We don’t have the color-coded alert system any more, but that hasn’t stopped the Department of Homeland Security from issuing vague alerts about the possibility of terrorist attacks.
Astonishingly enough, the alert this weekend, the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, has nothing to do with the Iraq war veterans and angry white men that Janet Napolitano’s Department of Homeland Security have been insisting are the major terrorist threat to America. The alert is about Jihadists targeting New York City and Washington, D.C.
Who would have thunk it!? Jihadists targeting New York and Washington! How novel!
Pardon us for this bit of sarcasm, but we are more than a little disgusted by Ms. Napolitano’s incompetence and political correctness. In fact, Napolitano was apparently caught flatfooted yet again by this latest threat. Just days ago she publicly proclaimed that there were no threats associated with the anniversary of 9/11 and it took reporters asking her at a news conference if that was still true for the truth to slip out. True to form, Napolitano gave a halting, cryptic reply. Later that night (Thursday), the Feds issued an advisory.
Unconfirmed reports are that the advisory came from a tip from an intelligence asset in the tribal areas of northwest Pakistan.
The NYPD, which is more respected in law enforcement circles than the federal Department of Homeland Security, issued its own advisory, which was much clearer than Napolitano’s utterance. Jim Kouri over at the Law Enforcement Examiner has an article on that…
Speaking of New York, here is an interesting article on the extensive measures that the Big Apple has taken to safeguard its people and vital infrastructure. An attack on New York is an attack on the entire USA and there is no target more important, both in the minds of the Jihadists and from America’s perspective.
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/09/08/exclusive-elaborate-new-york-city-post-911-security/
Finally, here is an article from the New York Daily News with further unconfirmed details about the threat. The main worry, according to this report anyway, seems to be 3 Al Qaeda terrorists who were dispatched by Ayman al-Zawahiri to set off car bombs near transit points on Sunday, September 11th…Frankly, this seems odd to us because, even with the commemoration on Sunday, the transit assets would still be much more crowded on a normal business day…
Zawahiri
LATE ADDITION: A new report just came out from The Daily with additional details on the threat. According to this report, Zawahiri planned the alleged 9/11 anniversary operation himself. Two of the three terrorists are said to be U.S. citizens. They are said to have traveled to Pakistan through Iran. (It is worth remembering that several of the 9/11 hijackers also transited through Iran, which will often not stamp passports, thus concealing the travel of terrorists.) The Daily article is not entirely clear, but the terrorists are then said to have traveled back to the USA through Saudi Arabia or Dubai.
http://www.thedaily.com/page/2011/09/09/090911-news-zawahiri-intraday/
Let’s all hope and pray that this is nothing but chatter and no incident occurs…
Terror Trends Bulletin 