Officials: Saudis warned 3 weeks before attack

[maddezmom]

Source: AP

By KIMBERLY DOZIER and BRIAN MURPHY - Associated Press WASHINGTON — A Saudi tip about a possible al-Qaida effort to bring down airplanes was relayed to U.S. authorities in early October, nearly three weeks before the group's Yemen affiliate tried to ship mail bombs to the U.S. in cargo planes, U.S. intelligence officials said Friday.

The Saudi intelligence tip helped to head off what could have been a devastating series of plane explosions. Western officials credit the Saudis with playing a crucial role in finding two mail bombs recovered last week in Dubai and Britain before they reached the U.S.

On Friday, the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for sending the two bombs and threatened more attacks on civilian and cargo planes. The group also said it had a role in the crash of a UPS cargo plane in Dubai in September, but investigators so far have insisted an accident was at fault.



The Saudi tip in October contained no mention of cargo planes, or any details of the plot carried out last week, said U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss classified matters. But they said it gave the U.S. and other Western officials enough of a warning to know what to look for when another Saudi tip arrived last week.



Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2010/11/05/1548038/al-qaida-group-takes-responsibility.html#ixzz14U0LAaJ9

Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2010/11/05/1548038/al-qaida-group-takes-responsibility.html

[groundloop]

1. Hey, this administration knows what to do with national security tips

[uppityperson]

2. Indeed. Thanks Saudis for the tip, Thanks Pres Obama admin for listening to it.

[TheMadMonk]

3. Yup, announce that through the Saudis they have a conduit to AQ operations...

...in Yemen. It shouldn't be too hard for AQ to come up with a shortlist.

And then there's always the possibility, that AQ is taking a leaf out of the IRA's handbook. And deliberately let different pieces of the puzzle drop where they'd get back to America. It is rather telling that plots such as these are more often than no found out through some form of tip off.

Another telling thing is how little of the more "terrifying materials" which terrorists could use, but rarely, if ever, do use, is discovered by chance. The quantity of chance intercepted materials, whatever their nature, will be a fairly fixed proportion of the overall quantities of those materials shipped. Thus lucking onto a 100 ton shipment of cocaine, or having one pop up on your coast watch radar is a fairly indicative that there is a huge amount of undetected material getting through. The lack of bioweapons, nukes (or even significant quantities of any radioactives) turning up amongst the contraband plant materials, dodgy "pharmacuticals", and animal parts that customs intercepts every day is strongly indicative, that bugger all of that sort of stuff is being moved around below the radar.

The truth is, that AQ or any of the larger "terrorist organisations" could, if they wished, cause an incredible amount of carnage at any time they wished. In the air, on the ground, or out to sea.

The back doors of any number or air and sea ports around the world are wide open. As are the backdoors of tens of thousands of sports stadiums, shopping complexes, theatres and critical infrastructure facilities. Millions of sqaure kilometers of forest are vulnerable to something as simple as a pocketful of matches.

Consider all the possible reasons why AQ and their like don't kill 1000 kids on basketball camp, or topple an appartmemt building a week. Maybe you'll find some answers there.

[bigworld]

5. Or maybe they didn't know it three weeks ago

and they're putting out that story now to screw with Al Qaida. A little psch warfare goes a long way.

[TheMadMonk]

6. Possible. Also possible that there was no intel from the Saudis, but ...

...they hope to flush out some AQ penetration into the Sauds by "hinting" thay any such penetration might actually extend in the other direction.

But I still suggest you think about why AQ hasn't brought down a bunch of planes, why they haven't blown up a stadium full of kids, or blown the foundations out from beneath fifty storeys of appartment building.

I won't SAY thay AQ is still taking direct instruction from Langley. Howevwer, it is very telling that almost all their successful carnage takes place amongst their own people and other Islamic populations and not the "true enemy" in the West. Operations against Western targets seem to be "found out" just in time, or otherwise fail at the very last moment.

[BillH76]

4. Our Saudi masters are helping us. Isn't that nice of them? nt