Terror plot on US carrier foiled

unitedstates.com ^ | 12/28/01

[knak]

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Acting on U.S. intelligence gathered in Afghanistan, the Singapore government earlier this month raided a "terrorist nest" and arrested 12 alleged al Qaida members suspected of planning an attack on the island nation's deep-water Navy port, top Pentagon and other government officials said.

Two suspected terrorists escaped arrest, Pentagon officials said.

Singapore officials have also failed to locate two tons of explosives intended to be used in the attack or attacks, a military official said.

Neither the Singapore government nor the Pentagon has publicly acknowledged the raid out of concern over compromising the source of the intelligence, a Pentagon official told United Press International.

Singapore Embassy officials in Washington, D.C., said they were unaware of the operation. American officials said they could not put an exact date on the raid nor identify the Singapore agency that carried it out.

The USS Carl Vinson was scheduled to use the port later in December so "people were pretty squirrelly" about the information and moved swiftly to act on it, a U.S. government official told UPI on Friday.

In October 2000, suicide bombers in Yemen attacked the USS Cole, a destroyer that was refueling in a port, killing 17 sailors. The bombing is still unsolved but has been linked to al Qaida, fingered in the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

Pentagon and Navy officials said there was no direct connection between the Vinson's visit and the planned attack in Singapore, the exact targets of which remain unknown.

The Carl Vinson and its crew of 5,000 -- fresh from more than three months' flying attack missions into Afghanistan -- visited the port as scheduled for three days over the Christmas holiday, according to a Navy official.

Additional security precautions were already being taken around the port and the visit would only have been canceled if there was a specific threat against the ship, the official told UPI.

The Vinson's home ported is Bremerton, Wash.

U.S. officials declined to specify the exact nature of the intelligence provided to Singapore. The military, the CIA and the FBI have been interrogating the hundreds of prisoners captured by anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan and reviewing reams of paperwork and videotapes collected from sites abandoned by al Qaida. As of Friday U.S. Marines were holding 70 detainees in Kandahar and aboard the USS Peleliu.

Singapore inaugurated its deep-water port at the Changi Naval Base in March 2001 with a visit from the USS Kitty Hawk. Until the berth was built, U.S. aircraft carriers had to moor in a commercial harbor at much greater risk, especially in the wake of the USS Cole bombing.

Singapore, known for its strict enforcement of law and low crime rates, is an important stop on major Pacific shipping routes. The safety of its port and the Malacca Strait is especially vital to key U.S. allies Japan and South Korea for oil and raw materials.

In October, Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong told a conference of union leaders that the government last year discovered a plot by Middle Eastern terrorist groups to recruit Singaporean Muslims and found a video of the coastline made by another terrorist group seeking to attack passing U.S. ships.

Singapore is expected to be among the hardest hit economically by Sept. 11 because of its close ties to the U.S. economy and its reliance on healthy supply chains for shipping, according to a study completed by Harvard University in October.

[d4now]

Singapore officials have also failed to locate two tons of explosives intended to be used in the attack or attacks, a military official said.

So exactly how was it foiled?

[xJones]

Two suspected terrorists escaped arrest, Pentagon officials said.

Singapore officials have also failed to locate two tons of explosives intended to be used in the attack or attacks, a military official said.

Well if the supposed terrorists got away and no explosives were found.....talk about a non-story.

[BruceS]

Please read the story. They foiled the plot by arresting 12 of the 14 terrorists. Obviously they have not completely closed this cell down - 2 remaining terrorists plus the explosives is still a serious security threat, but not as bad as 14 terrorists with the explosives.

[Alpenkatze]

I would like to think that anything short of a nuclear device would never succeed in taking out an aircraft carrier. My dad was an officer on the USS Enterprise in WWII and told me it would take another powerful nation to succeed in taking one out (Japan in his day). I would think that still holds true today that it would take a powerful nation, (not a terrorist group) to succeed. I know during the Clinton years our armed forces fell behind, but I still believe we have the best. Maybe I'm just an arrogant American fool. Regaurdless, I REALLY have faith that President Bush will turn things around in time.

[d4now]

Well, if you want to look at it that way I guess you could say it was mostly foiled.

[ChadGore]

God Bless GWB !

[BrooklynGOP]

Well, if you want to look at it that way I guess you could say it was mostly foiled.

No. While they failed to locate the tnt they foiled the plot itself.

[Grut]

I know it's a quibble, but an attack against a military target by definition is not a 'terrorist' attack: assassinating the Captain's wife is terrorism; assassinating the Captain is covert ops.

[eno_]

Singapore has a strong cuture of competence. If they got good intel, it is certain they acted on it as effectively as possible. It ain't Yemen. And while Sing is very multicultural, you can bet the mosques will be very closely watched from now on. You can be multicultural without being PC.

[sinclair]

there you go...

[A Navy Vet]

Well, the right explosives in the right place will certainly "take out" (incapacitate) a carrier - back to the shipyard.

[FreedomPoster]

Exactly. And a "mission kill" isn't a sinking, but may be an equivalent result in a given situation.

[Alpenkatze]

This is very true. I'm just hoping that what happined to the USS Cole is the result of a demoralized military due to eight years of neglect and under-pay. As I said, I'm hoping Bush will turn this around. The right amount of explosives SHOULDN'T get in the "RIGHT PLACE" as I'm sure you know. Navy Vet? When and where did you do your time? Just curious, I'm proud of all who put time in the services for our country, states, and cities. It didn't take 9/11 for me to see fire fighters and the police as people to be proud of too. ALL our out to defend us and our families.

[Mixer]

It is awesome that all of these attacks are being foiled. This one and the shoe bomber alone helped to save a lot of lives.
Thanks to all that work hard everyday making sure we are safe.

[Donald Stone]

One thing is guaranteed is that if the Singapore gov. catches any of these SOB terrorist threatening their economy there won't be any of this coddling of the terrorist.

Wouldn't surprise me if the Singapore gov. wouldn't call for a public beheading !!!!!!!

[razorback-bert]

Anything new on the ship, the British are taking apart?

[Valin]

the Singapore government earlier this month raided a "terrorist nest" and arrested 12 alleged al Qaida members suspected of planning an attack on the island nation's deep-water Navy port,

Gee that's really too bad for them. These guys are in for a REAL interesting time.

[Donald Stone]

Bump !!!!!!!