RSS 2.0 FeedThe JFK Airport Terror Plot: Much Ado About Nothing ?
by Doug MataconisThe big story over the weekend involved the arrest of several men involved in an alleged conspiracy to destroy John F. Kennedy Airport in New York by igniting it’s jet fuel lines. Now that time has passed and questions can be raised, it’s not all that clear that this plot ever did, or could, amount to much of anything:
The plot as painted by law enforcement officials was cataclysmic: A home-grown Islamic terrorist had in mind detonating fuel storage tanks and pipelines and setting fire to Kennedy International Airport, not to mention a substantial swath of Queens.
“Had the plot been carried out, it could have resulted in unfathomable damage, deaths and destruction,†Roslynn R. Mauskopf, the United States attorney in Brooklyn, said in a news release that announced charges against four men. She added at a news conference, “The devastation that would be caused had this plot succeeded are just unthinkable.â€
Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly then stepped to the lectern with a vision only a bit less grim.
“Once again, would-be terrorists have put New York City in their crosshairs,†he said. Mr. Kelly said a disaster had been averted.
Or has it ? There’s no question, it would seem, that these guys has plotted to try to do something. But, the rhetoric of politicians and prosecutors notwithstanding, it doesn’t seem like it was ever anything more than just talk:
At its heart was a 63-year-old retired airport cargo worker, Russell M. Defreitas, who the complaint says talked of his dreams of inflicting massive harm, but who appeared to possess little money, uncertain training and no known background in planning a terror attack.
“Capability low, intent very high,†a law enforcement official said of the suspects.
Some law enforcement officials and engineers also dismissed the notion that the planned attack could have resulted in a catastrophic chain reaction; system safeguards, they said, would have stopped explosions from spreading.
Moreover, much of the Government’s case seems to revolve around information provided by a suspect in an unrelated drug case who agreed to become a prosecution witness and provide information about Defrietas and others involved in the alleged conspiracy.
Beyond discussions about igniting fuel lines, though, it seems clear that the men involved in this “plot” really didn’t know what they were doing:
Mr. Defreitas and the informant drove out to the fuel tanks at night, conducting surveillance, and made video recordings of Kennedy Airport and its buildings.
They also “located satellite photographs of J.F.K.,†the complaint states, “and sought expert advice, financing and explosives.â€
But the satellite photographs amount to images easily downloaded from Google Earth.
A law enforcement official characterized the surveillance videos as “amateurishâ€; but he added that the material offered enough detail, taken together with the Google images, to at least help with planning.
The complaint also states that the men discussed “escape routes†through local roads and highways.
Many of the plot’s larger details are left to the imagination.
According to the complaint, one suspect discussed the need to disable an airport control tower, the better to provide cover to destroy the fuel tanks.
Another problem is that none of the suspects appears to have planned or carried out any previous attacks.
That doesn’t mean, of course, that they weren’t capable of doing something at JFK. Along with everything else that’s come to light since these arrests were announced, though, it does lead one to doubt just how imminent this threat actually was.
Doug,
So if these guys had been let go and allowed to continue their plot and allowed to succeed, would you scream and yell knowing we could have stopped them now?
Comment by Kevin — June 5, 2007 @ 12:30 amDoug, is it at all possible that this is simply good police work? We certainly love to give the authorities a hard time when they get it wrong but this time they got it right. Had they been able to complete their objectives, everyone woud blame the president. But since there hasn’t been an attack on American soil since 9/11, the president recieves no credit. But I suppose that comes with the territory.
Comment by Stephen Littau — June 5, 2007 @ 12:59 amKevin,
I’m glad we stopped these guys. The issue here is the way in which the arrests were announced, making it seem as though this was an imminent attack when it’s clear that they were far from the point of being able to actually do anything.
I’m not saying they didn’t break the law, just that the people who arrested them are perhaps guilty of overhyping things just a tad.
Comment by Doug Mataconis — June 5, 2007 @ 5:40 amStephen,
As I said in response to Kevin, these guys clearly broke the law and I’m glad they were stopped now.
My criticism lies not in the fact that they were stopped, but in the manner in which the publicity around the arrests was handled.
Comment by Doug Mataconis — June 5, 2007 @ 5:41 amMy criticism lies not in the fact that they were stopped, but in the manner in which the publicity around the arrests was handled.
Exactly, these guys are like pro football players, dancing everytime they make a routine reception. This sounds like pretty routine police work. Which is good. It strengthens the point that we don’t need to give up more rights to combat terrorism.
Comment by Nick M — June 5, 2007 @ 2:51 pmConspiracy to blow things up is still conspriracy even if the people doing it are dolts.
Comment by tkc — June 5, 2007 @ 4:17 pmOh I don’t know. My then five-year-old son wanted to build a rocket ship/submarine with which he was going to hunt pirates. He convinced a few friends to join in on his mad scheme. They were going to build cannon, missiles and even a nuclear reactor to power the thing. They even started to collect scrap wood to use as their primary building material. They, in effect, were conspiring to break all kinds of Federal and State laws, and were actually implementing their plan.
Yet, I defy anybody to claim that their conspiracy warranted any concern.
Obviously a bunch of adults plotting to rupture a pipe-line is of bigger concern, but their incompetence does not warrant the breathless reports and attention they were getting.
Comment by tarran — June 5, 2007 @ 5:45 pmTo play devil’s advocate for a second, could this case have been promoted as a PR scheme to make up for any other plots that the government stopped but couldn’t be discussed because of security concerns? Then again, have there been any other stopped plots is the question.
Comment by trumpetbob15 — June 5, 2007 @ 5:53 pm[...] And the denial of war goes even further when terrorist plots are uncovered by the Government like the Fort Dix Six. Their response is Much Ado About Nothing. [...]
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