I’ve just received a report that they’re identifying specific targets and dates for additional attacks. Fear alone would disrupt daily activity and, thus, accomplish part of a terrorist’s agenda but this report seems like it would be pretty easy to carry out…
Damn. Anybody else heard about this yet?
Seems loading a Ryder with explosives and pushing the red button mid Golden Gate would be all too easy. Let’s hope this is false or that they nail 'em on the way.
God Bless America.
Can you post a link to the quote?
NATIONAL THREAT WARNING SYSTEM? I have never heard of this and a google search hasn’t helped. How does one find them and get on their list?
Whereas a google search on “Terrorist Threat Advisory Update” takes one to a list of page detailing the FBI’s message to 18,000 police departments to be real careful out there.
Afraid I don’t have a link. I received this as an email from our CEO. We’re a subsidiary of Halliburton.
It does say that the Federal Bureau of Investigation posted this uncorroborated information regarding the possibility of additional terrorist attacks.
I briefly looked around on SDMB to see if anyone else was aware of this. Last thing I want is to be an alarmist or put crap info up but, to me at least, the source means I’ll take note.
Jeez, if we could catch someone on the way to an event, what an incredible source of additional information they could be.
Maybe this will help:
This apparently originated from
[Infragard_secured]
lieu
There is no known US government entity called a “National Threat and Warning System”.
Assuming the threat information was received by E-mail, the OP does not include any header information indicating from whom the message was received.
The OP does not indicate how or why the message was received by the poster.
The AP wire shows nothing related to the supposed ‘warning’.
Sounds completely bogus to me.
I doubt that would do anything. Suspension bridges, especially those on the west coast (being on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”) are built incredibly strong. I doubt anything short of large military ordinance (tough for terrorists to get or deliver in this country), an airliner impact (highly unlikely these days) or some very carefully-placed shaped charges (security at these bridges will be super-high. Nobody will be able to skulk around undetected) would seriously damage one.
The blast from an explosives-laden truck would be directed in all directions. Only a small bit of it would impact the road bed. Considering the road bed has a nice thick, tough layer of asphalt and ferro-concrete, it probably wouldn’t be dented too badly. Vehicles in the immediate vicinity will be destroyed and traffic will be disrupted, but the bridge won’t come crashing down.
Now, if a large shaped charge was carried in the truck, aimed downward, it could blow a truck-sized hole in the road bed. It’s very unlikely that this would collapse the bridge, however.
I don’t want to sound glib, here. Certainly, we have to be vigilant. All high-profile structures and landmarks are potential targets.
Sorry, guess 2 and 3 were addressed by the poster while I was composing my message. This becomes most curious.
Apparently there is an formalized corporate intelligence network reporting to the FBI.
A search for “infragard” links to this site:
Most recent site update is 11 October 2001.
The National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are described as “facilitators”.
The “about” page says the following:
InfraGard National Executive Board is listed as:
Bill Yang, Phyllis Schneck, James Joyce, Randy Potts, Jeff Schmidt, Dave Strothcamp, Dain Gary.
“Secure Access” members apparently can exchange info with the FBI by non-public channels.
This appears to have been implemented mainly to exchange information about hacker/virus attacks on business networks. All NIPC alerts that I saw on the site related to Internet worms such as “Code Red”.
I’m glad to see I’d make a shitty terrorist.
Please bear with me as I’m trying as fast as possible to get corroboration on this. As ElKabong mentioned, there is a Infragard site that does list: "NATIONAL THREAT WARNING SYSTEM-- Terrorist Threat Advisory Update"s. I don’t see this particular notice online yet but my email did, as mentioned, say “Infragard_secured”.
I’ve written the admin who sent this requesting verification and will pass it along as soon as I can. Regards.
(if i’m auto-buttf*cking myself i’m gonna be pissed)
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Kamandi *
**
Not so much just strong but very flexible for example I think everyone has seen the infamous Tacoma Narrows bridge footage
http://www.enm.bris.ac.uk/research/nonlinear/tacoma/tacoma.html#file
Suspension bridges are designed to survive earthquakes and high winds by flexing. The golden gate bridge sways and shifts a bit in the wind all the time.
IANAE but short of the shaped charge cited above I would tend to think that a suspension bridge would pretty much “roll with the punch” and take little if any serious structural damage that could not be repaired in a few days.
If ya ask me blowing up an oil tanker under the bridge would be far worse than a vehicle bomb on the bridge. The resulting fire would be very damaging to the metal structure and supports. Tankers go in and out of there all the time.
I am much more concerned about the terrroristic threat against Todd Bridges.
There are procedures in place to protect the bridges, as there were in WWII. The major SF Bay bridges have survived the 1989 Loma Prieta quake (6.9 final measurement if I recall). That is a tremendous amount of energy, particularly on the Oakland side of the Bay Bridge where the mud amplifies the waves. It sustained a small collapse exactly where it was designed to give first (the engineers were geniuses IMHO). While a tuck full or ordnance would focus the energy, I seriously doubt it would do more than blow a hole in the immediate vicinity and take a little bit out. The Golden Gate suspension cables are a yard thick of very high quality steel. Even if the truck was right up against one side at the middle of the span where the suspension meets the roadway, would the explosion eat more than a few inches of cable?
A barge recently hit one of the supports for the only mainland bridge to and from South Padre on the Texas coast. The island is now isolated to cars except for ferry traffic. Makes me wonder if this was the seed for an idea.
I agree that most of the blast from a truck on the Golden Gate would do little. I’d think the Oakland bridge with the two levels would be a more effective target with the explosion sandwiched between the two.
Hopefully the point will be moot, as I’d certainly like the threat to be discredited or averted in some peaceful manner.
Took me a minute.
Gov. Davis issued a Press release about the possibility that four CA bridges are targeted for terrorism between 11/2 and 11/9.
This was the lead on CNN.com a few minutes ago.
This is close to the scenario that has been scaring me lately - I used to work offshore in the oilspill-cleanup business in Santa Barbara, and some facts about large boats scare me:
Even the reletively small boats I worked on take about 1/4 mile to change direction, from what I recall a tanker under full power can take several miles to stop or turn.
Tankers are HUGE - ram one at full speed into the GG bridge and we may actually have enough momentum + weight to knock the big boy over.
If the structure survives the initial wreck, we end up with the lower portion completely coated with and surrounded by crude oil, which could be set on fire either on purpose or by some part of the ship during the accident. After what the jet fuel did to the WTC, it doesn’t take much to imagine the support structure of the GGBridge melting.
So, even if the CoastGuard figures out that a tanker is barreling towards SF, and even if they get on board somehow, they may only be capable of turning it far enough to miss the structure of the GGBridge - with the momentum of a fully-loaded tanker, it would probably end up hitting shore somewhere in the Bay Area, resulting in an amazing spill.
Yuck.
Looks like we have word from the Guv of a threat, sorry to say…
And let’s not forget the fabulous Coronado Bridge in San Diego (which, thankfully, I don’t go anywhere near).
And if the threat is from November 2-7 at rush hour… well, there aren’t any “rush hours” on November 3 and 4 - they’re Saturday and Sunday. 
Esprix
Damn I didn’t even think of ramming a support :eek:
I saw a big tanker going under while I was crossing the GGB. You never would have been able to explain to me in words just how damn huge some of those boats are. I was sitting in my dads truck with my chin on my lap.
[channel Clive Cussler]
Sounds like a job for Dirk Pitt and Al Geordino
[/channel Clive Cussler]