This sounds like it would have, at the very least, caused significant disruption at JFK:
Sources said the plot involved a plan to blow up a jet-fuel pipeline at JFK setting off a potential massive explosion.
Law enforcement officials said the plot may involve a former airport worker.
A press conference is scheduled for 1 p.m. this afternoon.
You shouldn’t be shocked to learn that there is a lot of jet fuel at JFK:
Aviation Fuel
JFK has a total storage capacity of 32 million gallons. It features:
- 62 tanks in bulk storage and 40 tanks in satellite
- 50 miles of underground pipe
- Five piers
- Transfers of fuel to nine unit terminal buildings (UTB) through 28 separate fuel systems
- Fuel tank farms protected by high pressure foam systems
- More than one billion gallons of fuel were dispensed in 2002.
It doesn’t appear that passengers were at risk:
The plot, which never got past the planning stages, did not involve airplanes or passenger terminals, according to the two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the arrests had not yet been announced. They did not elaborate on the specific target at the airport, one of the nation’s busiest.
The alleged plotter’s origins and ties are - unusual:
Law enforcement officials say that one of the men involved is a former airport worker from Guyana. Sources say the man was arrested last night.
Sources say he recruited an FBI informant to help plan the attack. He reportedly met with a radical group in Trinidad, where other arrests have been made in the case.
Sources also say the reason the arrests took place at this time was because the suspects had plans to travel.
Here’s something you probably don’t know about Trinidad:
Muslims constitute 6 percent of the population on Trinidad and Tobago, representing 65,318 individuals. The majority live in Trinidad but there are a handful in Tobago as well. The first Muslims to arrive in the country arrived from Africa brought as slaves by the colonists. The next set of Muslims came from South Asia as indentured labourers to work on sugar cane and cacao plantations. Muslims today are mostly of South Asian descent but there are converts from all races. In Trinidad there are Islamic primary and secondary schools.
TriniMuslims.com should be an interesting read over the next few days.
Officials have already stated that there are no known ties to al Qaeda but it’s not like you need overt ties to the group to join the cause.
The suspects did not have any known ties to al Qaeda, the law enforcement source tells Hendin. He said the suspects appeared to be “homegrown” plotters, similar to the six suspects who were recently arrested for plotting an attack on New Jersey’s Fort Dix.
It looks like that statement might be suspect anyway:
FBI agents feared but never confirmed the three men accused of plotting to attack John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York were linked to one of the most wanted al Qaeda leaders, Adnan Shukrijumah, known to have operated out of Guyana and Trinidad.
Officials tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com that they heard repeated references to “Adnan” during the extensive wiretaps conducted on the suspects’ telephone conversations, including calls to Guyana and Trinidad.
We now have the suspects names:
Russell Defreitas, Abdul Nur, Kareem Ibrihim and Abdul Kadir
color me not surprised. This isn’t surprising either (unless you’re John Edwards):
According to the criminal complaint, the defendants performed physical surveillance, made video recordings of JFK and its buildings and facilities, located satellite photographs of JFK on the Internet and sought expert advice, financing and explosives.
The complaint adds that an informant and Defreitas discussed the war in Lebanon in August 2006 and agreed, “Muslims always incur the wrath of the world while the Jews get a pass.”
It was at that point, court records say, Defreitas shared with the informant “that he had a vision that would make the WTC attack seem small.”
I’ve added Google Earth satellite photos of JFK Airport in another post.
Bloggers React:
In From The Cold
More details as they develop, but certainly the background/nationality of that airport worker should prove interesting, along with any possible connections to other terror cells in the NYC area.
Hot Air
No one’s said this is a jihadist plot (yet), and the locales here are probably a coincidence, but there is one notorious Al Qaeda operative at large with ties to both Guyana and Trinidad who’s allegedly been looking to hit the U.S. for a long time.
Counterterrorism Blog
The FBI has followed the suspects for at least a year.
The Populist
Well, it’s obvious, We’re still in danger of attack. I just wonder how long it will be, before some idiot liberal will blame Bush for this attack, saying, if we were not in Iraq, it would have never happened.
QandO
Hmmm … more “home grown” terrorists? How about the first report of the parliamentarian from Guyana?
Positive Infinity
However, their geography leaves a lot to be desired of. Leading up to the 1300 FBI news conference, one of those arrested was a member of the parliament of Guyana, which Fox thought was in Africa and which they repeated. Their “expert” who had travelled in Africa didn’t challenge this either. Guyana is in South America. Both Guyana and Trinidad/Tobago have substantial Muslim populations.
Little Green Footballs
Again, the media are obsessively asking “experts” whether the plot was connected to Al Qaeda, and again, it appears they were not. Let’s all just ignore that big green elephant in the middle of the living room, shall we?
Don Surber
How did the feds find out? This should be interesting. Did tearing down the Clintonian wall between FBI crime and FBI anti-terrorism units help? Anyone water boarded? The reportorial questions will be as telling as the Official Answers.
Hugh Hewitt
The Fort Dix Six and the Kennedy Airport Four (plus one TB patient) are illustrating in serial fashion that the U.S. has a huge security problem that begins with its porous borders. Legitimizing thousands of hostiles in our midst –even though the vast majority of 601(h)ers are here just to work and raise families– is a non-starter to every realist about the terrorist threat facing the country.
MacsMind
The point though is that the FBI working with NYPD did a sterling job her and that’s the story for the day. This never got past preliminary planning stages and that’s where you want it stopped.
The Moderate Voice
The story is a stark reminder that terrorist threats now come from several sources and that the U.S. can’t let its guard down.
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Filed Under:
Terrorism, Intelligence
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