# The 2003 Al Qaeda plot to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge - most moronic plot ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 25, 2009, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2003-al-qaeda-plot-to-destroy-the-brooklyn-bridge-most-moronic-plot-ever/487376 "2009-02-25T16:02:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2003-al-qaeda-plot-to-destroy-the-brooklyn-bridge-most-moronic-plot-ever/487376/1 "2009-02-25T16:02:43Z")
Do you people remember the supposed Al Qaeda plot to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge? [http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2003/06/20/2003-06-20\_brooklyn\_bridge\_plot\_\_al\_qae.html](http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2003/06/20/2003-06-20_brooklyn_bridge_plot__al_qae.html) I can hardly believe that this plan could be taken seriously by ANYONE. Apparently the plan involved talking the bridge down by using welding equipment on one of the main cables. Facts about the cables: _Suspension Cables - four 15 3/4" diameter wire ropes. Number of Strands in each cable - 19 Total Length of Wire in cables - approximately 3600 miles Miles of wrapping wire on each cable - 243 miles 943 feet_ Does anyone know how long it would take to go through one of these? A week, maybe? Using something that generates a bright light? Brilliant! Plus, since the Brooklyn is one of the few suspension bridges that has 4 cables instead of 2, wasn’t there a good chance that taking out one of the 4 wouldn’t even compromise the bridge? I’m basically looking for engineer types to tell me if my suspicions that this was one of the doofiest plots ever are correct. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2003-al-qaeda-plot-to-destroy-the-brooklyn-bridge-most-moronic-plot-ever/487376/2 "2009-02-25T16:08:27Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Apparently the plan involved talking the bridge down… I think I see the basic flaw in that 😛 ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2003-al-qaeda-plot-to-destroy-the-brooklyn-bridge-most-moronic-plot-ever/487376/3 "2009-02-25T16:57:47Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > I think I see the basic flaw in that 😛 Oooh, good typo by me! Maybe the plot involved the cast of “The View” - which might actually work! ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2003-al-qaeda-plot-to-destroy-the-brooklyn-bridge-most-moronic-plot-ever/487376/4 "2009-02-25T17:07:04Z")
Traditionally, it’s someone _on_ the bridge who needs to be talked down, not the bridge itself. Reminds me of a line about Michael Dukakis, when he was trying to get the Big Dig funded: “If Mike wants to depress the Central Artery, all he has to do is talk to it.” ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2003-al-qaeda-plot-to-destroy-the-brooklyn-bridge-most-moronic-plot-ever/487376/5 "2009-02-25T17:10:18Z")
> [@NY Daily News](#): > > Neither attack took place. Whew! I was worried there for a minute. ---
**Author:** ![puppygod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@puppygod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puppygod)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2003-al-qaeda-plot-to-destroy-the-brooklyn-bridge-most-moronic-plot-ever/487376/6 "2009-02-25T17:20:06Z")
What was that “welding equipment”? I can imagine thermal lance chewing through cable within minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2003-al-qaeda-plot-to-destroy-the-brooklyn-bridge-most-moronic-plot-ever/487376/7 "2009-02-25T17:41:16Z")
As the above says, a thermal lance would NOT take a week. I don’t want to hazard a guess but probably short enough time that it would be worth considering. You’d still have to conceal the activity of course. And to make it really effective you’d want to do it during rush hour, which would make concealing it that much more difficult. The four cables would mean the BB would be a poor choice as well. In Ken Burns’ early documentary on it, they stated that Roebling had designed the bridge with a safety factor of 10x (i.e. ten times stronger than it needed to be!) but due to some bad wire (not from his company) it was only six times. ‘Only’ six! ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2003-al-qaeda-plot-to-destroy-the-brooklyn-bridge-most-moronic-plot-ever/487376/8 "2009-02-25T20:49:27Z")
Have you ever watched someone cut a train rail in half? They could cut through that cable like a knife through butter. Put a hard hat on a person and park an official truck next to the cable and that bridge is comming down. Nobody would notice in time to react, even if they had cameras on the bridge. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2003-al-qaeda-plot-to-destroy-the-brooklyn-bridge-most-moronic-plot-ever/487376/9 "2009-02-25T22:12:32Z")
Seriously, could I get some more information on thermal lances? I first heard of them in the Anarchist’s Cookbook- renowned for inaccurate information. Just how big are they? How much power do they take? Could you get on motorcycles and joust with them? I NEED to know. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2003-al-qaeda-plot-to-destroy-the-brooklyn-bridge-most-moronic-plot-ever/487376/10 "2009-02-25T22:26:38Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Seriously, could I get some more information on thermal lances? I first heard of them in the Anarchist’s Cookbook- renowned for inaccurate information. Just how big are they? How much power do they take? Could you get on motorcycles and joust with them? I NEED to know. They don’t take any power at all - just a source of compressed oxygen. They are hollow tubes filled with iron rods. You pump oxygen in at one end, and light the other end with a torch. Make a most satisfactory display. > **[Thermal lance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_lance)** > > A thermal lance, thermic lance, oxygen lance, or burning bar is a tool that heats and melts steel in the presence of pressurized oxygen to create very high temperatures for cutting. It consists of a long steel tube packed with alloy steel rods, which serve as fuel; these are sometimes mixed with aluminum rods to increase the heat output. > One end of the tube is placed in a holder and oxygen is fed through the tube. The far end of the tube is pre-heated and lit by an oxyacetylene torch. An intense... ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2003-al-qaeda-plot-to-destroy-the-brooklyn-bridge-most-moronic-plot-ever/487376/11 "2009-02-25T22:30:05Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Seriously, could I get some more information on thermal lances? I first heard of them in the Anarchist’s Cookbook- renowned for inaccurate information. Just how big are they? How much power do they take? Could you get on motorcycles and joust with them? I NEED to know. This doesn’t answer all your questions, but it’s a start: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3U7d07Pd7HI/hqdefault.jpg "thermal lance heavy scrap disposal") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U7d07Pd7HI)