Terrorists Threaten Wall Street

Talk about a lack of understanding of guerilla tactics.

The dumbies in New York and the Feds are looking for Truck Bombs and securing Cargo Planes all over the eastern seaboard this morning.

I guess the following is too subtle.

What do you get when you combine the following items?

1 - An out of the way assembly area... say an apartment or business near the financial district, especially the exchange.

2 - Five or more people with legs capable of carrying five kilos of weight from NJ.

3 - Brief Cases

4 - Plastic bags

5 - (edited for obvious reasons) chemistry to cover nitrates from dogs.

6 - 1000 days with three trips per day by each set of feet.

7 - Fertilizer

8 - Will

Give up?

The correct answer is No more financial district.

I sent this and twenty other scenarios to the FBI on 9-12-2001, so don't give me the you shouldn't be doing this line. People too damned dumb to consider the obvious probably deserve what they get.

I feel another famous old saying coming on.

The most fatal mistake one can make is to think that by not thinking, you can impress that same characteristic on your enemy.

But there are always things one can do to defeat a strategy.

The "suggestions" I ALSO included in the above scenario for defeating it was as follows:

1 - Have each regional office identify all targets in their region that constitute a "financial or strategic" target should you place yourself in the shoes of a terrorist who's goal is to interrupt the financial and social structure.

2 - Use available resources to identify owners, leasers and users of any properties within (... edit ) meters of the above identified targets.

3 - Make sure you know who these people,businesses or groups really are.

4 - Devote an agent or two to each strategic target. Hopefully this agent should have an imagination, but a democrat will do in a pinch. One is a tagger and the other is the trailer. Over time, tag any suspicious person and have the trailer make sure where he/she is coming from and going to.

5 - Look for patterns. (these should be obvious, but i'm not going to list them here.)

There is also the problem of "Management Style" of the people in charge. For example:

1 - How much would it cost to devote 4 three person teams (a total of 12 full time agents - each team being a tagger,a trailer and a computer nerd at the NSA) to protect the New York Stock Exchange? Twelve people at 80 thousand to 120 thousand dollars each per year. Plus op expense. A couple million dollars per year.

2 - How much would it cost if terrorists succeed in blowing up said target? A trillion? Or two trillion like the fall of the World Trade Center? Maybe. Maybe a hell of a lot more.


Note: Don't start quoting that the WTC Was only worth 20 billions. Look at the entire cost to airlines, business and the cost of recession.

3 - Cost benefit ratio.

4 - Make sure that these 12 people know that "If The Stock Exchange goes or is damaged... you are fired. And we will make sure the world knows of your incompetence."

The other part that I put forth was that of Responsibility and Initiative of the most important part of the solution.

The Individual Agents must or Should:

1 - Never rule out the obvious or the "Unthinkable" because it never is.

2 - Communicate with the vetted and those who are on their beat. Learn what is going on in every building in their area of responsibility.
You notice that I listed "four" teams. This gives each shift a six hour "on station", a one hour paperwork period and an hour of "community visiting" each shift. That is four to eight hours per day for each team. Not counting any time that the trailer isn't trailing. He/she can use this time to roam the community and shoot the breeze with the residents.

3 - Enlist help and allies to just "keep their eyes open". It is amazing the mentality that "We are a small band of top secret agents" can totally stifle the most obvious allies you have. The potential targets of terror. <edit> I am greatly amused by the inevitable argument that "I can't do That! What if I reveal myself to the enemy!?" Hurrumpff!!!

Then that is a great success. Do you think they won't maybe fear you more than you should fear being a "known agent"? Might they not choose a shopping mall instead of your area? (Sorry dead people at the mall. But that's life. And death.)

I think your comments are to the point.

I hope that the FBI is already working on preventing this type of attack, they would probably not give out information about it if they are.

Regarding 9/11 and the stock market, I think 9/11 had a significant effect on the way the stock market tanked, and that the collapse of the "internet bubble" was hastened by the general fear caused by 9/11, and not just changes in company financials and business outlooks. I believe I lost my automobile industry software job as a direct result of 9/11, and the following ~20% decrease in auto sales. These tyeps of effects were widespread through the economy and difficult to measure due to their complexity.

It must be frustrating to try to help the FBI. I assume you got no feedback. BTW, I called the FBI with a suggestion two years ago regarding the Malvo sniper shooting case: I noticed that no one knew what the vehicle looked like. I suggested that they ask the public to carry video cameras in order to video an area upon hearing shots. Analysis of such video could lead to a vehicle description. They seemed irritated that I called, I heard nothing further from them, and I never saw such requests made of the public.

Originally posted by zucchini
I think your comments are to the point.

I hope that the FBI is already working on preventing this type of attack, they would probably not give out information about it if they are.

Regarding 9/11 and the stock market, I think 9/11 ha ...[text shortened]... rther from them, and I never saw such requests made of the public.

Your tax dollars at work.

What should the government do to fight terror?

I don't think enough is being done to "imagine" and prevent. The government seems obsessed with the obvious. Airports and Airplanes seem to be of PARTICULAR obsessive importance. Gee. Can't imagine why. (pun intended) Because it is easy to note the obvious and most recent past. As it is almost impossibly difficult to imagine anything in the future. People are afraid to try to think like a terrorist! Geez! What if I become one! This seems to be the usual kind of 'avoid at all costs' line of reasoning. Or the always "don't talk about it! you'll make it happen" superstition.

If I were in charge of fighting terror, the second most important department in the plan would be "The Department Of Imagination And Dreaming". Creative people trying to be terrorists for a living. They would identify goals and targets and METHODS that lead to the accomplishment of the goals. They would create scenarios and methods of identifying and defeating the same.

And before anyone comments that the government did enlist hollywood and game coders... Have you seen anything original out of hollywood in the last fifty years? As to computer game coders! Give me a break. There isn't enough creativity in the whole bunch to find their collective way out of the hundred acre wood. And about as mature.

Instead... your government ( or the US government at least) is wasting billions trying to teach hundreds of thousands of bureaucrats to stand in lines at airports and operate simple machines. And failing at even that.

I just resubmitted my posts to the FBI of 12 November, 2001.

Because they said on the news just now that the attack on the financial institutions that were announced and declared yesterday were... quote... "Years Old".

Hmmmm....

I'll let you know if they reply this time. It's like a bad dream.

"Mailwasher is already running"...

Upon checking mail. Which is BS. But ... games are games. Silly turds.

Originally posted by StarValleyWy
Oh, i got more response than I wanted. Let's just leave it at that.


Concerning the DC Snipers...
I did get a response from them again when I suggested the use of military tools to "tag" cars using a five minute delay... then following the vehicle in "graduated real time". They actually did this. Two weeks later. Thus causing a hell of a snark ...[text shortened]... <end edit>

That one elicited a "Thank you for your EMail" form letter from the FBI.

Originally posted by ivanhoe
SVW: "Oh, i got more response than I wanted. Let's just leave it at that."

They paid you a visit SVW ? 😵

I just got a notice from my firewall of an &quot;assault&quot;


Gee I wonder who it is?

Duh!

Stupid buggers.

&lt;giggle&gt;

I can't help but think they would be better served by conversing?

But what the hell. I'm a minor chimp. In the scheme of things.

Originally posted by StarValleyWy
I just got a notice from my firewall of an "assault"


Gee I wonder who it is?

Duh!

Stupid buggers.

<giggle>

I can't help but think they would be better served by conversing?

But what the hell. I'm a minor chimp. In the scheme of things.