In History - There was warning -
AIRJET AIRLINE WORLD NEWS -- AJN 23JUN2001 23:00 UTC
*** U.S. Airlines may be a terror risk over next 3 days
WASHINGTON - 23JUN2001 (AirlineBiz.Com) With U.S. Gulf forces already on high alert, the U.S. State Department is expected to issue a travel advisory shortly warning Americans traveling overseas to be on their guard.
Videotapes allegedly show Osama bin Laden threatening to attack U.S. interests in the region. Indictments against 13 Saudi nationals and one Lebanese, charging them with killing 19 US servicemen at a military base in Saudi Arabia in 1996 appears to be the catalyst.
With the announcement of the indictments, U.S. Attorney General Ashcroft noted how terrorists are targeting the United States. "Americans are a high-priority target for terrorists," he said.
In recent years, U.S. citizens have found themselves the target of several attacks by the terror network of Osama bin Laden. One such attack involved a plot to destroy 12 U.S. airliners in Asia.
A jury found Ramzi Ahmed Yousef the alleged mastermind of the scheme, and two other defendants, guilty on all counts. Yousef is also the alleged mastermind of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and is also linked to schemes to assassinate President Clinton and the Pope.
Just prior to the attack of the Saudi military base, officials uncovered the plot to blow up 12 U.S. airliners on January 6, 1995 when a fire broke out in a Manila apartment.
During the trial a Secret Service agent testified that Yousef boasted during his extradition flight to New York that he would have blown up several jumbo jets within a few weeks if his plan had not been discovered. The government said the defendants even devised a name for their airline terror plot named, "Project Bojinka."
Tapes played in court showed the defendants talking about how much they enjoyed killing Americans. In a test run, a bomb was placed on a Philippine Air Lines 747 flight to Tokyo. It exploded, killing a Japanese passenger.
The Arabic satellite television channel MBC has reported, "the next two weeks will witness a big surprise."
A reporter of MBC said, "A severe blow is expected against U.S. and Israeli interests worldwide." MBC said the reporter met with Osama bin Laden two days ago in Afghanistan.
"There is a major state of mobilization among the Osama bin Laden forces. It seems that there is a race of who will strike first. Will it be the United States or Osama bin Laden?" the correspondent said.
June 25 is the fifth anniversary of the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers bombing which killed 19 U.S. servicemen. Bob Monetti, President of the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 said, "I hope the airlines are watching this situation closely."
Mr. Monetti, who lost his son Rick on Pan Am 103 is also a special advisor to the FAA on security related matters. Monetti is hopeful about the progress that has been made since the bombing of Pan Am 103.
However, Monetti expressed serious concern about the abilities of the airlines to stop a terrorist organization from carrying out their plans as promised. Monetti noted that Osama bin Laden has had several terrorist targets over the years and not all of them have been military.
"The airlines are at risk -- They need to take all appropriate measures and counter-measures to ensure the safety of their passengers," Monetti said.
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