NBC: Terror threat to extend through January (Al Qaida comcl pilots?)

[RamboLiberal]

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3775771/

Authorities raised the terrorist threat assessment over the weekend after new intelligence indicated that operatives of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terror network, possibly trained and licensed to fly passenger jets, may now be pilots for some foreign airlines, ideally positioning them to carry out suicide attacks, U.S. officials told NBC News on Monday.

Reinforced cockpit doors intended to thwart hijackers after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks would now protect any terrorist pilot at the controls, the officials said on condition of anonymity.

Authorities would not describe the terror threats in detail publicly, but the U.S. officials told NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski that the threat alert would remain at “orange,” or high, through the end of January, which they said was an indication of its seriousness.

Al-Qaida may have dirty bomb
New intelligence indicates that al-Qaida remains intent on attacking large gatherings of people with chemical or biological weapons, official said. They said law enforcement agencies were looking closely at two rural locations — one in the East and the other in the Southwest — that were believed to be high on the terrorist target list.

[ThoughtCriminal]

1. Charter aircraft

Something they have reported to have considered using before. BIG loophole there.

[KC]

2. When they say large gatherings

and extended through January, it makes me think of New Year's Eve in New York.

KC

[Snazzy]

3. Hmm... Makes me think of the Primaries

New Hampshire end of Jan, right?

[ahimsa]

6. Or SOTU address

:think:

[Voltaire99]

4. This just in: Al Qaeda to blow up the moon...

...destroying the world's supply of green cheese!

Fear, fear, and more fear -- from the most successful fearmongers on the planet. You stand more chance of being squashed by an SUV than you do of perishing in a terrorist attack.

[punpirate]

5. Miklaszewski has a tendency to...

... take his "official sources" on faith, rather than do more digging. He's probably an unwitting mouthpiece for the Pentagon.

I find the bit about al-Qaeda pilots licensed overseas very interesting. I doubt that passenger jet training overseas is much less stringent than here, and from the record, none of the alleged hijackers were particularly adept in handling planes, and none, I think, had completed even basic fixed wing training and received even a sport pilot's license. Indeed, few of them had any apparent ambitions along those lines. They were in training to learn the bare minimum necessary.

There's a procedure everywhere for eventual employment as a commercial jet pilot--first single-engine license, then IFR training, then multi-engine, then passenger jet. While one could overlap some of the course work, this is still several years of study and certain minimums for flight time to graduate from level to level. The situation to receive a commercial jet license is fundamentally different, and much longer, than simply sitting in classes to learn basic controls and aircraft behavior.

The radiologic bomb business is another red herring, I think. That was likely thrown in to improve public support for the government's position on the Padilla ruling.

As usual with this administration, a high degree of skepticism is required. They've done virtually nothing to make this country a better place. Why, then, should the public take on faith yet more unsubstantiated claims of increased terrorist activity as evidence of how hard they are trying to protect the country?

"Increased traffic" is not substantiation for an imminent plot, just as "imminent danger" was not substantiation for an invasion.

[dbt]

7. Now the Question must be asked:

What will be happening in January that we're not supposed to notice?

:freak:
dbt

[soleft]

12. The Superbowl?

[dusty64]

8. These guys have cried

"terrarist" so many times, does anyone buy this anymore? Bet this is cover for when the real Christmas sales figures come out as well as revised economic numbers. Don't forget also, this will make chimp out to look like an action figure when "our glorious leader" makes the dangerous journey to Iraq to spread "love and cheer" to our troops. I smell lies and political games with everything our regime does.

[NNN0LHI]

9. So what happens after January? Do all these pilots retire or something? nt

[Maeve]

10. Maybe that's when they bring out Osama Bin Hidin'

:tinfoilhat:

[Gman]

11. Get ready for a big year of alerts

We'll probably see a couple of RED alerts in 2004.

Bush has to maintain a big level of fear this year to win and Karl Rove knows it.

[VolcanoJen]

13. The southwest, eh? Houston?

Sounds like they're worried about SuperBowl XXXVIII, in Houston at the end of January.

:eyes:

I prefer the kinds of presidents who lead us, and remind us that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. This kind of fear-mongering perpetuated by this administration is unconscionable to me.

[bushisanidiot]

14. Maybe They'll Just Extend it All The Way Through November

the idiots. HOW can the repukes claim we are safer when the f*cking "terror alert level" is orange? One step away from red alert?? HOW in the hell are we safer when there is an "imminent threat" of 9/11 proportions??

do they expect us to believe them and vote them in for another 4 years? HELL F*CKING NO!!

[GRClarkesq]

15. Implies planning ahead by several years

since it would take that long get a pilot throught the training system and employed. Al-Qaida has shown itself capable of playing the long game before.

[Tinfoil]

18. I know a co-worker

That STARTED his pilot training in December of 2000 and was flying for the airlines in late January of 2002. 13 months. It doesn't take quite as long as you would think, in some cases.

[Rainbows]

16. Using real Pilots !!! ...

At least this time it would be more believable. Does anyone realise how much training one needs to pilot a modern computerized large aircraft? Last time we got pilots trained on Cessnas in puddle jumper flight schools. BushCo propaganda is getting better, and more realistic. The dirty bomb would reek more lasting havoc.

[Tinfoil]

17. Not nearly as much as you think...

Does anyone realise how much training one needs to pilot a modern computerized large aircraft?


Assuming the a/c is already in the air up and running, it's not too difficult to fly a modern airliner if all the systems are working correctly (and there's no reason they wouldn't have been on 9/11). If someone spent several months learning to fly small aircraft and then learned some systems knowledge on the 767 and how it's auto flight system works (available almost anywhere, MSFS is a really good one, actually), it would be very easy to steer an airliner around. There's no way these guys could have landed it (unless they figured out how to set up the autoland on it).


All airplanes fly the same once you get about 50 ft away from the ground. Up/down/left/right/fast/slow all work the same. Hell, I know of a 5 yr old girl that has hand flown a 767-300ER at 41,000ft.



I don't mean to fly an airliner isn't difficult. It actually is. Spend a lot of time dealing with weather situations and sometimes a/c systems don't work correctly. Landing the damn things can be very difficult and dangerous in high winds, too, but that wasn't the intention of the terrorists two years ago.