News outlets are buzzing with information about potential threats with more activity than I think I've ever seen before. We've seen all of this float across the news at various times... Since there's so many inaccurate or non-credible things that float through, I thought it would be interesting to compile the information I considered CREDIBLE in relation only to potential terror attack, put it side-by-side, and see what it looked like.
I went through each item and researched it carefully to make sure multiple MAJOR media outlets agreed on the facts before writing my comment on each one. Several candidate headlines were thrown out because the facts were inconsistent or questionable.
So... specifically in relation to credible evidence that the terrorists are planning an attack on U.S. soil in the very near future, here's what I came up with:
Three Videos and a Black Beard: We know that Bin Laden has issued two videos recently and he has dyed his hair black (it is a fact that a beard being dyed black is a sign of Jihad). We also know that a third video was announced this morning. It has been 3 years since he last released a video, and now we have 3 within a week. Is is highly likely that “3” marks the completion of a signal. Islam also requires Jihadists to provide warning and a chance for the enemy to change its ways before executing an attack. Also, there are many similarities in this video and the one given to Europeans in 2004 just prior to the London Subway bombings. The latest video is definitely recent, since he makes references to the current mortgage crisis and several other current events.
Warnings of an attack from the CIA: CIA director Michael Hayden warned last Friday (Sept. 8th 2007) that Al-Queda was planning new, large-scale attacks on US targets.
Air-Force Stand-Down on 9/14: The air-force has ordered a command-wide stand down on Friday the 14th. According to the Air Force Times, Command boss Gen. Ronald Keys ordered the Sept. 14 safety stand down in which the entire command — about 100,000 active-duty airmen — are standing down training flights and many other operations as part of a command-wide safety day. What’s not being published is what the phrase “many other operations” actually means. This could be nothing, but it’s significant enough it should be on our radar.
Head of the National Counterterrorism Center says “We’re going to get hit again”: According to Newsweek (and many other credible news outlets), Retired Vice Admiral John Scott Redd, head of the National Counterterrorism Center, says, "We have very strong indicators that Al Qaeda is planning to attack the West.". During the interview on August 27th, he indicated that “chatter levels” were similar to what they were seeing during the summer just prior to 9/11/2001.
Democrats and Republicans Agree: The only way for the GOP to win the Whitehouse in ’08 is if we get attacked again. Hillary Clinton said it, so did Dennis Milligan (republican state party chairman).. Here’s his quote: "At the end of the day, I believe fully the president is doing the right thing, and I think all we need is some attacks on American soil like we had on [Sept. 11, 2001], and the naysayers will come around very quickly to appreciate not only the commitment for President Bush, but the sacrifice that has been made by men and women to protect this country"
Schools a Possible Target: 17 yellow school busses were stolen from various charter schools, business schools, and private bus companies in Houston in the last few weeks. Published reports in 2004 said that the U.S. military found information in Iraq pertaining to U.S. schools. In March 2007, the FBI issued an informal bulletin to state and local officials to watch out for people tied to extremist groups trying to earn licenses to drive school busses.
Specific Nuclear Threats in Al-Qaeda Chatter Uncovered: “They will soon realize their mistake when American cities are hit by quality operations” were the words uncovered August 8th amidst Al Qaeda chatter. Another said the attacks would be carried out by means of trucks loaded with radioactive material against America’s biggest city and financial nerve center. A third mentioned New York, Los Angeles, and Miami as targets. It drew the message: "The attack, with Allah's help, will cause an economic meltdown, many dead, and a financial crisis on a scale that compels the United States to pull its military forces out of many parts of the world, including Iraq, for lack of any other way of cutting down costs." No specific time-period was mentioned or hinted. It is unknown if these threats are credible, but they were thought to be credible enough to warrant a full-scale dirty-bomb-hunt in NYC immediately after the statements were made. The problem is that, since no time period was mentioned, we don't when this is supposed to occur.