Antiterrorism Officials Reveal New Details of 2002 Terror Plot

NYT ^ | October 8, 2005 | DAVID E. SANGER

[FairOpinion]

Government counterterrorism officials gave new details on Friday of what the White House said was a foiled 2002 plot to fly hijacked airplanes into targets on the West Coast, but their account suggested that the Bush administration might not have understood the dimensions of the plot until two major terror suspects were caught in 2003.

Both suspects, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, had been involved in plans for such an attack, they said.

President Bush referred obliquely to the planning in a speech on Thursday, when he said the United States and its partners had stopped three potential attacks on American soil, and seven more around the world. The White House cited it later Thursday in a list of the 10 failed plots.

While several of those alleged plots had been disclosed before, officials said that the 2002 effort had not been publicized until now. Another foiled plot, the White House said, was aimed at East Coast cities in 2003.

The plan to attack Los Angeles appears to have grown out of a larger plan for attacks on both coasts, not just New York and Washington, on Sept. 11, 2001.

[FairOpinion]

And I am sure there are many more.

The US public is blissfully ignorant and unaware of all this, and lost interest in the War on Terror.

[HelloooClareece]

"their account suggested that the Bush administration might not have understood the dimensions of the plot until two major terror suspects were caught in 2003".


Even after foiling a terrorist plot this president and his administration still couldn't get a break from the NYT. What a joke.

[Doogle]

but their account suggested that the Bush administration might not have understood the dimensions of the plot until two major terror suspects were caught in 2003.

...but the NYT's account accounts for nothing...

Doogle

[martin_fierro]

Both suspects, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, had been involved in plans for such an attack, they said.

Yeah, well these days KSM's schedule is chock-full of getting pwn3d.

[Waco]

Do we have to go ahead and get 7-800,000 killed to make the NYT happy? Seems they fret a lot less over the deaths on 9/11 than they do over any possibile Bush success in the WOT. Ever notice?

[quantfive]

I think I speak for all of us in saying that if a plane was taken over by hijjackers, they would get attacked by all passengers under the age of 70. The terrorists know this so are going to go after softer targets. Just a punch of pu**ies, attacking unnarmed civilians.

[endthematrix]

What exactly are the NEW details?

[JSteff]

" if a plane was taken over by hijjackers, they would get attacked by all passengers "

I agree. Even if the government has give the hijackers an edge be ensuring that the passengers (even off duty policeman) would have no weapons to defend themselves with.

Pathetic. Profiling is necessary.

[quantfive]

"I agree. Even if the government has give the hijackers an edge be ensuring that the passengers (even off duty policeman) would have no weapons to defend themselves with.

Pathetic. Profiling is necessary."

Profiling is a critial element in the WOT , I agree. Meshing database technology, imaging systems and a non "PR" attitude could speed up victory dramatically and minimize casualties.