U.S. fears New Year's Eve terror try

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/149599p-131833c.html

Officials are girding for a possible terrorist act on New Year's Eve, replaying fears of Al Qaeda's unsuccessful millennium plot to blow up Los Angeles Airport.
"We're still concerned," a senior U.S. law enforcement official said yesterday. The official cautioned that the passing of Christmas without an attack had not diminished heightened fears of terrorism on U.S. soil.

But ringing in the new year under a terror threat against large public gatherings is only one of the scenarios that have counter.terrorism agents worried.

"There's a lot of little pieces of information that we've been able to obtain, and we're in the process of analyzing that intelligence and ascertaining what it may mean," a senior law enforcement official told the Daily News.

"Some of it was associated with New Year's Day," the source added.

[JailForBush]

1. Why don't they just designate all holidays Orange Alert Days

and save us all a lot of time and trouble?

[The Mighty Boot]

3. Why not

quit looting the country and laying
waste to the planet.

Find Osama!

Outsource Bush!

:hangover:

[0007]

8. You mean like shipping junior to Haiti?

[kainah]

29. Outsource Bush!!

I like that idea, although I can't come up with a country I hate enough to want to burden them with his presence.

Welcome to DU, Mighty Boot! :toast:

[DoYouEverWonder]

41. Nigeria is accepting exiles

He could move in with Charlie Taylor.

[IndianaGreen]

20. Red Alert: Al-Qaeda planning attacks on St. Patrick's Day!

I'll bet that Tom Ridge was seen as a "party pooper" when he was a teenager. What an incompetent jerk!

You are right, JailForBush, let's designate all Holidays as "Orange Alert Days"!

[TankLV]

24. Actually, it's getting quite a bit confusing and drab...

Red and Green alert for Christmas.

Maybe Silver for New Years.

Orange for Halloween - no - already did that.

Yellow & Green for Easter.

Red, White & Blue for the 4th, of course.

I think I see a pattern emerging!

[mbperrin]

40. NOW you're assuming that Ridge

got invited to any parties!

I'll bet he sat home and entertained himself.

[SoCalDem]

2. Good Grief...Terrorism is "with us" 24/7/365

The "terrorists" can "hit" us anyime they want to..anywhere they want to.. This whole Chicken Little nonsense is getting old. Does anyone really believe that a terrorist is "gonna git 'em" ??.. Are we to live our lives looking over our shoulders and mistrusting everyone we do not know personally??

This is all a massive CYA program.. They are warning us about everything they can think of, so that "when" something happens, they can say.."See ..we told ya...sorry we are not paying any money to you for your suffering and loss...you should have paid attention to our warnings".. It's a way to transfer government responsibility for our safety...to US individually.. There's that old republican bug-a-boo..personal responsibility..

Their mantra is "Shop,, spend money.. go to the mall..but you better watch out..the bogeyman is gonna attack you"

[AliceWonderland]

4. Oh for god's sake

I am so sick of this nonsense. Statistically, Americans are more likely to get squashed by a car on New Year's Eve, or drop dead from a heart attack. Honestly, I feel like the world is being run by eight year olds.

[Caroline2]

33. Oh For God's Sake

I used to feel like you did about terrorist alerts. The New Year's eve before September 11, 2001 we were all a little annoyed and giddy trying to get to the theater. Between being shuffled by the police and having to be escorted from police horse to police horse, it was a bit much.

Nine months later, as I stood watching the Trade Center being hit by two planes and loosing two members of my family in those buildings, I don't discount the terrorist alerts. As for getting squashed by a car or having a heart attack, I'd choose either of those rather than being incinerated in another terrorist attack.

[Must_B_Free]

5. "One official was quoted as saying"

"nnnnow that I think about it, they may have said something about new years day"...

[Danocrat]

6. Didn't they already use the LAX scare once?

Can't they at least be a little imaginative.

[radfringe]

7. terra-lerts

means BUSH* failed

Toppling the taliban did not make us safer
Invading Iraq did not make us safer
Capturing Saddam did not make us safer

be it yellow, orange or red means Bush* failed

[Robb]

9. Wouldn't it be fun

if we had a foreign policy that had some plan to discourage attacks? You know, maybe do something about the abject fucking poverty that breeds radicalism....

Sorry. Lost it. Need more coffee. :)

Remember, when life gives you Orange Alert, make Orangeade!

[Voltaire99]

18. Perish the thought!

Please stop making such excellent sense, or you'll spoil the fearmongering for the rest of us! ;-)

[Leilani]

32. Or Try to Make Some Progress in the Middle East

If we had real progress between Israelis & Palestinians, would probably do more than anything else to end terrorism. Maybe Muslims wouldn't hate us, if they thought we were fair to both sides.

This administration has talked a good game, but they have not done anything concrete to improve conditions. Bush is too afraid of offending Sharon/ Jewish voters.

[TheWatcher]

10. Yawn. Wolf.

And New Years will come and go and NOTHING WILL HAPPEN.....

And Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, President's Day, Arbor Day, Labour Day, etc, etc, etc will come and go and NOTHING WILL HAPPEN.....

I have become completely convinced this is nothing more than manufactured, State Sponsered HYSTERIA, soley for the purpose of keeping the people of this country afraid, and IN CONTROL.....

I used to keep my mouth shut about this, but those days are over....I no longer care, because there is too much at stake to keep quiet.....

The tragedy of this phoney "War On Terror" is that, ironically, as long as the people stay afraid and buy into this nonsense, NOTHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN, because there is no need for anything to happen....The people are in line, and towing the line, for the most part.....

What worries me, is when the people finally tire of this band of human waste crying "Wolf" once too often....When the people wake up, begin ignoring and defying, and heaven forbid, QUESTIONING this fraud, that's when Bushco just might show us there is something to fear after all.....

You want this to stop?.....

You want to be safe from Terrorism?.....

Get these Bastards out of our Government and into the Hague.....

THAT will be the first TRUE VICTORY in the "War On Terror".....

I no longer take these "Terra Alerts" as Warnings about some mythical threat from foreign soil.....

I take it as a message to "Go along with us.....Or Else....."

So Once Again The Boy King Cries WOLF.....

Are we really reaching a time in our storied history when our existence as a nation is possibly coming down to two dire concepts?.....

Be Afraid and Shut up, or Be Free and Be Killed.....

David Bowie was right....

"This is NOT America....."

[kath]

25. "I have become completely convinced this is nothing more than manufactured

"I have become completely convinced this is nothing more than manufactured, State Sponsered HYSTERIA, soley for the purpose of keeping the people of this country afraid, and IN CONTROL....."

ABSOFUCKINLUTELY, Watcher.

[Turbineguy]

28. State Sponsored Hysteria

I like that. Maybe Bush should start wearing some kind of stylish uniform. Something in baby blue perhaps. A thin Goering.

"you can call me Mayer!

[solinvictus]

39. Goering

Don't insult Goering by comparing him to Dubya! At least Goering was a WW1 ace!

[kalian]

11. Told you.... "cliche terrorism"....

Why don't these "terrorists" attack today for example? Or
maybe even on the 30th of December. Or...how about the 12th of Jan?
:eyes:
No...they're going to attack when we think they'll attack and then
it sounds "plausible" and "conclusive" and "convincing" to the
American sheeple.

[legin]

12. There is one worry

After Saddam's capture bush could have declared it a big victory, said the world is safer and had a bit of a celebration, and then let people put their feet up for a bit.

But he hasn't, we are now back into the mass-pschology, fear-mongering, 'political' terrorist alerts, in fact bush* has almost reacted against his 'victory'.

This foregoing of electoral advantage in order to keep the 'war spirit' going tends to suggest that bush* has other plans.

[lefty_mcduff]

13. Wasn't Dean hammered for saying...

...he didn't feel particularly 'safer' after the capture of Saddam? Since then we've had the alert status raised, threats of attacks on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and now, New Years Day/ Eve? Wasn't Dean right?

Shouldn't he now receive a lavish apology? Shouldn't Faux be leading with 'Howard Dean was right - we AREN'T any safer'?

Oh, never mind.

[aquart]

14. Well, Bush feels safer. He's an optimist.

That's why he has to hide all the time. And can't walk in public or go further than the Baghdad airport? Wasn't he brave? Okay, not as brave as Hillary or David Letterman, but for such a coward, wasn't he brave?

George feels real safe in the world he's made. Hope he starts sleeping under the bed. No, I don't mean that.

May he never sleep.

[caledesi]

35. Dean was right, as usual. nt

[dbt]

15. Jesus Tapdancing Muhammad!

If al-Qaeda were going to attack, Christmas Day would have been the perfect time. It would have been the ultimate violation of our safety and of the sanctity of the holiday. It would have been a psychological blow equal to, or greater than, 9/11.

We're supposed to believe that the terra-ists passed up a fat target like Christmas in favor of New Years?

:freak:
dbt

[peekaloo]

16. Happy New Fear!

Think I'll celebrate with a big ole cheeseburger.


:bushyankingusoffsmiley:

:evilfrown:

[mmm]

17. Luckily, Bush has no terror event scheduled for that day

(Hope they aren't counting on those other terrorists ((the figment brigade)) to get busy New Year's Eve. It ain't gonna happen.)

[Ernesto]

19. Happy Hoaxidays everybody!

[Tracer]

21. SoCalDem ...

... You've hit the nail on the head.

This is nothing but a big CYA.

[mouse7]

22. New and Improved: Fear!

They promised you bigger and badder than 9/11 for Christmas. They're promising biggerer and badderer for New Years. New Years is gonna blow bigger and badder than "The Big Bang." That's right. Al-Queda is going to re-implode-and-explode the universe for New Years and we are all helpless to stop it. So you better go give money to Dubya, because, he's um, FEAR! FEAR! You're afraid. Give money to Dubya! Go shopping!

[TankLV]

23. The End of the World is THANKSGIVING!

No wait -

The End of the World is CHRISTMAS!

No wait -

The End of the World is NEW YEARS!

No wait -

ummmmm.

Where have I heard all this nonsense before? - Oh, right, all 2 1/2 years since they stole the election!

[kath]

26. terra, terra, terra, fear, fear, fear

terra, terra, terra, fear, fear, fear, terra, terra, terra, terra...

[caledesi]

36. Gee, isn't that how Fundies control their people? nt

[llmart]

27. Surely we all remember

the brouhaha leading up to the millenium in 2000. I remember people stocking up on canned goods, buying guns, and one community in our area who spent thousands of taxpayers dollars on extra stop signs for corners where they were afraid the traffic lights would go out! People are lemmings for the most part. I just sat back and laughed about all the money they wasted on this perceived event that never happened.

[maggrwaggr]

30. Those French will try to let something else slip through!

So if something happens, it still won't be Bush's fault (nothing is, after all) but the French's.

This according to CBS evening news tonight. We need to be even more afraid, because other countries like France just aren't holding up their end as far as "our" safety!

[Junkdrawer]

31. A New Year's Eve "Operation Northwoods" ?

For those unfamiliar with Operation Northwoods, I cite the following ABC News article:

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/jointchiefs_010501.html

For a long time many of us here have feared that such an "attack" may take place. My gut is telling me that this New Year's Eve would be about the right time for such an attack:

1.) Close enough to the election that the attack would influence the outcome, not so close that anyone could question the timing.

2.) Long enough from the election so that another invasion (of, say, Iran or Syria) could, once again, provide a wedge issue for Republicans. That is to say, that much of the Democratic base would oppose another invasion while Democratic candidates would feel obliged to support another invasion.

So how can we tell a fake attack from a real one? Here's my criteria: If the "attack" is 99% fear based (like a dirty bomb, or a Bubonic Plague attack), it's probably fake. If the attack is genuinely widespread and deadly (like Small Pox), it's probably real.

Let's hope I'm all wet. I don't know if what's left of our democracy will survive if I'm right.

[Judi Lynn]

38. Thanks for including the link to the Operation Northwoods article

It's appropriate EVERYONE is aware of what our Joint Chiefs of Staff considered completely acceptible in the early 1960's.

They were looking out for the future of their profession: planning ways to pave the future for future wars. Damned sad.

[stickdog]

34. Not to worry. Bush will be too damn drunk to pull it off. (nt)

[TrogL]

37. It's not Dubya doing it

Dubya is a puppet.

[DoYouEverWonder]

42. Pretty Boy Tom

should get his head out of his butt and stop reading sites like GOPUSA, Bush Country and the Northeast Intelligence Network and start listening to the CIA and FBI again.

Another funny thing I noticed, Janes and Stratfor have nothing current on their sites about anything to do with al Qaeda and/or terror alerts. Just one of those things that makes you wonder where all this 'credible' information is coming from.