J. Quinton blogs the rumours and updates re: a dirty bomb search underway in Boston. There are a couple things about this story that don't quite add, and our advice in these cases is always to treat such reports with extreme caution and skepticism... having said that, something is clearly up.
If you want to know more about the subject in general, Winds of Change.NET has a detailed briefing re: "dirty" bombs contaminated with radioactive material or chemical/biological agents. It deals with past experiences, the limitations of these weapons, and the potential damage. The BBC later ran a short bit in February 2003 called What If a Dirty Bomb Hit London? The extremely brief summary: the public reaction to a radioactive dirty bomb is probably a bigger danger than the weapon.
In Feb. 2004, Trent Telenko offered evidence that key U.S. cities may be difficult targets for radioactive dirty bombs. But if you ever do face this kind of emergency, you'll wish you had listened to Armed Liberal and assembled a Bug Out/Get Home kit. Got yours yet?
UPDATE: This article offers some mug shots, and also puts the current goings-on in context. Good journalism. Martinipundit has better pictures.
If a dirty bomb went off in Boston . . . how could you tell?
Why 4 asians?
There are Muslim Chinese.
Where did these pictures come from?
It could be someone with a sick sense of humor.
It could be disinformation from the bad guys just to keep us guessing and tie up resources or,more ominously,to test our response time and tactics.
Given our current policies,we won't know for sure till we hear a big boom somewhere.
#1 - Is that supposed to be funny? You could certainly tell at my sons school or my daughters preschool or my job or on the T. But wait terrorists couldn't possibly target Boston. That's where all the good liberals are and John Kerry's from and gay marriage is legal. The terrorists just hate Bush and rednecks right?
Jack, I agree with your main point about the #1 post.
But you did remind me of something pertinent... Remember that Bin Laden type right before Election Day? Didn't he pretty much offer a truce to any state that didn't back Bush? If this really is a valid interpretation, then Boston should be fairly safe from an Al Qaeda attack. I know this is a HUGE if, but it's something to consider.
Lurker,
Aren't most of the major internationally famous symbols of American wealth and power in blue states? If Bid Laden keeps his word, what is he going to attack?
I don't know? Let's see. Dallas? Houston? Miami? Tampa? New Orleans? Cleveland? Atlanta? Seems like there's plenty of attractive 'red' targets.
Point taken though. I don't trust him either.
"Lurker"... I wouldn't give 2 cents for any purported "truce" by Bin Laden, and think treating that seriously is nuts. If that video really interests you, however, go back to our archives - Dan Darling had a very good analysis of that video.
As for the bomb threat suspects, maybe they're just big NY Yankees fans. Or maybe the caller/tipster is.
We'll see.
Fred in #8 wrote: "If Bid Laden keeps his word, what is he going to attack?"
The Daytona 500?
Lurker and eLarson, I din't mean to imply there were no possible targets in red states, and I certainly meant no insult to red states (since I am from one and live in another). My point was that the truly internationally famous symbols of American wealth and power, the kind of thing AQ primarily likes to attack, are in blue states. The Cabildo or Ybor City or the Daytona 500 wouldn't have the same magical symbolic associations for AQ as would the Statue of Liberty or Wall Street or the Sears Tower or even a Hollywood studio.
Uh, that's "didn't."
I'm guessing that, immediately after 9/11, al Qaeda's Saudi backers were horrified by the temporary loss in oil profits that resulted from the downed airline industry. I think oil prices went down by more than a few cents in late September - can't have that. I believe that's one reason why we haven't had any more organized paramilitary attacks within US borders. But that's just a guess.
This group that supposedly threatens Boston isn't the usual Saudi/Iranian sponsored paramilitary crowd. They're Chinese? I think the unusual nature of the group, and the timing, is prompting the authorities' response.
the Daytona 500 wouldn't have the same magical symbolic associations for AQ as would the Statue of Liberty or Wall Street or the Sears Tower or even a Hollywood studio.
That's a good point, actually. AQ tends to like to go after the things that get their back up. Somehow I don't picture a sequestered Osama bin Laden following the Nextel Cup standings. :)
I also don't trust any statement that says that they won't attack states that vote for Kerry. To believe otherwise would be folly.
The most interesting part of this situation is not
the dirty bomb; that point is even being dramatized in everything from Richard Clarke's
Atlantic roman a clef to the BBC/Granada film
"Dirty War" but the seeming background of at
least two of the suspects; Uighur's from the
Sinjiang; that would seem to the more likely
Chinese Muslims
The Daytona 500?
Al-Qaeda has previously chosen large phallic targets that threaten their poorly-defined sense of manhood. The Daytona 500 is somewhat vaginal in appearance. But then, maybe they hate and fear women, too.
Does anyone who creates or frequents this site care that those Chinese nationals were splashed all over the news on the basis of an anonymous, false tip?
Next time I want to ruin a non-white foreign national's life I guess I'll just drop a dime on them to the FBI and claim they're a "terrorist."
Next time I want to ruin a non-white foreign national's life
who also happens to be an illegal immigrant, then I will call Immigration.
“Al-Qaeda has previously chosen large phallic targets that threaten their poorly-defined sense of manhood. The Daytona 500 is somewhat vaginal in appearance. But then, maybe they hate and fear women, too.”
ROTFLMAO!!!