JFK Plot
The plot to blow up fuel lines at JFK reportedly was not technically feasible, and they never had their hands on the explosives. Four arrested, one sought. Second in the space of a month. Both sound like pretty good ideas. Good thing they bungled it. I’d still like to know where the smart ones are and what they are up to. My guess, in Iraq, otherwise occupied.
Not a major concern, however, because terrorism no longer exists. A busted terror plot is one that never was a threat. At least, that’s what I’m getting for Taylor Marsh’s “non event.” Marsh, site notable mainly for an archived cleavage shot, is a fan of John Edwards’ “What war on terror?” school of thought. TPM also reckons blowing stuff up at JFK is not that big a deal. Newshog also seems to believe that a plot busted is no big deal. Somehow I think they’d all be saying something else if the plots were ignored.
Malkin has the affidavit and other details.
Counterterrorismblog has more on Guyana-based terrorists.
Strata-sphere is getting worked up about illegration, which he apparently supports and considers enforcement versus to be a distraction from terrorism, but otherwise makes some good points about NSA wiretaps of international communications
Gateway at JFK, happily reports business as usual. He notes characterization of these guys as “al-Qaeda” wannabes. Much like the Fort Dix plotters. Of course, the way al-Qaeda works, wannabe is all you gotta be. Doesn’t much matter whether Osama signed off or not.
Topics: GWOT
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 9:55 pm on Saturday, June 2, 2007
8 Responses to “JFK Plot”
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June 2nd, 2007 at 10:41 pm
Lucky for us the Mohammed Attas of the movement are fairly rare. But all it would take is for one group of idiots to get lucky.
June 2nd, 2007 at 11:59 pm
I keep seeing these wannabe terrorist plots pooh-poohed as implausible, impossible to actually implement, blown out of proportion, etc. and can’t help thinking what they would have said if 19 Muslims had been arrested in summer 2001 while plotting to crash jet planes into major landmarks using box cutters and fake bombs. They’d probably have been released long ago.
June 3rd, 2007 at 12:14 am
Blowing up the JFK fuel depot and distribution system probably would not have been catastrophic; jet fuel is volatile but, AFAIK, not explosive except under certain conditions. These guys probably watched too many Hollywood action flicks.
But destroying even part of the fuel distribution system would be a major problem. No fuel means no planes in the air. JFK is a major air hub, and even a partial shut down would have economic impacts, especially in this FedEx world of ours.
Assuming, of course, that these guys are are really terrorists, and not members of some obscure Chuck Norris fan club. Never can tell these days, with all these non-terrorists planning terrorist style attacks.
June 3rd, 2007 at 3:31 am
There are times when one is reminded of the reason why cliches are cliches. “None so blind…” comes to mind, along with others.
It is so easy to pontificate from the safety of one’s own home or office–unless one’s home sits atop a fuel pipeline or one works in a tall building that has just been hit by a fully fueled Boeing. But those are silly scenarios for Hollywood that ordinary people needn’t be concerned about.
June 3rd, 2007 at 6:44 am
The feds seem sometimes able to stop terrorist plots before any damage is done.
Where is the New York Times article detailing how they do this?
Journalists are neglecting the noble and important job of publicizing the secrets of anti-terrorist operations.
Must be the result of pressure from the BushHitlerHalliburton Axis.
June 3rd, 2007 at 9:19 am
Thankfully, most terrorists are retards. Jet fuel, as noted, isn’t all that volatile, being essentially high quality kerosene.
Simply drilling a hole in the pipe and introducing contaminants would have been equally effective and quite possibly could have brought down a few planes depending on how careful/careless JFK’s fuel handling/testing is. There’s been more than a few small planes crash over the years to fuel contamination. I’ve lost friends who went down in a small plane due to contaminated fuel.
Put a terrorist in on a engine maintenance crew - one light stroke of a file on a turbine compressor blade can cause the whole engine to grenade in flight. The older planes that still have Kapton wiring insulation are all ticking time bombs that just need a bit of help to go off.
June 3rd, 2007 at 1:51 pm
our civilization depends on those connections you fellas are discussing. Really, the jihadis are pretty smart: small, relentless attacks on the connections between people.
June 3rd, 2007 at 3:03 pm
heather, it’s better to say that some of the terrorists are smart. The rest may have a good imagination, but lack the ability to transform a vision into reality.