The FBI must wait 48 hours to get a court order before we allow the FBI to..."
BLAM !
Posted on 02/11/2007 4:52:48 PM PST by Coleus
A worldwide investigation has uncovered an al-Qaida loyalist's plan to blow up the PATH train tunnels under the Hudson River, thwarting a terrorist conspiracy the FBI called "the real deal," authorities said Friday. The alleged mastermind has been arrested. "The individuals were moving forward," said Special Agent Mark J. Mershon, assistant director of the FBI's New York office. They "were about to go to a phase where they would attempt to surveil targets, establish a regimen of attack and then acquire the resources necessary to effectuate the attacks."
Mershon identified the plan's mastermind as Assem Hammoud, a 31-year-old Lebanese citizen who swore allegiance to Osama bin Laden. Lebanese authorities, who learned of his plan through Internet communications, arrested him April 27, according to a statement by Lebanese police. The attack was scheduled for October or November, the FBI said. The planning involved at least seven other conspirators, two of whom were in the custody of foreign governments, Mershon said. The investigation involved intelligence officials in six countries.
U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said the plot ranked as the most credible threat he had learned of since becoming chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee 10 months ago. "It was a real threat and one of the hardest to control," King said. "With subways and commuter railways, there is no way you can have inspectors at every subway or commuter train entrance."
Disclosure of the plan came a week before the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is scheduled to introduce new, high-tech security measures at Jersey City's Exchange Place PATH Station, and exactly one year after suicide bombers killed 52 people on London's subways. Mershon said authorities first learned of the PATH plot "almost exactly a year ago."
Flood part of plan
Hammoud's arrest was first disclosed Friday in The New York Daily News, which reported that his group hoped to flood lower Manhattan by bombing the Holland Tunnel. Mershon did not completely disavow the report, but said the eight men "had referenced specifically only the PATH tunnels." He later added: "This is a plot that would have involved martyrdom, explosives and certain of the tubes that connect New Jersey to lower Manhattan."
A bomb placed in a PATH train could breach the tunnel and flood lower Manhattan, officials said. A recessed foundation at the former World Trade Center site, known as "the bathtub," protects buildings and the subway tunnels from the Hudson River. "If [an explosion] affected the bathtub that protects lower Manhattan from the Hudson, that could be devastating," King said.
Although they stressed the plan's seriousness, authorities said the suspects had not secured any explosives and had not set foot on American soil. New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg took pains to stress that the city was safe. Indeed, life proceeded normally Friday morning, even as commuters woke to learn about the latest threat to the country's largest metropolis.
About six Port Authority police officers stood guard Friday at the Holland Tunnel entrance in New York and pulled over vans and trucks every few minutes. Each time, drivers opened the backs of their trucks to allow a quick inspection by the police. "Before Sept. 11th, I would think all this is paranoia," said Ken Lewis, a 50-year-old from New Rochelle, who was in the city on business. "After Sept. 11th, I believe the potential exists for anything."
At the Grove Street PATH station in Jersey City, several commuters said the news shook up their routine and complained that police officers were not visible enough. "The PATH is still very bleak -- security-wise and in general," said Daniel Mitchell, a wine merchant from Jersey City. "It's rare that you see someone after hours down on the platform." Said Katy Ryan, a Jersey City resident who owns a bar in New York's East Village: "[The] PATH train, as transportation, is so reliable, but there's almost no security."
Port Authority officials said they have added about 600 police officers since the 9/11 attacks. Anthony R. Coscia, the authority's chairman, said the agency is striving to balance new security measures with the need to permit open and efficient movement on the trains. "A system that gives a greater level of comfort to every person on the train system is something we have to evolve toward," Coscia said.
New York and New Jersey officials said disclosure of the plot underscores the need for more federal aid for local anti-terror programs. New York's funding was cut 40 percent this year, although the government increased the region's railway security grant by almost $10 million this week. "If this is going to be a priority, we should spare no expense in order to get it done," said Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-Paterson, a member of the House Transportation and Homeland Security committees.
New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez said the competition for federal money is intense. "Nearly five years after 9/11, we're still waiting for transit and transportation security," he said. King said the debate over federal funding was especially frustrating because New York Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and others knew of the PATH plot but could not disclose it.
"We knew the DHS knew about it and were still cutting [funding]," King said.
Fast facts
The PATH rail system is run by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It connects Hudson County with 33rd Street, lower Manhattan and Newark.
Established in 1962. 215,115 trips taken every weekday. 60.7 million trips taken in 2005.
Sooner or later....
How many more of these plots is it going to take
before the damn dems get it........
The muzzie islimes want to KILL us all.....
"Bush's Fault"
(that this one failed too)
It's going to take a successfull one, and then it'll all be about blaming Bush for not stopping it.
HA HA HA, I wish I had started a score card
for every time it was "W's" fault something
went wrong.
Yep...a bleeder will get thru our defenses.
"before the damn dems get it"
That would be right after they have pulled the troops out and the muzzies can concentrate on putting ALL of their resources into attacks on US soil.
Ping
Thanks for posting this. I completely missed it.
I suggest that one of the GOP Senators or Congressmen read this to the idiots during one of their sessions of Congress.
This means that the subway tunnels and subway stations are below the water line, packed with tens of thousands of people at rush hour. Blowing a big hole in the PATH tunnel, which results in a flood, might drown a whole bunch of people in the subway system. It potentially also would do bad things to the underground electrical cables, and to any buildings basement levels that connected to the subways
Kerry, Kennedy, Kucinich, Feingold, Dodd, Murtha, Conyers and company don't ride the PATH. But if this should happen, there would be lots of crocodile tears. Another catastrophe to blame on Bush.
The FBI must wait 48 hours to get a court order before we allow the FBI to..."
BLAM !
My husband connects with the PATH at Newark and takes it down to Wall Street. He tells me that middle eastern looking passengers comprise about three quarters of the ridership. They all carry backpacks too. Finding a potential terrorist on that train would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
As this article suggests, one of the entrances to the PATH trains is right at ground zero. It used to be in the basement of the trade towers, and now has an entrance in the trade tower "bath tub," the large pit where the towers used to stand.
These terrorists seem to have a fascination with that area, having already struck it twice.
There are a couple of subway lines that run through there north and south as well, and a flood most certainly would be a major disaster.
Dude... This was last year.
Very true.
And the RNC will continue its dopey posture:
"Duh.... What do I say now?"
Well, Bush has ok'd visa's for 10,000 saudi students. The saudi's are our friends, Bush said so.
They hadn't even got to the surveillance phase yet? Sounds like a serious case of jumping the gun. Waiting a little longer could have resulted in a bigger batch of bad guys.
New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez said the competition for federal money is intense. "Nearly five years after 9/11, we're still waiting for transit and transportation security," he said. King said the debate over federal funding was especially frustrating because New York Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and others knew of the PATH plot but could not disclose it.
"We knew the DHS knew about it and were still cutting [funding]," King said.
That makes it even more odd because NJ articles from this source are only available on line for 2 weeks.
and your point?
So sorry, Cindy. I didn't notice that this was from last year.
I rode the PATH from Jersey City to WTC to work on Wall Street most of last year. During rush hour, the trains are packed with Pakistanis and Indians, most of whom get on in Jersey City. You may remember that Jersey City was the HQ of Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman who led the 1993 bombing of the WTC. The tunnels between the Jersey City PATH stations and the WTC must be the most vulnerable terrorist targets in the country. I didn't get the impression that they were well protected.
Well if you look at the date , it says this story is from last summer.
>>>Well if you look at the date , it says this story is from last summer.
But it is out live on the site now that only allows for 2 week archive access.
Trust me, our politicians in this state are more of a threat.
They take political contributions from the actual terrorists we should be worried about. Whomever this guy was that was arrested last July was probably just a fall guy for a press release whine that NJ needs more Homeland Security money.
Just what if Bush said:
"From now on, each time something like this is found, I will bomb a major muslim location, with a mission goal of killing 100,000 muslims.?"
I dont understand what you're trying to say.
Since the web page loaded, I have to assume that the pages in the archive are not limited to two weeks.
What does have a two week limit is their Search function.
What this says to me is that their website is not removing old content, but the indexing that the search engine scans is only indexing two weeks worth of data.
bttt
From their website:
Search NorthJersey.com
(last 2 weeks) <--NorthJersey.com and NJ.com both only carry 2 weeks in archives.
This artcle is real. I remember it when it happened. I'm saying this article was bumped out live because our politicians are still trying to get more homeland security money.
As for the incident itself, I think they scooped up an insignificant person to create a scene to again, justify homeland security money.
They have done it before:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1313753/posts
Jetliner missile plot trial begins
All the terror cells I'm worried about are quite friendly with our powers that be, in this state.
the bergen record keeps most of its articles linked for 12 months. If you click on the advanced function in the search engine you can adjust it to 12 months. I had this article saved in an old pile of newspapers and decided to post it due to the importance of the war on terror here in the United States, millions take the PATH to and from NYC. And to samurai_jack, I am well aware of the date, if you noticed, I plugged in the date when I posted the article, that's why you see it on the FR thread. The WOT didn't expire on July 8, if it did, please tell Osama, the US military, the police and the president.
Pardon my 'bumped' theory. Coleus is the bumper.
From LAST YEAR...great, my blood pressure can go back to its leisurley Sunday rate.
Thanks for the ping anyway Good Old Days.
I do appreciate it.
Collapsing the tunnel won't raise the level of the water, although I suppose there would considerable splash and slosh.
Could you correct that link?
TIA.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13849063/
Authorities have already confirmed that one so-far unnamed relative of Assam Hammoud is a member of Al Qaeda being feverishly hunted by intelligence agencies which suspect he helped mastermind the PATH Tunnel plot.
(Ridiculed as fantastic by some, the plot’s chances of succeeding by blowing up the slurry wall rimming the WTC site which holds back the Hudson River were actually quite good, according to counterterrorism officials interviewed in NEWSWEEK.)
http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2006/07/schlussel_exclu_2.html
Other Assem Hammoud relatives reportedly include nine members of the Lebanese Hammoud clan living in Dearborn Michigan accused or convicted in a global smuggling scheme in support of Hezbollah involving bootlegged cigarettes, phony Viagra and counterfeit tax stamps.
http://www.news14charlotte.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=123633
Members of the $20-million per year smuggling ring, which eventually stretched through Lebanon, China, Brazil and Paraguay, included Makki and Mohamad Hammoud, Fadi Mohamad-Musbah Hammoud, Majid Mohamad Hammoud; Jihad Hammoud, Imad Mohamad-Musbah Hammoud, and Ali Ahmad Hammoud.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/14967428.htm
...allegiance to Hezbollah
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Wissam+Hammoud&btnG=Google+Search
Wissam Hammoud owned a cell phone store in Sarasota which supplied mobile phones to Mohamed Atta... bragged of helping Hezbollah buy assault weapons and night-vision goggles (the group needed them so they “could kill Jews at night”)... was convicted in February in a Federal Court in Tampa of soliciting the murder and beheading of a Federal Agent...and suspected of having foreknowledge of the 9.11 attack.
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/08/28/State/Sarasota_man_pleads_g.shtml
http://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&q=Wissam+Hammoud+AND+Oklahoma+City+bombing
“In September 2001, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement interviewed Hammoud because someone had anonymously called saying Hammoud had made a comment that the Oklahoma City bombing was small compared with what was coming,” reported the Tampa Tribune on Jan 6 2004, in a story headlined “Man Bragged Of Ties To Terror, Records Say.”
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