Another Terrorist Bombing Foiled

[Wraith]

WASHINGTON — Calling it a "credible terrorist threat," President Barack Obama said apparent explosive material was found on two U.S.-bound packages from Yemen, triggering searches of flights with other packages from Yemen and an investigation into whether al-Qaida was behind a new terror plot.

Sources told NBC News that both packages were actually laser printers that contained toner cartridges that had been tampered with, showing extruded wires and white powder. The packages, addressed to Jewish institutions in Chicago, were found in Britain and Dubai on Thursday night.

"An initial examination of those packages has determined that they do apparently contain explosive material," Obama told reporters.

Source - There's more in there.

Another attempted terrorist attack. Hurrah.

At least the cargo screening seems to be working.

[Dreadnaught]

I was actually landing at JFK in NY just before one of these "abundance of caution" flights was escorted to a landing at JFK. There were police cars and helicopters surrounding a British Airways flight before that.

Interesting that this got caught. I can't tell if this is more of an intelligence detection from the Saudis or the cargo screeners. It seems like the Saudis had a very credible and specific bit of info they passed along. Then again, FedEx seems to have found one of the bombs all on their own.

It's concerning that this is the second semi-sophisticated attempt to come from Yemen.

[Wraith]

I kept reading after I posted, and it does look like this was more of a victory for intelligence than for the screeners.

[littlelolligagged]

Okay, this article says:

But aviation insiders say that even with the additional measures, only a small percentage of the air freight originating overseas is likely to be examined before it arrives at U.S airports.

How difficult is it really to screen cargo?

[GGT]

What, exactly, are the fighter jet escorts supposed to do? If they get information there are terrorists aboard, what could the jets do besides try to force a new course (and how would that work?) or blow the plane up mid-air (would they do that?)

[Wraith]

Okay, this article says:



How difficult is it really to screen cargo?

To be fair, these bombs were disguised as printer ink cartridges. Stuff like that can be made very hard to catch with just a casual search, and with the amount involved in more exhaustive checks, sufficiently checking every inbound piece of freight (especially if you include the sea freight!) is completely infeasible. A quick google search says we're getting 4 million tons a day. Short of locking down our borders and only admitting a couple tons of freight in each day, it's just not happening.

I sometimes question the value of trying at all.

[Khendraja'aro]

And don't even begin to think about checking the freight arriving by sea...

[Wraith]

Warning of 26 more suspect packages after attempted mail bombings
After intercepting two mail bombs addressed to Chicago-area synagogues, investigators are searching for two dozen more suspect packages that terrorists in Yemen attempted to smuggle onto aircraft in a brazen al-Qaida terror plot.

Source



So it's really just 2 down, 26 to go.

[Loki]

This is a few days after British airlines whined about the US requiring them to have too many security measures.

[Ominous Gamer]

This is a few days after British airlines whined about the US requiring them to have too many security measures.

These packages came through cargo flights correct? Which have jack dick to do with passenger flights? Last I checked I can't fly via UPS and FedEx.
and to quote what you're referring to...

“America does not do internally a lot of the things they demand that we do,” he was quoted as saying in the FT. “We shouldn’t stand for that.”

Which is slightly different than how you're framing it.

[Unheard Of]

This is a few days after British airlines whined about the US requiring them to have too many security measures.

Security measures or security theatre?

[']['ear]

Okay, this article says:



How difficult is it really to screen cargo?

Spectacularly, as Wraith notes.

[Loki]

Which is slightly different than how you're framing it.

They claimed Americans don't have to remove their shoes or to put laptops in separate baskets when traveling in America.

[agamemnus]

They claimed Americans don't have to remove their shoes or to put laptops in separate baskets when traveling in America.

[Unheard Of]

They claimed Americans don't have to remove their shoes or to put laptops in separate baskets when traveling in America.

I haven't been able to find a full transcript of Broughton's speech (my google-fu is weak today), so I may have missed something, but from the snippets I've seen quoted that does not appear to be what he said.

America does not do internally a lot of the things they demand that we do. We shouldn't stand for that. We should say 'we'll only do things which we consider to be essential and that you Americans also consider essential'.

This seems reasonable.

[Hazir]

Well, today there was a suicide bomber in Taksim square in Istanbul, that did succeed in killing himself and wounding 22 others. All he needed to do was walk up to the police post and trigger the bomb he was carrying.

I don't think that there is a way you can avoid all attacks, even if the US would close its borders you'd still have people inside also that are quite willing to do the dirty work.

[Loki]

I haven't been able to find a full transcript of Broughton's speech (my google-fu is weak today), so I may have missed something, but from the snippets I've seen quoted that does not appear to be what he said.

This seems reasonable.

Please tell me which security measures aren't done in the US that are done in the UK. The speech in question does mention removing shoes and putting laptops in separate baskets, by the way.

[Unheard Of]

Please tell me which security measures aren't done in the US that are done in the UK.

The speech in question does mention removing shoes and putting laptops in separate baskets, by the way.

Correct, but it does not appear to make the specific claims that you attributed to them.

[Loki]

So you can't actually name any measures...

[Unheard Of]

So you can't actually name any measures...

Are you being deliberately obtuse? My interest here is your misrepresentation of the speech, not the finer details of passenger groping.

[Loki]

Are you being deliberately obtuse? My interest here is your misrepresentation of the speech, not the finer details of passenger groping.

"He pointed out that many of the checks, such as making passengers remove their footwear, are not required on internal US flights."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/tr...rman-says.html

As someone who flies within the US several times a year, I beg to differ.

[Unheard Of]

Well in that case, I apologise.

[Loki]

And after he made the statement, other airlines in Britain voices support for his position. You think the idiots would at least bother to check whether what he says is true.

[Hazir]

Not that it is very relevant because even if they would have gone for strip searching passengers the cargo situation wouldn't be much more secure.