R
Raymond
Guest
June 4, 2007
The JFK Airport Terror Plot: Much Ado About Nothing ?
The big story over the weekend involved the arrest of several men
involved in an alleged conspiracy to destroy John F. Kennedy Airport
in New York by igniting it's jet fuel lines. Now that time has passed
and questions can be raised, it's not all that clear that this plot
ever did, or could, amount to much of anything:
The plot as painted by law enforcement officials was cataclysmic: A
home-grown Islamic terrorist had in mind detonating fuel storage tanks
and pipelines and setting fire to Kennedy International Airport, not
to mention a substantial swath of Queens.
"Had the plot been carried out, it could have resulted in unfathomable
damage, deaths and destruction," Roslynn R. Mauskopf, the United
States attorney in Brooklyn, said in a news release that announced
charges against four men. She added at a news conference, "The
devastation that would be caused had this plot succeeded are just
unthinkable."
Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly then stepped to the lectern with
a vision only a bit less grim.
"Once again, would-be terrorists have put New York City in their
crosshairs," he said. Mr. Kelly said a disaster had been averted.
Or has it ? There's no question, it would seem, that these guys has
plotted to try to do something. But, the rhetoric of politicians and
prosecutors notwithstanding, it doesn't seem like it was ever anything
more than just talk:
At its heart was a 63-year-old retired airport cargo worker, Russell
M. Defreitas, who the complaint says talked of his dreams of
inflicting massive harm, but who appeared to possess little money,
uncertain training and no known background in planning a terror
attack.
"Capability low, intent very high," a law enforcement official said of
the suspects.
Some law enforcement officials and engineers also dismissed the notion
that the planned attack could have resulted in a catastrophic chain
reaction; system safeguards, they said, would have stopped explosions
from spreading.
Moreover, much of the Government's case seems to revolve around
information provided by a suspect in an unrelated drug case who agreed
to become a prosecution witness and provide information about
Defrietas and others involved in the alleged conspiracy.
Beyond discussions about igniting fuel lines, though, it seems clear
that the men involved in this "plot" really didn't know what they were
doing:
Mr. Defreitas and the informant drove out to the fuel tanks at night,
conducting surveillance, and made video recordings of Kennedy Airport
and its buildings.
They also "located satellite photographs of J.F.K.," the complaint
states, "and sought expert advice, financing and explosives."
But the satellite photographs amount to images easily downloaded from
Google Earth.
A law enforcement official characterized the surveillance videos as
"amateurish"; but he added that the material offered enough detail,
taken together with the Google images, to at least help with planning.
The complaint also states that the men discussed "escape routes"
through local roads and highways.
Many of the plot's larger details are left to the imagination.
According to the complaint, one suspect discussed the need to disable
an airport control tower, the better to provide cover to destroy the
fuel tanks.
Another problem is that none of the suspects appears to have planned
or carried out any previous attacks.
That doesn't mean, of course, that they weren't capable of doing
something at JFK. Along with everything else that's come to light
since these arrests were announced, though, it does lead one to doubt
just how imminent this threat actually was.
http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/06/04/the-jfk-airport-terror-plot-much-ado-about-nothing/
The JFK Airport Terror Plot: Much Ado About Nothing ?
The big story over the weekend involved the arrest of several men
involved in an alleged conspiracy to destroy John F. Kennedy Airport
in New York by igniting it's jet fuel lines. Now that time has passed
and questions can be raised, it's not all that clear that this plot
ever did, or could, amount to much of anything:
The plot as painted by law enforcement officials was cataclysmic: A
home-grown Islamic terrorist had in mind detonating fuel storage tanks
and pipelines and setting fire to Kennedy International Airport, not
to mention a substantial swath of Queens.
"Had the plot been carried out, it could have resulted in unfathomable
damage, deaths and destruction," Roslynn R. Mauskopf, the United
States attorney in Brooklyn, said in a news release that announced
charges against four men. She added at a news conference, "The
devastation that would be caused had this plot succeeded are just
unthinkable."
Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly then stepped to the lectern with
a vision only a bit less grim.
"Once again, would-be terrorists have put New York City in their
crosshairs," he said. Mr. Kelly said a disaster had been averted.
Or has it ? There's no question, it would seem, that these guys has
plotted to try to do something. But, the rhetoric of politicians and
prosecutors notwithstanding, it doesn't seem like it was ever anything
more than just talk:
At its heart was a 63-year-old retired airport cargo worker, Russell
M. Defreitas, who the complaint says talked of his dreams of
inflicting massive harm, but who appeared to possess little money,
uncertain training and no known background in planning a terror
attack.
"Capability low, intent very high," a law enforcement official said of
the suspects.
Some law enforcement officials and engineers also dismissed the notion
that the planned attack could have resulted in a catastrophic chain
reaction; system safeguards, they said, would have stopped explosions
from spreading.
Moreover, much of the Government's case seems to revolve around
information provided by a suspect in an unrelated drug case who agreed
to become a prosecution witness and provide information about
Defrietas and others involved in the alleged conspiracy.
Beyond discussions about igniting fuel lines, though, it seems clear
that the men involved in this "plot" really didn't know what they were
doing:
Mr. Defreitas and the informant drove out to the fuel tanks at night,
conducting surveillance, and made video recordings of Kennedy Airport
and its buildings.
They also "located satellite photographs of J.F.K.," the complaint
states, "and sought expert advice, financing and explosives."
But the satellite photographs amount to images easily downloaded from
Google Earth.
A law enforcement official characterized the surveillance videos as
"amateurish"; but he added that the material offered enough detail,
taken together with the Google images, to at least help with planning.
The complaint also states that the men discussed "escape routes"
through local roads and highways.
Many of the plot's larger details are left to the imagination.
According to the complaint, one suspect discussed the need to disable
an airport control tower, the better to provide cover to destroy the
fuel tanks.
Another problem is that none of the suspects appears to have planned
or carried out any previous attacks.
That doesn't mean, of course, that they weren't capable of doing
something at JFK. Along with everything else that's come to light
since these arrests were announced, though, it does lead one to doubt
just how imminent this threat actually was.
http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/06/04/the-jfk-airport-terror-plot-much-ado-about-nothing/
