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Al Queda's Specific Intention to Hit the United States Hard

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by El_Conquistador, May 26, 2004.

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  1. El_Conquistador

    El_Conquistador King of the D&D, The Legend, #1 Ranking

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    It's times like these when I'm glad that we have an a$$ kicker like Ashcroft leading the charge. We absolutely must renew the Patriot Act to give law enforcement the means necessary to stop attacks such as this.

    Ashcroft: Al Qaeda intends to attack U.S.
    Wednesday, May 26, 2004 Posted: 2:19 PM EDT (1819 GMT)


    WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Intelligence from multiple sources indicates that al Qaeda intends to attack the United States in the coming months, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said on Wednesday.

    "This disturbing intelligence indicates al Qaeda's specific intention to hit the United States hard," Ashcroft said in a news conference. "Beyond this intelligence, al Qaeda's own public statements indicate that it is almost ready to attack the United States."

    Ashcroft cited a number of upcoming events that could be potential targets, including the G8 economic summit on Sea Island, Georgia, and the Democratic and Republican conventions in Boston and New York, respectively.

    The U.S. government Wednesday re-released photographs of seven people being sought in connection with terrorism investigations, federal law enforcement sources told CNN.

    Among the seven were suspected al Qaeda operatives Adnan G. El Shukrijumah and Aafia Siddiqui, two law enforcement sources said.

    The photos were released as part of "be on the lookout" (BOLO) alerts, sent to law enforcement agencies across the country and around the world.

    Government sources have said in the past that El Shukrijumah, born in Saudi Arabia, is believed to be a citizen of Yemen. He has family in Guyana and is believed to have a passport from that nation, the sources said. He uses several aliases and may also have other passports, they said.

    The sources described him as a field organizer and strategic planner for al Qaeda.

    They also said he spent time in Florida.

    El Shukrijumah and Siddiqui were among those named by captured al Qaeda leader Khalid Shaikh Mohammed as al Qaeda operatives, government sources said.

    The move comes a day after several U.S. officials said there is increasing concern about the possibility of a major terrorist attack on U.S. soil -- possibly as early as this summer.

    A recent compilation of intelligence reports has led to fears that terror attacks might take place before the November presidential election in an attempt to affect the outcome.

    A senior Pentagon official said the report compiles the latest information, generally gathered over the last four months, on domestic threats, what they call "chatter," information about Al Qaeda operatives inside the United States and indications that terrorists continue to try to enter the United States from Canada or Mexico, he said.

    But Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Wednesday that he did not plan to raise the national terror alert level.

    "There is nothing specific enough or -- that rises to the level where we would presently today ... make a recommendation to the president to raise the threat level," Ridge said. "What I think it's important for America to know is we don't need to raise the threat level in order to continue to work every day to improve security."

    The terror threat level is currently at yellow, or elevated.

    For weeks, security officials have expressed concern about several upcoming high-profile events, including Saturday's dedication of the World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington.

    New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said his department had received "highly sensitive intelligence" as recently as Tuesday, and there was "nothing in that reporting to indicate a specific threat or looming attack against New York City.

    "Nor have we been advised that terrorists are known to be in the United States actively plotting such an attack," Kelly said in a statement.

    The Los Angeles and Boston police departments made similar comments.

    The FBI is expected to give guidance to its 18,000 state and local law enforcement partners in the regular weekly FBI bulletin Wednesday.

    Officials said security will be unprecedented for the World War II Memorial dedication Saturday. More than 140,000 people, many of them elderly, are expected for the event. (Full story)

    More than 35 federal, state and local agencies have been involved in planning for the event for a year. Some 1,000 law enforcement officers are expected to be on hand in addition to special support and response teams.

    Following the March 11 train bombings in Madrid, Spain, security officials have expressed concern that so-called "soft targets" such as passenger and freight trains could be vulnerable to attack in the United States.

    Ridge announced initiatives to improve train and subway security shortly after the bombings.
     
  2. twhy77

    twhy77 Member

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    If they attack the WWII monument on my grandpa's B-day, well, let's just say I'll be more than a little pissed. :mad:
     
  3. basso

    basso Member
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    hey, that's one for each member of al queda, according to the latest terrorist census...
     
  4. El_Conquistador

    El_Conquistador King of the D&D, The Legend, #1 Ranking

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    Is there any relation to the siddiqui liberal that posts on this website? WOW.

    Terror investigators seek woman with Houston ties
    By ROSANNA RUIZ and ROBERT CROWE
    Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle


    AP/FBI
    Aafia Siddiqui is shown in this image provided by the FBI.

    A Pakistani woman the FBI suspects is a terror sympathizer studied at the University of Houston in the 1980s but has no link to al-Qaida, her family said Tuesday.

    The FBI issued another alert Tuesday seeking the public's help in finding Aafia Siddiqui and her estranged husband, Mohammed Khan. The FBI put out the alerts reportedly after Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who was said to be one of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack planners, allegedly told authorities that Siddiqui provided logistical support to al-Qaida.

    Siddiqui's brother, Muhammad Siddiqui, who lives in Houston, said through his attorney that the family has not spoken to her since she disappeared in March of last year. Annette Lamoreaux, former East Texas regional director for the American Civil Liberties Union, represented Muhammad Siddiqui while he was questioned by the FBI last March.

    Muhammad Siddiqui declined to comment through Lamoreaux. He told Lamoreaux on Tuesday that his sister lived in Houston in the late 1980s while she studied at the University of Houston before she went on to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He said his sister has not lived in Houston since, Lamoreaux said.

    Lamoreaux said the woman's brother continues to deny the claim that Aafia Siddiqui is a terrorist or has any link to al-Qaida nor are they aware of any connection to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.

    "This has caused a tremendous amount of damage to his family," said Lamoreaux, now legal director for the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union in Hartford, Conn.

    Muhammad Siddiqui, his mother and sister were all questioned by FBI agents last year, Lamoreaux said. His sister, who had lived in Baltimore, was forced to return to Pakistan after repeated questioning by the FBI, Lamoreaux said.

    FBI officials believe Aafia Siddiqui may have returned to her native Pakistan.
     
  5. mc mark

    mc mark Member

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    Well you could be the good neighbor that you are and follow your usual MO and give the FBI a ding a ling...
     
  6. El_Conquistador

    El_Conquistador King of the D&D, The Legend, #1 Ranking

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    As a point of reference, the Harris County Appraisal District only lists 10 Siddiqui's that own places in Harris County. Of course, this doesn't include rentors or those living in outlying counties.
     
  7. mc mark

    mc mark Member

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  8. Pipe

    Pipe Member

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    Deleted
     
  9. El_Conquistador

    El_Conquistador King of the D&D, The Legend, #1 Ranking

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    I asked if there was a relation. That has nothing to do with the first name, Pipe. Anyhow, I don't want to derail this thread with that topic. It is however, frightening that the suspect has Houston ties.
     
  10. phoenixfeng

    phoenixfeng Member

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    yeah that poster is a liberal and therefore must be a member of al qaida




    :rolleyes:


    REACHING
     
  11. AMS

    AMS Member

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    We had our Honors assembly today and to my surprise I got an award and my whole name was called. ADEEL MOHAMMED SIDDIQUI, and I heard snickers and then some groans, the usual, whenever my middle name is used, thats why i asked them to use it. But then later on I get home and I see this report, and then find out that she had Ties to Houston, and I was like GREAT,,, just when I am about to travel outside the country to Saudi Arabia. Just great... Well lets just say, It ain my sister, Im pretty sure I aint got no sister.... so dont wet your pants in hope TJ... just one less "liberal" you dont have to answer back to when you get shot down in your arguments....
     
  12. Woofer

    Woofer Member

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    The Bushies lost track of six of these guys two years ago. Now they are worried about them.
     
  13. rimbaud

    rimbaud Member
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    I'm reporting you for slander, for performing a hate crime, for being stupid, ugly, and because your mother dresses you funny.

    /me clicks "Report this post to a moderator."
     
  14. mc mark

    mc mark Member

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    BTW congrats adeelsiddiqui on the award!

    May I be so bold as to ask what it's for?

    :)
     
  15. Cohen

    Cohen Member

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    I hope that the juvenile snickers and groans are the worst that you have to deal with.

    BTW, sounds like a pretty cool name to me, FWIW.
     
  16. AMS

    AMS Member

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    Thank you... It was for Business Student of the Year. :D

    Thank you too Cohen... Yep, snickers and other wierd noises, is about as bad as it gets... Once people get to know you, they forget race, religion, skin color and other stuff that doesnt matter.
     
  17. ima_drummer2k

    ima_drummer2k Member

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    Interesting that the same people who blame the Bush Administration for not doing enough to prevent 9/11 are now accusing them of "needlessly scaring people". You can't have it both ways.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    7 al-Qaida Suspects Sought in Attack Plan

    By CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press Writer

    WASHINGTON - America's top law enforcement officials urged the public Wednesday to help the FBI (news - web sites) track down seven suspected al-Qaida operatives and avert an attack on U.S. soil that a stream of credible intelligence indicates could occur in the summer.

    Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites) said the "disturbing" intelligence, collected for months, augments al-Qaida's own declaration that its plans for a devastating follow-up to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks are 90 percent complete. Ashcroft said that could mean terrorists already are in the United States to execute the plan, though he acknowledged there is no new information indicating when, where or how an attack might happen.


    "Credible intelligence from multiple sources indicates that al-Qaida plans to attempt an attack on the United States in the next few months," Ashcroft said at a news conference with FBI Director Robert Mueller.


    Ashcroft and Mueller announced an intensified level of counterterrorism activity for the summer. This includes interviews with individuals who could provide intelligence about terrorism, creation of a new FBI task force to focus on the threat and an appeal to all Americans to be extra vigilant about their surroundings, their neighbors and any suspicious activity.


    There was no immediate plan to raise the nation's terror threat level. Asa Hutchinson, Homeland Security Department undersecretary for border and transportation security, said, "We don't have the specific information that would justify raising it or would cause us to do it."


    Some Democrats charged that the administration was needlessly scaring people, perhaps to divert attention from the continuing problems in Iraq (news - web sites). Ashcroft's announcement came two days after President Bush (news - web sites) began a monthlong initiative to explain administration policy on Iraq and the war on terrorism.


    Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry (news - web sites) stopped short of charging the announcement was politically motivated. But he questioned the Bush administration's commitment to providing the resources necessary to protect the country, citing gaps in chemical and nuclear plant safety and inadequate protection for U.S. ports.


    Ashcroft rejected talk of a political motive, saying greater public vigilance could help head off an attack.


    "My job isn't to worry about whether someone will be second-guessing," he said.


    White House press secretary Scott McClellan also denied there was a political aspect to the threat report.


    Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, notable by his absence from the Ashcroft and Mueller news conference, indicated on NBC's "Today" show that there was some dissent over whether to raise the threat level from yellow, midpoint on the five-color scale, to orange.


    "There's not a consensus within the administration that we need to raise the threat level," he said. However, later in the day, he echoed Ashcroft in saying all key officials are in agreement about the terror threat.


    Six of the al-Qaida operatives, including two Canadian citizens, whose photos and backgrounds were highlighted Wednesday have been the subject of FBI pursuit for months. The seventh, 25-year-old Adam Yahiye Gadahn, is a U.S. citizen who grew up on a California goat farm and converted to Islam as a teenager. He was described by Mueller as having attended al-Qaida training camps in Afghanistan (news - web sites) and served as an al-Qaida translator.


    Each of the suspects, Ashcroft said, presents "a clear and present danger" to the United States because of their language skills, familiarity with U.S. culture and ability to travel under multiple aliases and use forged documents.


    Ashcroft said that al-Qaida has made adjustments to its tactics to escape easy detection, such as having operatives travel with their families to lower their profiles and recruiting people who can pass for having European ethnicity rather than Middle Eastern backgrounds, as all of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers did.


    "Al-Qaida is a resilient and adaptable organization, known for altering tactics in the face of new security measures," Ashcroft said.


    Ashcroft acknowledged there is no new intelligence about the suspects indicating they are in the United States or part of a specific al-Qaida plot. He said it was important that the public be given "a reminder" about them.





    Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that for "several months" the panel has been hearing reports about a new al-Qaida danger. While he agreed that the threat was serious, he questioned why the threat level wasn't being changed if new warnings were being made public.

    "We'll never know if the administration has new and justifiable information for this new warning," Durbin said in an interview. "I think there's a building skepticism about warnings from the Bush administration."

    Ashcroft sand Mueller insisted there was reason for concern, and said the summer could offer a number of inviting targets for al-Qaida.

    The political repercussions from the March 11 train bombings in Spain, which contributed to defeat of the ruling party in subsequent elections, could embolden al-Qaida to try to influence U.S. elections through attacks here, Ashcroft said.

    There is also concern about a number of high-profile summer events, beginning Saturday with dedication of the new World War II Memorial in Washington and next month's economic summit of the eight industrial powers, being held at Sea Island, Georgia. The Democratic and Republican conventions, in Boston and New York, also are potential targets.

    One aspect of the law enforcement plan is to conduct interviews nationwide of people who could provide information about terrorist plans or suspects. Mueller said these would not necessarily be targeted at Arab-Americans or Muslims — although the interviews could include many from those ethnic groups — and would be driven by intelligence needs and information collected elsewhere.

    Information being sought, he said, could include "persons that may have moved into a community recently, persons who seem to be in a community without any roots, persons that could be either facilitators or those who are willing to undertake an attack."
     
  18. Supermac34

    Supermac34 President, Von Wafer Fan Club

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    So the Democrats say to not tell the public of a threat, yet they are the same people that would say that if there was an attack and nobody gave warning, the government was covering up information.

    Darned if you do, darned if you don't.
     
  19. dugtzu

    dugtzu Member

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    i think the best thing to do if you know there will be an attack is to... wait for it...PREVENT IT!
     
  20. Roc Paint

    Roc Paint Member

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    I say give the Middle-East 48 hours to get all of the women and children out, and then it's go time.
     
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