Middle Eastern Men & Kayak Rentals

memo from Anti Terrorism Task Force | 7 June 2002 | Frank Shults,

[UnsinkableMollyBrown]

United States Attorney

Eastern District of Virginia

District of Columbia

TO: Anti-Terrorism Task Force

FROM: Frank Shults
Chief Information Officer

RE: Kayak rentals

The ATTF CIO in Milwaukee obtained the following information from an intelligence summary report of an Army CID ATTF rep. It is passed on to you for information purposes.

(U//FOUO) California: On 21 May 2002, US Coast Guard (USCG) personnel were notified by a kayak distributor in Wilmington, CA, in metropolitan Los Angeles, that three or four men appearing to be of Middle-Eastern descent attempted to purchase four small "sit on top" kayaks several weeks ago. The men were only interested in obtaining the kayaks "right away." The men recently made repeated attempts to purchase three kayaks. The men also insisted that the kayaks be built by "Cobra." Comment: The kayak distributor is adjacent to the Port of Los Angeles. Cobra kayaks have a capacity upwards of 850lbs, and one- and two-seat Cobra kayaks have a capacity of 600lbs. Taking the fact that the bombers of the USS Cole used 600lbs of C-4, it is certainly plausible that a similar attack could occur using this type of platform.

According to the National Maritime Intelligence Center (NMIC), kayaks would likely not be distinguishable on radar from the background because they are made of rubber or plastic. Further, there have been several suspicious incidents at US ports including Los Angeles since October 2001. On 3 May 02 a man, appearing to be of Middle-Eastern descent, was observed taking video footage of the cruise ship terminal in Los Angeles, CA. Another report in mid-May related that several Middle Eastern persons were found to have taken SCUBA diving lessons within the last 2 years. According to FBI records, all three persons were known to have associations with either Hamas or Hizballah.

[nina0113]

If you want to buy three kayaks, you pay the money and get the kayaks. Why would it take repeated attempts?

Nobody HAS 3 or 4 kayaks (of the same model)- they have one display model, or a display and one to sell. There are a lot of different kayaks & they just can't stock quantities. I don't know how long the order time is, probably not more than a couple of weeks.

[eno_]

Cobra makes a triple seat kayak that they say has a capacity of 850 lbs. That's quite a lot for a kayak - almost three times what would be typical for a recreational or light touring kayak. And a triple kayak is unusual, too. So I do not find it implausible that they would have trouble buying three of them on the spot. They would probably have to be ordered.

[freeperfromnj]

Never underestimate the enemy is right. They are perhaps more adept at kayaking than we give them credit for. I’ve come to discover that while researching various stories, no matter what the topic, just add the word Islam to the end of the search and you’ll be amazed at the results. In doing so, I’ve just learned that kayaking is very popular with the middle eastern/islamic set.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

According to FBI records, all three persons were known to have associations with either Hamas or Hizballah.

Then why are they here? Or better, why are they still alive?

[WRhine]

It was ARABS who bombed the World Trade Center in 1993. It was ARABS who bombed the Khobar Towers. It was ARABS who bombed out embassies in Africa. It was ARABS who bombed the USS Cole. It was ARABS who brought down the World Trade Towers and damaged the Pentagon. Those are ARABS who are threatening to kill more innocent American civilians

Meanwhile our government is still allowing immigration from terrorist harboring nations at the same rate as before 9/11. We can't be exclusive you know.

[craig_eddy]

Now THAT makes sense...thanks

[SauronOfMordor]

The people that need to know, and anyone with a drop of common sense, is already aware of the miriad of possible means of terrorism.

The big question is: do the career bureaucrats with "need to know" actually HAVE "a drop of common sense"?

[GingisK]

Is there some waiting period or background check that I'm not aware of?

I'd suspect it was the lack of availability of these specific models that became their problem.

[porte des morts]

I was really refering to the front line troops in our "war" on terror. Witness the mess congress can make with pertinent information, and a case can be made for informing them 'after the fact.'

"Career bureaucrats" and 'common sense' should not be used in the same sentence.

[ElkGroveDan]

I think I speak for several Freepers when I say that, there are times when, whatever the topic, I can't resist making a smartass remark of some kind.

I know where you are coming from, friend. I too am a recidivist wise-cracker. It began as a means of relieving the tension of those endless corporate boardroom meetings of the late 1980s. Sadly I was only encouraged when management were asked to invite me to fewer meetings.

I now accept it as part of my life. I've learned to live with my quick wit and wicked sense of humor, one day at a time.

[EggsAckley]

Massive inbreeding, perhaps?

Don't know if you are saying this tongue in cheek, but actually, I HAVE been wondering about that a lot lately. For instance, a lot of the "elite" class in Arab countries marry within the families, cousins marrying cousins, similar to the medieval days in western Europe. Generations of inbreeding could VERY easily cause the kind of endemic madness these people display. That's PART of what brought down Rome.

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

I now accept it as part of my life. I've learned to live with my quick wit and wicked sense of humor, one day at a time.

I'm sure that there are people who think of me only as 'that guy who makes all the arcane jokes'. It's fine by me. They could be thinking a lot worse things, after all. I know exactly what you mean about relieving tension in meetings (not the way x42 did). I'm not at the boardroom level (just an IT drone). I was in rare form today. After a particularly animated first half of a meeting, when we reassembled, I said "Well, now that our spirit is broken, this half of the meeting should go much more quickly".

[The Old Hoosier]

How dare they racially profile. Shame on them.

[bam]

Well, I don't know if this Kayak/Scuba stuff isn't overreaction. But if true, watch out for attacks on energy installations other than those used for importation of oil, for example, domestic oil rigs.

Nuclear power plants were built along rivers to get water for reactor cooling. I assume security has been beefed up, but one in particular that I'm somewhat familiar with (just by floating by it in a boat) only had what looked like an underwater chain link fence to keep "foreign" objects out of the water intake.

[Big Guy and Rusty 99]

maybe they're taking their bombs out for a kayak trip? < /sarcasm >

[Dr. Eckleburg]

So where the heck are these "swarthy males?"

I want to see these murdering creeps under some wheels, not behind them.

NOW!

[UnsinkableMollyBrown]

Actually, this was public knowledge. I received this via a computer security mailing list.