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Russian Airliners Down...The next round of al Qaeda on the way?
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| imokruok |
On August 10, the Washington Times and then Reuters reported that the next round of al Qaeda attacks would begin with a major political assassination. I've posted the article below.
This evening in Russia, two passenger planes were lost while on their way south towards the city where Vladimir Putin was vacationing. One plane sent out a hijack distress signal before crashing.
I can't help but think that this was the attack that was predicted, and similar to September 11th, this was the assassination planned before another major attack. (Ahmed Shah Massood, the leader of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan was assassinated by al Qaeda on September 9, 2001).
I guess we'll know more as Russian officials try and figure out what actually happened, but on my own personal terror alert level, I'm at "red." The Republican convention is coming up this week, as well as the final 60 days before the Presidential election.
We've gone three years without another terror attack. If you'd have told Americans in 2001 that we'd make three years without another attack, they'd say you were crazy. But here we are. Let's see if we can't make it through the next few months without a problem.
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Al Qaeda Plans Include Assassination Plot -Report
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...qaeda_report_dc
Tue Aug 10, 2004 11:52 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A high-profile political assassination, triggered by a new message from Osama bin Laden (news - web sites), will lead off the next major al Qaeda attack, The Washington Times reported in Wednesday editions, citing U.S. intelligence officials.
U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports, speaking on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the assassination plan was among new details of al Qaeda plots and would target a U.S. or foreign leader either in the United States or abroad, according to the newspaper.
Planning for the attacks to follow involves "multiple targets in multiple venues" across the United States, one official was quoted as saying.
"The goal of the next attack is twofold: to damage the U.S. economy and to undermine the U.S. election," the official told the newspaper.
The officials said there are intelligence reports, some of them sketchy, that a new tape from bin Laden would surface soon, the newspaper reported
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| quote: |
http://www.news.com.au/common/story...0,4057,10562875^1702,00.html
'Hijack signal' on missing plane
From correspondents in Moscow
August 25, 2004
THE Russian plane that went missing around the time as another jet crashed issued a signal indicating a hijacking or seizure before disappearing from radar, the Interfax news agency has reported.
The signal came at 11:04 pm yesterday (0404 AEST today) from the Tu-154 airliner that went missing in southern Russia's Rostov region, Interfax quoted a source in Russia's "power structures" as saying.
Emergency workers were still searching for the plane hours after it disappeared from radar screens on a flight from Moscow to the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.
The source said the signal was activated shortly before the plane disappeared.
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| imokruok |
Looks like the press is following my lead on this! :D
| quote: |
http://www.maarivintl.com/index.cfm...articleID=10792
Putin possible target of terror attack in Russia
August 25, 2004
Russian president currently vacationing near Sutchi, one of the hijacked planes destinations. 98 people feared dead in terror attack, black box recovered.
Ninety eight crew ans pasengers were killed in last night's terror-hijacking attack on two civilian aircraft. Russian authorities are accusing Chechenyan terrorists of perpetrating the attack.
As many as 98 people are feared killed. According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, there were no Israelis on board.
Russian authorities are investigaitng the possibility that the hijackers may have intended targeting President Putin, who is currently vacationing near Sutchi, one of the destinations of the two hijacked planes. |
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| Arbiter |
| quote: | | U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports, speaking on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the assassination plan was among new details of al Qaeda plots and would target a U.S. or foreign leader either in the United States or abroad, according to the newspaper. |
All al-Qaeda has to do is target any leader anywhere and that "report" is correct. Sounds like the prediction of a self-professed "psychic" to me, not a useful piece of intelligence.
Predictions that can't be wrong aside, the obvious answer is that this has to do with the conflict in Chechnya, not the scattered remnants of al-Qaeda. |
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| imokruok |
| quote: | Originally posted by Arbiter
Predictions that can't be wrong aside, the obvious answer is that this has to do with the conflict in Chechnya, not the scattered remnants of al-Qaeda. |
I don't know that that's the "obvious answer," but it certainly is a plausible explanation.
Just remember, the Massood assassination was also thought to be entirely an internal issue between warring factions within Afghanistan. |
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| Renegade |
It is starting to look pretty suspicious:
| quote: | The two planes left Moscow's Domodedovo Airport barely a half-hour apart, heading to separate destinations, and then disappeared from radar almost simultaneously at about 11 p.m., authorities said. Rescue squads reached the scene of one crash in the Tula region, about 100 miles south of Moscow, early this morning and hours later found the fiery wreckage of the second plane near the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, about 600 miles south of Moscow.
Officials made no immediate statements about the possible causes of the twin crashes but the timing raised suspicions of a terrorist attack. Witnesses in Tula reported seeing an explosion before the plane there plunged out of the sky, while the other plane activated a signal reporting it had been hijacked, according to the Interfax news agency. |
http://www.boston.com/news/world/ar...parting_moscow/
I wouldn't immediately rush to blame al Qaeda though, particularly given Russia's opposition to the Iraq war among other things. I'd be looking more at the Chechen rebel groups at the moment... |
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| JM |
al qaida is not the only terrorist organization in the world these days... just cos they're famous for crashing planes doesnt mean anything cos planes have been hijacked in the past by non-alqaida terrorists.
>JM< |
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| LiquidX |
| See what happens when most of the efforts moved towards Iraq.. Ooopss what?:rolleyes: :wtf: :p |
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| rizen |
| quote: | Originally posted by imokruok
I guess we'll know more as Russian officials try and figure out what actually happened, but on my own personal terror alert level, I'm at "red." The Republican convention is coming up this week, as well as the final 60 days before the Presidential election. |
You have your own personal terror alert level? :stongue: Thank god* for American Dad, here's a macro just for you.
*my bad, please don't send out hebrew hammer after me :o
chechen rebels. |
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| Yoepus |
| quote: | Originally posted by imokruok
We've gone three years without another terror attack. If you'd have told Americans in 2001 that we'd make three years without another attack, they'd say you were crazy. But here we are. Let's see if we can't make it through the next few months without a problem. |
No!! Don't say that! Bush's terror policy is pathetic, and doesn't work remember???
:rolleyes:
Anyway.
My prediction is a botched attempt. After Sept 11th, you simply can't hijack planes anymore, though luck. Either the passanger or the pilot crashed the plane after a terrorist ploy is my opinion on the matter. |
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| imokruok |
| quote: | Originally posted by rizen
Thank god* for American Dad, here's a macro just for you.
*my bad, please don't send out hebrew hammer after me :o
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Oh, now you've done it. God wasn't capitalized, and you didn't properly replace the "o" with a dash. Prepare your soul, heathen!
:D |
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| igottaknow |
| Probably just a coverup for Russian stupidity and outdated broken down equipment |
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