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TSA Issues Secret Warning on ‘Catastrophic’ Threat to Aviation

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TSA Issues Secret Warning on ‘Catastrophic’ Threat to Aviation

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Old Feb 26, 2015, 4:00 pm
  #1  
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TSA Issues Secret Warning on ‘Catastrophic’ Threat to Aviation

First question: If it is secret how do we know?

Thermite — a mixture of rust and aluminum powder — could be used against a commercial aircraft, TSA warned in a Dec. 2014 document, marked secret [PDF here]. “The ignition of a thermite-based incendiary device on an aircraft at altitude could result in catastrophic damage and the death of every person onboard,” the advisory said.
Citation.

Link to "secret" report. Yeah, it is a pdf but a small one.

Second question: What is an Intelligence Customer?

If TSA is a "Customer" maybe they should apply for a refund.
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Old Feb 26, 2015, 4:08 pm
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Liquids nonsense all over again. Theoretical but impractical threat.
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Old Feb 26, 2015, 4:32 pm
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Yawn.
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Old Feb 26, 2015, 4:43 pm
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Originally Posted by InkUnderNails
First question: If it is secret how do we know?



Citation.

Link to "secret" report. Yeah, it is a pdf but a small one.

Second question: What is an Intelligence Customer?

If TSA is a "Customer" maybe they should apply for a refund.
The leaked report is nothing more than the standard threat stuff that federal agency counterintelligence staffs routinely publish, mostly to justify their existence. For the most part, CI people have never met a threat they didn't like. The citation in the OP does a good job explaining how they invented the threat.
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Old Feb 26, 2015, 5:49 pm
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Originally Posted by davie355
Liquids nonsense all over again. Theoretical but impractical threat.
Indeed.
Thermite — a mixture of rust and aluminum powder...
"Rust" -----------------------> no ferrous metals allowed.
"Aluminium powder" -------> no non-ferrous metals allowed.
TSA's obvious solution -----> no metals allowed.
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Old Feb 26, 2015, 6:53 pm
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I don't know where that came from but that is not how TSA based intelligence documents look.
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Old Feb 26, 2015, 7:45 pm
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Originally Posted by eyecue
I don't know where that came from but that is not how TSA based intelligence documents look.
You could tell us how they are supposed to look but I bet that is SSI.
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Old Feb 27, 2015, 7:08 am
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Originally Posted by eyecue
I don't know where that came from but that is not how TSA based intelligence documents look.
You're free to provide evidence to show how TSA-based intelligence documents look. If not, then your comment must be taken as hearsay in view of the lack of contradictory evidence.
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Old Feb 27, 2015, 7:15 am
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Originally Posted by eyecue
I don't know where that came from but that is not how TSA based "intelligence" documents look.
FTFY.
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Old Feb 27, 2015, 7:35 am
  #10  
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Originally Posted by eyecue
I don't know where that came from but that is not how TSA based intelligence documents look.
I suspect that either you may be unaware of the following or your post is playing word games.

Some docs at TSA HQ look like that one.

Last edited by GUWonder; Feb 27, 2015 at 7:40 am
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Old Feb 27, 2015, 7:40 am
  #11  
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Originally Posted by KDS
You're free to provide evidence to show how TSA-based intelligence documents look. If not, then your comment must be taken as hearsay in view of the lack of contradictory evidence.
Its not TSA-based intelligence, for it looks like other agency-based intelligence supplied to and then used for limited dissemination at/by TSA HQ.
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Old Feb 27, 2015, 10:23 am
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Originally Posted by GUWonder
Its not TSA-based intelligence, for it looks like other agency-based intelligence supplied to and then used for limited dissemination at/by TSA HQ.
It's labeled as "Other Agency - Product of Interest," so that's presumably correct. TSA receives info from other agency, puts it out to TSA staff with a TSA header on it.
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Old Feb 27, 2015, 10:37 am
  #13  
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Originally Posted by eyecue
I don't know where that came from but that is not how TSA based intelligence documents look.
With all due respect, perhaps that document is above your paygrade?
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Old Feb 27, 2015, 11:39 am
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Originally Posted by RadioGirl
Indeed.

"Rust" -----------------------> no ferrous metals allowed.
"Aluminium powder" -------> no non-ferrous metals allowed.
TSA's obvious solution -----> no metals allowed.
People having fillings, hip joints & metal skulls forcibly removed
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Old Feb 27, 2015, 11:58 am
  #15  
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Originally Posted by cestmoi123
It's labeled as "Other Agency - Product of Interest," so that's presumably correct. TSA receives info from other agency, puts it out to TSA staff with a TSA header on it.
Which is why I said some docs at TSA HQ look like that one. [Document and premise security is not TSA senior management's strong suit.] It's different than the Fox News-based TSA "intelligence" briefings that I've seen at airports. Listening to those used to be part of my amusement when at SEA. The first time I heard it, I wanted to laugh; but on subsequent trips, it was no longer amusing because there were the screeners huddled together to be made paranoid about the world at large -- well not really at large, mostly just about Asia and Africa -- while passengers were being delayed somewhat due to the screeners being "schooled" about the TV broadcast/cable news rather than working the screening checkpoints and focusing just on WEI interdiction.
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