Stolen Boeing 727 Feared In Hands of al-Qaeda

Bush Country ^ | 091103 | Gordon Thomas

[Trust but Verify]

I'm with you on this. These stories about this missing aircraft are legion. But let us pretend for a moment this report is accurate. How desperate do you have to be to try and take one airliner out by crashing another into it? Pretty desperate, I'd say. That would also be good news.

[DaGman]

Ooops... my oversight. Point well taken.

[Publius6961]

At those prices we would have to 'Nuke' them.......

Well... that's still better than drilling in our own country.
Right?

Right?

[Kenny Bunk]

What say we go watch them try it? If they fail, there will be a win-win conclusion to this aerodynamic conversation.

I would recommend we put the folding chairs, sunshade, and cooler on a rise about a mile away. A Stinger set up might also be appropriate. But let's go with quail-hunting rules: no shooting until they actually clear the ground.

[Barnacle]

My friend’s son works in the pilot shop at an airport. Just before 9-11, there was a group of middle- easterners that came in to but a high priced flight simulator program. They argued about which one to buy, and left without making a purchase.

(Yes, he informed the FBI. Probably on 9-12-2001)

The point is that the war on terrorism is real. They are at war with us. Though I have to wonder how seriously we’re taking it since we have literally millions of unidentified foreigners mixed in the general population and no border security. That’s right, no border security.

You may say, it is secure for the most part.

But that just doesn’t hold water.

[Ronin]

Sounds good to me. But a Stinger would be overkill. Let's rustle up an ol' SA-7 Strella or two to make it interesting.

[Southack]

"Let's see that would put oil at about $120 a barrel and kick off Islamic revolution in Saudi Arabia. Good."

Open War has always been our strong suit. So long as our enemies never figure out that we are weaker in Negotiations than in war and economics, we'll have little serious trouble with them aside from a few major publicity-style events.

[Southack]

"Or consider the effect upon hitting a large oil refinery or tanker port. Consider also bin-Ladin's connections to Saudis and how much Saudi would benefit from the utter destruction of some other country's oil-exporting ability"

Al Qaeda isn't exactly filled with brainiacs. They could very well target the Suez Canal, thinking that shutting it down would disrupt oil flows, make spectacular news for recruiting and morale purposes, while not taking into account just how that would alienate people who would otherwise have some sympathy towards them (e.g. Egyptians).

We're not talking about people who've been reading How to win friends and influence people, now are we?!

[AdamSelene235]

Open War has always been our strong suit.

Precisely. Once Saudi is burning and Americans realize the full economic consequences, we're going in. Unfortunately, it will take years to rebuild the infrastructure if it is badly damaged. This too, is a blessing in disguise as it will bolster domestic oil and nuclear energy.

[Dog]

fyi..

[JETDRVR]

Dont worry, If this realy happened, (trust me on this) all the Alhphabet soup agencys are going to be all over this one. I can sort of believe the hijacking part ,out of Angola. But the "Midair collision"part aint happening. AQ would have to go to great lengths to get that bird out of Africa. The amount of surveilance by our military (and others)of all Commercial/private flights operating in the Mideast or CONUS is extremely high. AQ would have to repaint it , assume some bogus callsign-company Flight ID,have a valid flight plan( a dead give away ) If you have any contact with your bro ,tell him to try and squawk the ICAO hijack code, and while on the deck keep the flaps extended fully after landing! THe "D"boys will be right along to pay a visit ;)

[Peach]

Thanks for those links.

[Trailerpark Badass]

A 727 tanker? I'm no aircraft expert, but do any militaries use a 727 tanker? I think KC135 are 737-based. Are there non-military tankers? Someone fill me in here.

[SauronOfMordor]

Al Qaeda isn't exactly filled with brainiacs

They're not entirely stupid, either. Osama had a degree in civil engineering and came from a family that got quite wealthy in the construction business. I would imagine be recruited a few people of at least moderate intelligence.

In military planning, it pays to assume that your opponent is intelligent enough to figure out how to effectively use his strengths against your weaknesses, and plan accordingly

[old-ager]

> Say what you will; Google News does have this story.

A tip o' the hat -- I stand corrected!