EXCLUSIVE: Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff Offers Chilling Details About 2006 Airplane Plot and Current Terror Threats

Aug. 6, 2007

Terrorists who had planned to detonate gel-based explosives on U.S.-bound flights from London last August would have achieved mass devastation, according to new information from Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in an exclusive interview with ABC News.

"I think that the plot, in terms of its intent, was looking at devastation on a scale that would have rivaled 9/11," Chertoff told ABC's Pierre Thomas. "If they had succeeded in bringing liquid explosives on seven or eight aircraft, there could have been thousands of lives lost and an enormous economic impact with devastating consequences for international air travel."

http://tinyurl.com/ynl6b8

We cannot guard against every conceivable threat. As soon as we ban one thing, another will take its place.

Skeletor fear-mongering again? Shocking.

And I'm Marie of Romania.

Wolf!!!! Wolf!!!!!!



The video was interesting to say the least. As one of my professors always asked "how much?" "Small amount" doesn't tell me how much. As usual, though, no tough questions ... only softballs that panders to the government.

I thought they taught journalists how to think in their majors (like philosophy classes and crap like that)?

Gotta wonder about the exclusive. ABC probably got it because they wouldn't ask any tough questions and would lick their boots.

"7 or 8 a/c" = "thousands of lives lost" ...

What, 7 or 8 A380s configured entirely for Y? Some of the Japanese 747s in full-Y, with 26" seat pitch?

Comrade Chertoff has shown he is as good at math as he is at security.

Not to mention that EVERY independent expert in chemistry and explosives has called the plot completely untenable. Yet DHS keeps citing their own "experts" to the contrary, but refuse to disclose any of the details, just "trust us, we're right, and everyone else is wrong."

And the plotters apparently were at the yokel stage of "hey, wouldn't it be cool if we could do this?" and didn't have the sort of expertise to even begin to pull this off.

Why doesn't Chertoff make his next press conference to state, "Just imagine if the terrorists had light sabers! They could cut through the cockpit doors and hijack thousands of planes at once!"

Also interesting how they showed old Lockerby explosive tests to drive the point home. They said it, but it was easy to miss. Good for scare tactics though.

Technically, he's "truthful" with the thousands ... as it's about 2800 based on UA's 747, but that's assuming 8 planes completely full, and that's being generous. It's a lot of people, but stilln ot 9/11. And of course, he's implying that thousands was in the scale of close to 10k or more by how he was using it.

Super

This was exactly my thoughts on this.

Imagine if they had pulled off their plan to hypnotize the screeners, disable the FAMs with the Vulcan death grip and to take over the plane from the pilors with their Jedi mind tricks! Imagine that!?!?! Millions of people could die!!!

I'm trying to imagine real security but honestly, I have nothing to go on, in real world...

I'm not generous enough to grant Kippie and Chertoff the scenario of all 8 planes, all 8 being 747s, and all 8 being at 100% load factor, and of course all 8 teams carrying out their attacks successfully and near-enough simultaneously to make the plan work, though. That's not realistic.

And, of course, we're still under 3k at that point... technically "thousands" (as in, more than a single thousand), but hardly the connotation of the term, either.

I'm not granting them that either. But you know that's the numbers they're working off of when they made this "announcement."

So ... like ... whatever happened to those bad boiz of last summer? Presumably all convicted of life-in-prison offenses, no?

Just to refresh my memory ... weren't they all released?

I found this report frustratingly lacking on details or serious reporting. I encourage all to provide feedback to ABC as well.

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3453344

sorry they force you to watch a commercial first.

I believe they were.

Must have been some really serious plotters to have all been released.