Pink Thunder: Al Qaeda to U.S. -- You Are In Big Trouble

Pink Thunder hates to say I told you so, but I told you Osama might have an October Surprise waiting for us. And so it was with a heavy heart but no real surprise that I watched the Al Qaeda tape this am on "Good Morning America". I am surprised that ABC is not sharing it with other networks. I suppose they will after they've gotten a bit of a ratings boost out of it. The tape raises legitimate concerns about an Al Qaeda attempt before the election. The tape looked slickly produced, an English language spokesman, a special logo and Arabic subtitles. That tape this am was rather arrogant and confident -- and angry. While the Arabic language tapes are pretty spooky, somehow the same hateful words conveyed in my own language created a more lasting, chilling impact for me.

ABC said that it was working with the CIA to determine the authenticity of the tape, the identity of the spokesman or at least his likely nation of origin. CNN also had a brief mention of the tape's existence on its marquee bar below the live anchor.

Will the Bush administration crank us up to Orange (or aren't we already there) or Red Alert soon? Will Al Qaeda try to attack before the election and if so, where, when and how?

Impacting the American election in some way as they did in Spain must be like the Terrorism Super Bowl for Al Qaeda. How can they resist such a plump and prestigious opportunity? This tape could be a preview so they can take full credit later. Even a smallish attack on U.S. soil would be pretty disruptive and swing the election one way or another.

If something is going to happen, I'd wager on Sunday. It's a day when people, especially law enforcement and security, is more relaxed and more short-staffed. Folks are chilling and watching the game on TV. Hunting season opens in many locations.

If I was Al Qaeda, I wouldn't want to do something too close to the actual election in order to make sure people still go to the polls and the action has the desired effect. The spokesman said it would dwarf 9/11. Something like that would have to take place somewhere packed with people. Washington D.C. is a highly desirable location given that it is Bush's home and rich with national symbols. Also, they failed here in the past in their original 9/11/01 plan.

However, both D.C. and NYC are hardened targets at this point. If the trash truck bangs around the industrial bins too loudly here in D.C., people get all jumpy and nervous downtown. Yet, in other places outside the Beltway, I've noticed that people in the rest of the country don't have 5-10% of their brains poised for a quick exit in case of a terrorist attack. The rest of the country is soft and relatively complacent compared to the paranoid and freaked-out citizens of 9/11 country.

An attack in the heartland, especially in a swing state like Iowa, Ohio or Michigan, would be pretty effective in terms of maximal terror impact in the American mindset. "Marge, we're not safe anywhere!" I mean, how hard would it really be for Al Qaeda to pull off a mjor explosion at some big mall, like Mall of America, or some other mall in any given midwestern state? Probably not very hard at all...

I am surprised this was not bigger news this am, but I reckon it will either gain legs or get hushed up.

We'll see. And pray for safety...

Comments

It's possible that the fact he's left to trying to intimidate us by videotape is a sign of progress, although it's too soon to tell.

He didn't threaten Spain, he bombed a train to get what he wanted.

I think we've done a better job defending our country against attacks in the last 3 years and this is the only thing he can manage to do before our election.

Posted by: The Polemicist | October 30, 2004 at 02:31 PM

If you want to buy a house, you would have to get the business loans. Furthermore, my father all the time takes a credit loan, which is the most fast.

Posted by: MarquezDiann28 | March 05, 2010 at 09:02 AM