure-place, to be shown off to special guests.
However, Saudi Arabia supposedly has two more A-bombs, a pair from the run of 22 which were manufactured by the Pakistanis in 2000 - '01, for whose development-program Saudi Arabia paid the Pakistanis most handsomely.
One of these went into the lab for research and copying, the other's kept on permanent alert-status next to a fueled-up Saudi F-15 at a desert air-base....
It should be seen that - if the above disposition of nukes is actually the truth - the antagonists have sufficient to perpetrate some horrible deeds of terrorism, but lack a "nuclear war-fighting capability": for that, you need not a handful, but dozens or scores of bombs.
This is because, once nuclear exchanges commence, there's a stark requirement for enough devices to survive the aggressor's first-strike, retaliate comprehensively, vitally then remaining in possession of a further stock, to threaten launching once the enemy's arsenals are used up.
Of course, the calculus above becomes totally obsolete if the Jihadis manage to overthrow the incumbent government in Pakistan - which they're striving hourly to do.
Then, with Islamabad's contemporary stockpile of up to 50 warheads, plus its ample missile deliver-systems, they'll definitely obtain a "nuclear war-fighting capacity", one of their prime objectives....
(Dr Abdul Qadir Khan has customarily described his knock-off of 1970s Red Chinese replicas of 1960s Soviet designs not as "the Pakistani Bomb", but as "the Islamic Bomb".)
as for the post about minutemans,we wouldnt have to wait that long. there are probably subs closer to targets in the ME. as for the michigan militia, its good to see them back. they got bad press during bubba's rein. remember when public enemy number one was any white man with a gun? how the stupid democrats long for those days. if any anti muslim riots broke out in this country after an attack, i'm sure the big city mayors will try to put an end to it. i fear them more.
All of this bravado talk sounds good and everything,but in the end it is still just rethorics.
If we had to put all these words into action,now that would be a completely different story....
Other attacks will probably happen,here in the US,and we will continue to talk and analyze and to listen to investigating commissions talking and analyzing and pointing the fingers to political opponents,and the liberal media will put a twist to it ,and the "american-muslims"will celebrate in the privacy of their homes and they will continue to plan future attacks.
The time to act is NOW,not after another attack.
The biggest threath is not Saudi Arabia...yes we should bomb Mecca,but just as a symbolic show of force and determination.
The most dangerous enemy is right here in our communities,the muslim diaspora ,the community that nobody dears to expose for fear of not offending them...the american-muslims ,that our activist judges and our liberal media are fighting so hard to protect.
America has to strike first,in a proactive rather than reactive way,and strike hard.
America has to inflict such a horrible catastrophe on the muslim world ,that even after 1000 years,muslims would remember it,if any of them will still be alive to tell the story.
Frankly this sounds like an amaterish attempt at paychological warfare by jihadists to me.Not unlike the recent trash talk by Hamas after their leaders were killed. Muslims are generally cowards who prefer to engage in sneak attacks as I don't recall any warning being issued prior to Sept 11. I also don't recall any advance warning being given about the planned attacks in the US over the Christmas holidays that were stopped by the government. So it does not sound reasonable to me that cowardly Muslims would announce what was coming. It's also very difficult to use WMD effectively as the anthraxs attacks showed, I believe "only" six people died in those attacks.
Fox News just announced explosions have been heard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. That's all they know for the moment.
Nuclear weapons are high maintenance systems. As some may be aware, uranium rusts and even though the internal mechanisms are in a vacuum, plastic components in the device off C02 and other volatile gases. For plutonium based weapons, the pit generates thermal energy that brings the device's static operating temperature to approximately 100 degrees farenheit. Component degredation requires a very high duty cycle for assembled systems, the majority of plutonium weapons are never in a fully assembled state for this reason. Not exactly a friendly substance to deal with either, if you made physical contact with plutonium you'd be dead from its purely toxic effects within hours. These devices are equivalant to what the US was blowing up in Arizona in the 1950's, people used to go and watch. Not exactly the civilization ending devices some seem believe they are. Certainly, one going off in an urban setting would be a cataclysm - but only a localised one. The asymetrics of this conflict makes the current rhetoric by the bloggers is well, hard to understand; a conflict of this nature would be kilotons vs gigatons. The islamofascists are weak, they know it, we on the other hand don't, why be scared, isn't that how you define victory, who's afraid of who? Arabs have always been big on bluster, unfortunately this confrontation may get them anihilated.
bobnoxious and h.g. make very good points. i saw on cable last night a one-hour documentary called "al qaeda 2.0." one point that stood out is that the intelligence community believes generally that karachi, pakistan, is the most virulent anti-western city, and that al qaeda swarms the place in droves. if a nuclear exchange with the islamic world commenced, i dare say karachi would be a top priority if we were to resort to n.u.t.s. as opposed to m.a.d.
contemporary correction: m.a.d. should probably now be changed to m.e.a.d. for middle east assured destruction
Interesting article. How would one draw US ground forces into Saudi? Overthrow the House of Saud then shut off the oil? Sink a US carrier battlegroup (drowning)with Saudi missile batteries? Once US ground forces were in Saudi would a Muslim uprising destroy the force? Not likely without airpower.
How might one destroy the international balance of power? The only way that this very one-sided balance might be changed is an alliance of Islamofacists and a nuclear power. What nation would risk US nuclear retaliation?
Islamofacists could sneak nukes into the US and destroy several cities, perhaps even decapitate US leadership. The economy would crash but the NCA would still exist and one very angry, nuclear armed America would be looking for some serious payback from the usual suspects.
The damage to the US economy would spill over into the world economy hence there would be no shift in the international balance of power.
Chem-Bio are either bulky or ineffective for inflicting large-scale casualties in any controlled manner. More a nuisance attack than a Great Blow.
So, any Great Blow would have to be directed at American Will to continue to resist the Islamofacists. I would like to believe that any further attacks on US soil would strengthen our will. Therefore such an attack could prove counterproductive.
I agree with previous posters. The Islamists are the weak horse unless we make them the strong horse.
In closing.....Please, no pogroms. I have a very anti-Islamist Sikh son-in-law. I would be very displeased if he were attacked and murdered by a lynch mob. After 911 a group of drunken jerks killed a Sikh "cause we thought he was a arab".
You guys are dreaming.
The sad fact is, a nuclear attack on NYC would change the balance of US politics very little; though, of course, things would become much more shrill. The Bush-haters were stunned into silence by 9/11, because it was so completely unexpected. They are prepared now, and they will begin blaming him within 24 hours of any such attack, even if the attack should occur under (God forbid) a President Kerry. Those who failed to "get it" after 9/11 are not going to be brought around by any new attack, no matter how much bigger it is, or how much closer to them it strikes. 9/11 was the watershed, the split happened there, and few people are going to be peeled off of either side by any new developments. Fortunately, the split was about 70/30 in favor of the "by opposing, end them" -approach. Unfortunately, that 30% is enough to severely cripple our efforts in Iraq and elsewhere. Whether this crippling will be fatal to our war-fighting overall remains to be seen. It will most certainly be fatal, however, to many thousands of New Yorkers on some not too distant date.
Barring a miracle, or a series of miracles, NYC is gone. Kiss it goodbye. The most beautiful thing ever built by human hands, more precious by far than every last busted Sumerian knick-knack in the Baghdad museum, is going to be destroyed by people who could never create something so grand in 1000 years. Pray that God's mercy will spare the innocents of New York from these pathetic monsters, because we are too weak at heart to do what little needs to be done to stop them.
And I doubt very much that we will be nuking any "friendly" arab/muslim sates under ANY circumstances. Egypt, SA, and Pakistan are NOT going to be on the list, barring improbably strong evidence of a direct connection between one of those countries and the attack. It may assuage our fears a bit to bask in a fantasy of retaliatory carnage, to think, "At LAST, justice will be done, and ALL will see the true nature of our enemies and our struggle against them," but this is escapism. The greater the loss, the colder the comfort revenge provides. Nothing, not even the death of EVERY jihadi is worth New York, and whatever muddle-headed, State Department-approved, focus-grouped response we do manage to deploy will fall FAR short of that worthy goal.
We like to think that "everything changed" on 9/11, but the truth is, we are STILL living in the quiet, easy, simple time before shit got TRULY fucked up. Maybe we will keep on doing so right up untill the end.
9/11 is constantly on new yorkers' minds. we have subsequently become the most alert and safe city in the nation (perhaps only washington, d.c. approaches our diligence). but if new york goes, so be it. i walk down the canyoned avenues all day with the following promise ricocheting around in my skull:
But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely,
and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
Proverbs 1:33
i guess muslims and islamists are waiting for the coming of jesus christ, when jesus leading the muslims and creating once agian the muslim state all over the world, o disbelievers, have has much fun, and happy days you like, muslims are patient waiting for the coming then we see if your nukes work or cruise missles. without the will of allah(god) fighter planes will not be able to fly, ships won't be able to sail, do you not realise that with the will of allah we are nothing so live a life of luxury, because once you die as a disbeliever the fire of hell is all that you will abode.
In the name of Allah ,Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Say : O disbelievers!
I worship not that which ye worship ;
Nor worship ye that which I worship .
And I shall not worship that which ye worship .
Nor will ye worship that which I worship .
Unto you your religion , and unto me my religion .
if you had any sense you learn the true religion the religion of one allah and the religion of the messenger of allah mohammed(pbuh).
In the name of Allah ,Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Say : He is Allah , the One!
Allah , the eternally Besought of all!
He begetteth not nor was begotten .
And there is none comparable unto Him .
so disbelievers you still have time before you die follow islam and recieve your bounties in the next world, the eternal life
In the name of Allah ,Most Gracious, Most Merciful
When Allah's succor and the triumph cometh
And thou seest mankind entering the religion of Allah in troops
Then hymn the praises of thy Lord , and seek forgiveness of Him . Lo! He is ever ready to show mercy .
peace