Found this here article about a supposed e-mail interview between a Middle Eastern journalist and “an Al-Queda spokesman” who seemed to have confirming information that the real deal wouldn’t.
Now, even though it’s a CNN story, it doesn’t seem to be appearing on its main page (altho’ it’s the top tale in the Netscape homepage link), which I find interesting. I believe it’s because it really doesn’t tell us anything new, even IF it’s real. I think most people know that they’re still a threat, and that they want to repeat September 11, so it’s not like it’s saying much to confirm this. I would expect the Administration thinks the same.
So: do you think this interview is legit? If so, what is its relevance/significance? How do you think they might be planning to do the next Big One? Are we any more prepared to deal with it, or prevent it, than before?
Well, it’s unsurprising really. Terrorists are by definition a touch on the fanatical side, kill their leaders and more will take their place, they aren’t going to give up, just regroup, adapt and recruit more from the probably growing pool of fundamentalists willing to resort to terror.
Seems a geniune contact to me, for what it’s worth, particularly with the verifying anecdote to lend it credence. It’s just a matter of time before there is another outrage, too many soft targets to choose from, way too easy to make crude WMD’s, particularly with all the stuff floating around the former USSR.
I saw a frightening Panorama (UK current affairs BBC flagship) a couple of months ago.
To cut a long story short - in the middle of nowhere a punch of high grade radioactive (plutonium I think) rods were found, just lying on the ground and recovered.
The engineer leading the recovery team then investigated where they came from and discovered to his utter horror that they came from a soviet designed mini reactor for factory complexes etc in Siberia and for military use. 8000 were made and there was no record of where they now were.