# Next alleged terror plot "bigger" than 9/11; okay, what could possibly be worse? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 2, 2001, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142 "2001-11-02T16:29:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2001, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142/81 "2001-11-05T05:13:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hemlock \* > **You could say that if it’s in this thread, it probably won’t happen. Whoever planned the 9-11 attacks obviously sat down and asked “what WON’T they be expecting?” these guys’ imaginations are vivid as well as evil…** So you’re saying that this type of thread is useful because we are limiting their options ? I’m not criticizing, just curious. ---
**Author:** ![Hemlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Hemlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hemlock)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2001, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142/82 "2001-11-05T06:13:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by detop \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Hemlock \* > > **You could say that if it’s in this thread, it probably won’t happen. Whoever planned the 9-11 attacks obviously sat down and asked “what WON’T they be expecting?” these guys’ imaginations are vivid as well as evil…** > > So you’re saying that this type of thread is useful because we are limiting their options ? I’m not criticizing, just curious. \*\* No - no causal effect. I just wonder whether the people behind 9-11 are better at thinking outside certain boxes than decent civilized people (like the folks around here). ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2001, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142/83 "2001-11-05T07:04:12Z")
Doesn’t anyone remember the cannon that was built to fire telephone poles? This is the gold standard for containment structures. The most typical threat to a power generating reactor is a hurricaine. The most common object to be accelerated up to full wind speed is a telephone pole. You should see the high speed footage sometime. It is astounding to see a full sized telephone pole disintegrate head-on into a flurry of toothpicks against one of these concrete walls. The structural engineers who designed these things weren’t just sh!tting around. Lear jets aren’t going to do much more than a telephone pole at a couple of hundred miles per hour. They simply do not carry enough weight. The fuel isn’t going to breach the concrete either. I’m not saying it can’t be done, just that it will probably take a lot more than some corporate jets to do the job. I also take exception to having the homework done for our sworn enemies but there’s nothing I can say that will stop any of you. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2001, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142/84 "2001-11-05T07:06:05Z")
Just out of curiosity, how many of you have gone down to the Red Cross and donated a pint of blood? You might find it to be a much more rewarding use of your time than posting suggestions to this thread. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2001, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142/85 "2001-11-05T14:12:57Z")
We did Zen. We also told them when to stop. Tunnels or Chunnels seem like likely targets. I sure hope we’re filtering what’s being allowed thru. ---
**Author:** ![Kilt-wearin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kilt-wearin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilt-wearin_man)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2001, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142/86 "2001-11-05T14:32:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by justwannano \* > \*\*Strictly speaking the twin towers were the target. The people on the planes were sort of collateral damage.I’m pretty sure they would rather have stolen planes without passengers to muck up their plans. \*\* Dude, they wanted the passengers on board. They encouraged them to call their families. The Twin Towers weren’t the target, the American public was. The Towers were just the point of impact. These bastards are TERRORISTS. Root word: TERROR. The more heinous the crime, the better in their eyes. They dont give a damn if they kill children, as long as those children are Americans or at least Westerners. These guys are sick bastards who would be quite pleased if they could kill each and every person in the world who is not a fanatical extremist Muslim, and even then if you don’t look exactly like them they’ll probably kill you anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/53a042/32.png) [@Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vinnie_Virginslayer)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2001, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142/87 "2001-11-05T14:47:13Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by msmith537 \* \*\* [QUOTE -Send hundreds of terrorists to randomly terrorize and blow stuff up a la ‘Invasion USA’ (a Chuck Noris classic)? \*\*[/QUOTE] That’s another nightmare scenario I’ve been mulling in my head. So far the attacks have been on symbols or anthrax mailed to celebrities. My fear is the next message would be sent to middle america with bombings in crowded shopping malls in the Midwest, for instance, to let Americans know nobody is safe. We all need to be alert, and report anything suspicious. Security at malls is quite lax. Like what is some terrorist going to be afraid of that fat rent a cop walking around woofing down a donut? The precedent has already been set in England and Israel where bombs have been set off in crowded shopping sidtricts. Even scarier is since most mall goers will be wearing heavy clothing this winter, it will be much easier to sneak in bombs and guns. My advice would be to shop off-hours at the local mall this Christmas season! On a related subject: [http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2001/11/04/stiusausa02024](http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2001/11/04/stiusausa02024) It seems the MO of these scum is to go the cheapo route. ---
**Author:** ![Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/53a042/32.png) [@Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vinnie_Virginslayer)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2001, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142/88 "2001-11-05T15:12:12Z")
. . just to let everyone know, I was being facetious with that “just go to malls during off-hours” remark. The goal of this thread is to speculate, not to scare. There are I would guess 1300-2000 shopping malls in the United States, so my guess is the odds are astronomically low of getting offed in an attack there. Most shopping malls are open 12 hours a day, making 18,000 hours a day, and 540,000 hours in the Christmas shopping season. Keeping in mind that there is about a 1 in I’d say 20 chance of being at the wrong place in a mall at the wrong time if something would happen, the odds of you being the target of a terror attack at a mall- SHOULD ONE HAPPEN- are most likely based on these numbers 1 in 10.8 million, if you go to the mall. You actually have a better chance of getting shot and killed by some drug addict in the mall parking lot after hours. ---
**Author:** ![justwannano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ab992/32.png) [@justwannano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justwannano)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2001, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142/89 "2001-11-05T16:34:59Z")
> [@](#): > > Dude, they wanted the passengers on board. They encouraged them to call their families. The Twin Towers weren’t the target, the American public was. The Towers were just the point of impact You also have to look at where the other two planes hit or were headed. Not heavily “populated” places,if you believe the Penn. plane was headed for the capitol. They also made a mistake in targeting the WTC in that there were muslims there at the time. I agree they were terrorists and thus lower than the lowest form of life. I still think it was the symbols they were trying to destroy.I just have no idea why they thought they could acomplish anything by doing so. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2001, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142/90 "2001-11-05T16:43:25Z")
> [@](#): > > jarbaby, I’ve read in other threads about your reaction to the attack. I hope I’m not overstepping my bounds as a stranger to you, but I’d suggest strongly that you stop reading this Too late. I read it all before getting to yours. I think I’ll be under the bed. jar ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2001, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142/91 "2001-11-05T16:49:16Z")
I wonder how Richard Lewis is holding up. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2001, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142/92 "2001-11-05T19:18:48Z")
I believe I have insight into the terrorists’ plan. Some of their nefarious plots are: [ul][li]Stuffing automobile tailpipes with potatoes.[/li] [li]Ringing doorbells and then running away, leaving flaming bags of poop on doorsteps.[/li] [li]Signing random American citizens up with Columbia House for CDs that they don’t really want.[/li] [li]Removing the sneeze-guards from the salad bars at neighborhood TGI Fridays.[/li] [li]Encouraging tourists to stand to the left on Washington, DC escalators.[/li] [li]Pretending to not pay attention at left-turn signal lights, holding up the traffic behind them.[/li] [li]Placing fallacious “out of order” post-it notes on parking meters.[/li] [li]Distributing unlisted numbers to telemarketers.[/ul][/li] We’re doomed, man. ---
**Author:** ![Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/53a042/32.png) [@Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vinnie_Virginslayer)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142/93 "2001-11-06T04:05:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sofa King \* > \*\*I believe I have insight into the terrorists’ plan. Some of their nefarious plots are: > > [ul][li]Stuffing automobile tailpipes with potatoes.[/li] > [li]Ringing doorbells and then running away, leaving flaming bags of poop on doorsteps.[/li] > [li]Signing random American citizens up with Columbia House for CDs that they don’t really want.[/li] > [li]Removing the sneeze-guards from the salad bars at neighborhood TGI Fridays.[/li] > [li]Encouraging tourists to stand to the left on Washington, DC escalators.[/li] > [li]Pretending to not pay attention at left-turn signal lights, holding up the traffic behind them.[/li] > [li]Placing fallacious “out of order” post-it notes on parking meters.[/li] > [li]Distributing unlisted numbers to telemarketers.[/ul][/li] > We’re doomed, man. \*\* See? I KNEW we should have nuked the towel headed bastards!!! ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142/94 "2001-11-06T05:02:04Z")
Mr. Ujest and I were talking of “what do you think is next” conversation regarding the terrorists. here are some of the ideas we tossed out. - Alaskan Pipeline - Water supply - Communications ( Telephone towers) - Symbols of a particular country: Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, Statue of Liberty, Pyramids ( Eyptians are not muslim enough?) Symbols of sinfulness: Las Vegas, Amsterdam. - Hollywood. - Disney -Britney Spears releases a new album. -Drug companies world wide - train tracks - Superbowl - Any Nascar event ( though I would think an arab looking person would stick out there.) - Indy 500 -the worlds most populated one day event - contaminating a herd with Mad Cow. Don’t think that these fanatics won’t try another airplane attack. they will. They’ve been twarted before ( There was a plan to hijack something like five planes from Japan/Taiwan area and fly them over here and crash into the West Coast.) ---
**Author:** ![A\_Friend\_of\_the\_Devil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@A\_Friend\_of\_the\_Devil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Friend_of_the_Devil)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142/95 "2001-11-06T05:18:11Z")
The unfortunate fact is that we are vulnerable in many areas, and the next attack will probably be in one we do not expect. With the attitude of legimate discussion of posibilities, I’ll offer my own thoughts here. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor \* > \*\*[list=A] > [li]The Atomic power plants. 'Nuff said.[/li] > \*\*_Probably not. The nuke plants are hardened, to the point that about the only thing that will open up a reactor would be a direct strike by an incoming ICBM. In fact, it’s a given that every nuke plant in the USA is the target site of a foreign missile. The core would be vaporized by the blast, adding tons of radioactive fallout to the warhead itself. But a terrorist attack - doubt it can be done._ > > \*\* > [li]Oil Refineries–like in Kuwait. Smoke fire & horror. Easy to do, too.[/li]\*\*\* > > Possible, the petroleum distribution system could be hit. A couple of weeks ago some nut in Alaska shot a hole in the Alaska pipeline (.338 Win Mag). Something like this would be more realistic than a refinery, which again are guarded, big, and already take a number of precautions against fire and explosion.\* > \*\* > > [li]Hospitals. :eek:[/li]\*\*\* > > Now this, unfortunately, is a very real possibility. Along with attacks on schools - how about a dozen or so Columbines all on the same day? The actual physical security around most of these places is laughable. I can walk into any school in my city any day, unchallenged, at any one of a dozen entry points.\* > > \*\* > [li]Missile silos. Even if it **failed** , the panic…[/li]\*\*\* > > My belief is that this falls into the same category as nuke plants - a lot more difficult to do than you might think. > > \*\* > [li]Assassinations. 'Nuff said.[/li]\*\*\* > > Another long shot (pun not intended). The elimination of a single man (or a few) does not further the terrorist’s aims - to cause the maximum fear and reaction with the minimum effort. In addition, the strikes of 9/11 were against symbols, not people - the WTC, the Pentagon, and my belief for the third was the WH or Congress.\* > > \*\* > [li]Suicide air attack on one of our aircraft carriers. A 747 might just take one out.[/li]\*\*\* > > Doubtful, as another has commented. The Navy kinda keeps an eye on things around their major toys, especially these days, and they have enough on-line firepower to easily take a 747 out of the sky.\* > > \*\* > [li]Smallpox. 'Nuff said[/li]\*\*\* > > Smallpox is a horrible disease that has, for all practical purposes, been eradicated from the world. It is highly doubtful that the terrorists could get their hands on any form of it or distribute it. It is also doubtful if they would, even if possible. The response to re-introducing this pestilence into the world would very likely be to turn the offending country into iridescent slag, with the other major powers applauding. > > Much the same goes for the other infectious agents - plague, hemorragic fevers, etc. These would clearly be a case of using a weapon of mass destruction against a civilian population. So far, the anthrax business doesn’t quite fit into this category - I would have expected a more major introduction, for example. There are a few things about this that are a little puzzling.\* > > \*\* > [li]Destruction of a major TVA or Mississippi dam. Major damage & loss of life by flooding.[/li]\*\*\* > > Again, these are lot tougher to take out than you might think at first. Generally, dams are greatly overengineered - they also have to be able to withstand seismic activity, stormwaters, etc. Most cases of flooding in the areas that are mentioned are more probably from floodwaters going around a dam, or over it, than from the dam itself failing. > \* > \*\* > [li]Chemical plant. Remember Bhophal India? The gas leak? Think insecticde plant.[/li]\*\*\* > > Quite possible. America is rife with chemical facilities, many near major population centers. Even more frightening - it doesn’t take much to derail a train, and you might be suprised to find out what kinds of cargo roll through your town on a daily basis.\* > [/list] > > \*\* > Too damn many, not too few. \*\* And now a little more pessimistic speculation, on the grounds that we do need to think of these things and take steps before something happens. Livestock - remember what hoof-and-mouth disease did to Britian? A widespead and/or virulent disease could devastate our economy. This also does not carry the retaliatory risk that a disease against the human population has. Surface-to-Air missiles - cheap (relatively), easy to smuggle and transport, easy to use. Or any other variety of military hardware that shoots a quantity of high explosive at a distant target. The bottom line is that we can never be fully safe, fully protected from evil people who want to do us harm. The world is a big place, and not every one likes us. Our tradition is also one of civil liberties and freedoms that can be taken advantage of for these purposes. What we can do is take all of the preventative measures we can, retaliate when justifiable and necessary, and work to make the world a better place for all. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142/96 "2001-11-07T02:10:55Z")
This is the kind of target that we should also be worried about: [http://www.hibernia.ca/index.html](http://www.hibernia.ca/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142/97 "2001-11-07T04:27:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sam Stone \* > Hell, you don’t even need a metal knife. Take a laptop, and just scribe a line on the inside of case in the shape of a sharp pointy thing. Get on the plane, and flex the case - the plastic will break on the scribed lines, and you have an instant weapon - a nice hard plastic blade that will easily penetrate a human. Or I could weild the cheap-ass 50 lb laptop my company issued me like a big club. It’s certainly heavy enough. Ben - From what I’ve seen, terrorist attacks involve a lot of planning and preperation but the execution is fairly simple. For example, if you can find out when a destroyer is going to enter port, steal a tug boat beforehand and fill it full of explosives. The actual attack involves simply pulling up next to the ship and detonating. OR Teach a bunch of guys how to fly and at a set time, have them hijack jumbo jets and crash them into their targets. Lots of planning but the delivery mechanism is very simple. Releasing gas into the Sears tower has too high a level of risk. 1) Sneaking past security with a container of poison gas. 2) Smuggling in enough gas to distribute through a building the size of the Sears Tower. 3) Remaining undetected while the gas dispurses, etc, etc. There’s just too much that can go wrong. Besides, why smuggle the stuff in when you can just use the mail? ---
**Author:** ![DarkWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee59a6/32.png) [@DarkWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarkWriter)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142/98 "2001-11-07T04:45:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jarbabyj \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > jarbaby, I’ve read in other threads about your reaction to the attack. I hope I’m not overstepping my bounds as a stranger to you, but I’d suggest strongly that you stop reading this > > Too late. I read it all before getting to yours. > > I think I’ll be under the bed. > > jar \*\* Yup. Same here. Sheri ---
**Author:** ![Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142/99 "2001-11-07T05:25:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by msmith537 \* > \*\*Releasing gas into the Sears tower has too high a level of risk. \*\* Who said anything about gas? > [@](#): > > \*\* > > 1. Sneaking past security with a container of poison gas. \*\* You mean a briefcase full of radioisotope? > [@](#): > > \*\* > 2) Smuggling in enough gas to distribute through a building the size of the Sears Tower. \*\* You mean a briefcase full of radioisotope? Although I think it’s a legitimate question, whether they could smuggle enough in. > [@](#): > > \*\* > 3) Remaining undetected while the gas dispurses, etc, etc. \*\* Why “remain undetected”? Why not just throw the stuff in the ventilation system and just leave? > [@](#): > > \*\* > There’s just too much that can go wrong. Besides, why smuggle the stuff in when you can just use the mail? \*\* Come to think of it, I’m a little surprised they haven’t sent radioisotopes through the mail. -Ben ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142/100 "2001-11-07T15:48:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shirley Ujest \* > > Symbols of sinfulness: Las Vegas, Amsterdam. Oh sweet holy Christ. Anything but Amsterdam. I haven’t been there yet and I wrote a whole book about it that I’m trying to get published. Talk about a moot point for the love of the Lord. jar [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-alleged-terror-plot-bigger-than-9-11-okay-what-could-possibly-be-worse/91142.md?page=6)