Iran may attack US

[Highland 0]

claims congressman.

 

Congressman Warns of Iranian Attack on U.S.

 

BY ELI LAKE - Staff Reporter of the Sun

December 14, 2004

 

WASHINGTON - A senior Republican congressman has been warning America's intelligence community for more than a year of an alleged Iranian plot to crash commercial airliners into a New Hampshire nuclear reactor.

 

Since February 2003, Rep. Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania has held a series of secret meetings in Paris with a former high-ranking official in the Shah's government who has correctly predicted, according to Mr. Weldon, a number of internal developments in Iran ranging from the regime's atomic weapons programs to its support for international terrorism, including Al Qaeda.

 

Based on two informants inside the mullahs' inner circle, Mr. Weldon's source, whom he code-named "Ali," relayed allegations to the Pennsylvania lawmaker that an Iranian-backed terrorist cell is seeking to hijack Canadian airliners and crash them into an American reactor. The target of the operation was only identified by Ali as SEA, leading Mr. Weldon to predict it was the Seabrook reactor in New Hampshire, about 40 miles north of Boston. Ali told the congressman that the attack was first planned for between November 23 and December 3, 2003, but was postponed to take place after this year's presidential election.

 

For nearly two years, Mr. Weldon tried to quietly press the CIA and a Senate panel that oversees Langley to follow up on the intelligence his Iranian source in Paris was providing. But these efforts came to nothing, according to Mr. Weldon. So now Mr. Weldon is going public. The congressman said in an interview last week that he intended to publish a book early next year outlining the intelligence he has collected from various sources that he said will detail an Iranian plot to conduct a more lethal attack on America than September 11, 2001.

 

"I get a lot of wackos who come to see me, who claim to have information," he said. "In this case, this source came to me from a former member of Congress, a Democrat. I followed up a lead. That lead developed an ongoing process of information-sharing for two years that I took to the highest levels of the intelligence community."

 

In Washington, the new book from Mr. Weldon, based in part on his meetings with Ali, will provide fresh ammunition for the Republicans against an intelligence community perceived by the White House as hostile to the president's policies.

 

Last month, the new director of the CIA, Porter Goss, a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, sent many of the most senior analysts and operations officers into early retirement. In a speech he gave to the staff at Langley, Mr. Goss had to remind the employees that the president sets national security policy.

 

But if Mr. Weldon's source turns out to be right, America could also be losing a valuable intelligence asset on Iran, a country where most intelligence analysts in America concede the CIA has too few human sources.

 

The congressman's experience with America's spy service in the last year echoes frustrations from other American officials and analysts who have cultivated Iranians willing to provide America with intelligence, but who have been ignored. After a December 2001 meeting in Rome between Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin and Iran-Contra figure Manucher Ghorbanifar, the State Department and CIA went out of their way to shut down the channel. Mr. Franklin is now the target of a grand jury investigation into alleged espionage activities for passing information to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

 

A summary of Ali's predictions were outlined in a November 2003 letter to the Republican chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator Roberts from Kansas. In its opening lines, Mr. Weldon wrote, "This letter is to warn you of an intelligence failure in the process of happening."

 

Later in the letter, Mr. Weldon, who is the vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, wrote, "I am not asserting that such an attack shall occur. But given [Ali's] record of accurate predictions, shouldn't the Intelligence Community at least be investigating his story?"

 

The letter and an accompanying memo titled, "Ali: a Credible Source," goes into detail about information Mr. Weldon's source provided that was later confirmed in the press. For example, Ali first passed on the Iranian threat to the reactor at a Paris meeting on May 17, 2003.

 

On August 22, 2003, the Toronto Star reported the arrest of 19 people in Canada for immigration violations who were suspected of being connected in a terrorist conspiracy. One of the men in the cell was taking flight lessons and had flown an airplane directly over an Ontario nuclear power plant, according to the newspaper.

 

So, impressed with the quality of his source's information, Mr. Weldon met in 2003 with the director of central intelligence, George Tenet, to plead his case to get funding for Ali. But the CIA, according to the Pennsylvania lawmaker, demanded to know the identities of Ali's sources inside Iran, a condition Mr. Weldon said was unreasonable given the high-risk espionage.

 

"I took this straight to the top," Mr. Weldon said in an interview. "I wanted to work through the channels but I did not get anywhere."

 

Frustrated with the CIA's response, Mr. Weldon took his case to the Senate panel that oversees the agency.

 

He pressed them in the 2003 letter to hold a hearing on the matter and urge the CIA to get Ali the money to continue to pay off his sources inside the Islamic republic. According to Mr. Weldon, the committee did not respond in any meaningful way. "One or two senior people called the chief of staff. Not the kind of response I wanted. I had to get this off my shoulders," he said in an interview.

 

Mr. Weldon said more of Ali's intelligence will be shared in his forthcoming book, which he promised would "shake Washington."

 

He said that the manuscript, which he has just completed, details how Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameini, "has set up a separate entity in the government the president does not know about, which includes all the terrorist groups connected to bin Laden and others. They are avowed to consummate a major attack inside the United States. In the book I name this plot."

 

I find it rather amusing that he'll reveal the heinous terrorist plot, but only if you buy his book.

[Dr. Tom 0]

This should definitely have been investigated and pursued. If the source is credible, this isn't something we can just overlook. It should be investigated and pursued now, if it still can be.

 

And if Iran even tries this, we should blow them off the map.

[Highland 0]

I agree on all counts.

[CBright7831 0]

Oh great.

 

Not only do we have Norris Dam where I live, but we also have the nuclear plant that created the original Atomic Bomb.

 

*considers moving to Kansas or Oregon*

[NoCalMike 0]

So when does Condaleeza Rice get to chime in and say "no one could ever imagine Iran striking inside the U.S." while her arms are folderd over her photocopy of a memo entitled "Iran determed to strike inside America"

[CheesalaIsGood 0]

Maybe they will just attack Texas... I could live with that.

[Guest SP-1]

It's kind of funny how they don't seem to realize we can actually blow them off the map.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

If we attack Iran, we better have support from other countries this time. I don't think the world can handle another US "invasion".

[Guest SP-1]

It'd be interesting to see that play out. If Iran is involved in a plot where planes fly into a Nuke reactor, we can prove it, and the International Community snubs us again, things are going to get very interesting.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

#1: I'm not sure if this guy understands nuclear reactors very well. He seems to think that all you have to do is grab a plane and fly at it and it's doomsday.

 

#2: Aforementioned "BUY THE BOOK!" strategy.

 

I think the government should look into it, in the same sense that the Secret Service looks into every 13 year old on the internet who writes something threatening an important person's life without thinking about what it'll cause, but I really really doubt anything comes of this.

[iliketurtles 0]

They won't.

[Highland 0]

It'd be interesting to see that play out. If Iran is involved in a plot where planes fly into a Nuke reactor, we can prove it, and the International Community snubs us again, things are going to get very interesting.

The international community didn't snub the US when it invaded Afghanistan, it snubbed the US when it invaded Iraq. World of difference.

[Justice 0]

#1: I'm not sure if this guy understands nuclear reactors very well. He seems to think that all you have to do is grab a plane and fly at it and it's doomsday.

Well, if a plane were to fly into a nuclear reactor, it would likely cause a massive meltdown. I believe the analysts looked into this pretty throughly a few years back and said that if an attack like that were to happen, a nuclear fallout cloud the size of Pennsylvania would basically be hovering over the US and Canadian border.

 

Not exactly doomsday, but pretty fucking bad, I'd say.

[Guest sek69]

Well this is certainly better than the "Iraq can hit us with WMD within 45 minutes" they offered up to justify that invasion.

 

I just don't believe that Iran would be stupid enough to attack the US. The whole reason they're redoubling their efforts now is because they figure that they're next on the US hit list, why would they do something to provoke us?

[Vyce 0]

Well this is certainly better than the "Iraq can hit us with WMD within 45 minutes" they offered up to justify that invasion.

 

I just don't believe that Iran would be stupid enough to attack the US. The whole reason they're redoubling their efforts now is because they figure that they're next on the US hit list, why would they do something to provoke us?

Because their government is run by psychotic Muslim theocrats.

[Guest sek69]

Psychotic doesn't mean stupid. If they wanted to attack us, they'd have done it by now considering we've been the Great Satan to them since 1980.

[Guest SP-1]

It'd be interesting to see that play out.  If Iran is involved in a plot where planes fly into a Nuke reactor, we can prove it, and the International Community snubs us again, things are going to get very interesting.

The international community didn't snub the US when it invaded Afghanistan, it snubbed the US when it invaded Iraq. World of difference.

I agree.

 

With Iraq we found out that arms from opposing countries were mysteriously in Iraqi hands.

 

Oh, and we also found out that the International community can't uphold its own resolutions.

 

I'd say that's a world of difference, sure.

[CheesalaIsGood 0]

Keeping in mind also Iran is probably still recovering from (2 if I'm not mistaken) devastating earthquakes they had there the past couple of years. You'd THINK they would have that as a topic #1.

 

From what I remember reading those earthquakes killed alot of people and caused a shitload of damage.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Well, if a plane were to fly into a nuclear reactor, it would likely cause a massive meltdown. I believe the analysts looked into this pretty throughly a few years back and said that if an attack like that were to happen, a nuclear fallout cloud the size of Pennsylvania would basically be hovering over the US and Canadian border.

 

Not exactly doomsday, but pretty fucking bad, I'd say.

What???

 

http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/thisw...12_30_terr.html

[Justice 0]

Well, if a plane were to fly into a nuclear reactor, it would likely cause a massive meltdown. I believe the analysts looked into this pretty throughly a few years back and said that if an attack like that were to happen, a nuclear fallout cloud the size of Pennsylvania would basically be hovering over the US and Canadian border.

 

Not exactly doomsday, but pretty fucking bad, I'd say.

What???

 

http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/thisw...12_30_terr.html

The industry talking points on the study noted that terrorists could use a hijacked airliner to destroy a nuclear power plant’s auxiliary buildings, Lyman said.  That information, however, was not included in the released version, he said.  Such an attack, when combined with the loss of power to a nuclear plant caused by outside terrorists, could result in a meltdown, Lyman said.

 

Lyman also criticized the study for failing to consider potential worst-case scenarios.  For example, the jet speed and containment wall thickness examined were not conservative enough, he said, noting that a 767 is capable of higher speeds.  The effects of an airliner fuel explosion and the resultant fire were also not considered, Lyman said, charging the nuclear industry with using “tunnel vision” to limit the scenarios that were examined in the study.

 

Lyman said he was concerned that the newly created Homeland Security Department will not have the ability to independently assess nuclear power plant security information.  Instead, the new department will rely on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which Lyman said is “a captive of the [nuclear] industry right now.”

 

From your own article. Meltdowns, especially one like that, which would be releasing things like smoke and such from the likely explosions, could easily put tons of radioactive ash and material into the atmosphere. Is it that hard to believe?

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Such an attack, when combined with the loss of power to a nuclear plant caused by outside terrorists

So you'd need two terrorist attacks in succession to even set that off?

 

I'm not saying their impenetrable forts. I'm saying your scenario (Plane + power plant = near-doomsday) is far oof. Considering that you're usually more conservative than I am, I think it's funny that you're backing the comments of the anti-nuke organization.

[RHR 0]

Considering that hitting a nuclear power plant with a plane is also Xtimes harder to do than a trained pilot hitting a 100-story building...and that Iran isn't dumb enough to hit us here...this is pretty much crap...

 

Think about it...if Iran wanted to do real damage to our national mood....why wouldn't they wait a few months, when the Iraqi elections lead to widespread insurgency and bloodshed....and they just rush in a few divisions and start shooting everything that moves...

 

Think Iran doesn't want payback for 80-88? Plus, the chance to take out some US soldiers? Iran is the REAL threat if provoked...as they are better dug in and far more loyal to religous leaders than Saddam's people were to him.

 

I shiver.....

[NoCalMike 0]

kind of off topic, but did everyone know that the "democracy" we are creating in Iraq has some weird provisions, like the banning of labor unions I mean it sounds more like what they are instilling there is a corporations wet dream.

[Highland 0]

Will they also ban corporate lobby and special interest groups?

[Guest SP-1]

Who is creating those mandates? The United States or the interim Iraqi government? Tell me the origin of these decisions and I'll think about it a little more.

[NoCalMike 0]

Who is creating those mandates? The United States or the interim Iraqi government? Tell me the origin of these decisions and I'll think about it a little more.

Well considering it is american corporations reaping the profits of the labor right now, I'd say the US has a big hand in it. Also there will be no minimum wage. The US can puppeteer a corporate utopia in Iraq, much the way the right in this country has tried to do ever since Reagan started a war against organized labor during his tenure. Just the other day Rush went on and on about how FDR is dead, and the left should get over it....ala, more blabber about wanting to put an end to "The New Deal" and the power it took away from globalizing corporate monsters.