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Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's great to see Mr Chertoff working so hard every day to scare people and try to turn this country to a police state.....

April 7, 2008 4:19 PM

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for doing your job

April 8, 2008 5:22 PM

Anonymous Eric said...

Apparently the Secretary fails to realize that the alleged plot would be impossible to actually carry out.

April 8, 2008 11:13 PM

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Eric:

In case you missed it ... An identical plot/action has already been carried out ... with success.

1994 PAL (Philippine Air Lines) returned body of one of their Japanese passengers to his next of kin in two parts. One part was recovered from the passenger cabin, the other from the baggage compartment.

The bomb used a liquid explosive and was assembled in flight. The explosive was disguised as a bottle of contact lens fluid.

Only through Herculean efforts and extraordinary flying skills was the flight deck crew able to avert the crash of the airliner.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Airlines_Flight_434 or

http://www.answers.com/topic/philippine-airlines-flight-434?cat=biz-fin

The threat and ability to succeed is indeed very real.

April 9, 2008 8:02 AM

Anonymous Anonymous said...

My wife and I flew from London to DC on United 925, one of the flights that was targeted, in September 2006, within the time frame that these terrorists were contemplating to carry out their plot. Thank you to the employees of the Department of Homeland Security, and to other U.S. and British authorities, for their hard work in unraveling this plot and preventing this attack.

April 9, 2008 3:04 PM

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Before you make uneducated assumptions on the "impossible"
plot, maybe you should research before saying something ignorant on this blog.

And im glad Chertoff is open about this, because it in fact reenforces TSA's mission with proof.

April 9, 2008 6:45 PM

Anonymous Anonymous said...

The mere fact that you resort to using wiki for a good source of information speaks volumes.

The bomb was assembled from component parts. They didn't attempt to make liquid explosives on board the plane. They smuggled them in.

United States prosecutors said the device was a "Mark II" "microbomb" constructed using Casio digital watches as described in Phase I of The Bojinka Plot of which this was a test. On Flight 434, Yousef used one tenth of the explosive power he planned to use on eleven U.S. airliners in January 1995. The bomb was, or at least all of its components were, designed to slip through airport security checks undetected. The explosive used was liquid nitroglycerin, which was disguised as a bottle of contact lens fluid. Other ingredients included glycerin, nitrate, sulfuric acid, and minute concentrations of nitrobenzene, silver azide (silver trinitride), and liquid acetone. The wires he used were hidden in the heel of his shoe. At that time, metal detectors used in airports did not go down far enough to detect anything there.

Got to try harder. Those guys are lucky that stuff didn't go off in the way into the airport.

April 9, 2008 8:37 PM

Blogger Michael said...

Wow! That is an amazing plot to say the least. I'm so glad that the government is there to protect us when needed. I'll stand in longer lines at the airport any day just to insure that I am safe when I travel. - Michael New Jr.

April 10, 2008 4:23 PM

Anonymous Anonymous said...

QUOTE:

The bomb was assembled from component parts. They didn't attempt to make liquid explosives on board the plane. They smuggled them in.

You made the point. It incredibly difficult to accurately combine the components of the liquid explosive on board. THAT IS THE SPECIFIC REASON ... for the 3.4 ounce limitation.

The explosive used was in an 8 oz bottle.

The other components were assembled to it.

April 13, 2008 4:07 PM

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hmmm, 1qt approz = 1L

3 3.4/100mL bottles > 8 oz, use the bag for mixing and you're right back from where you started. Nice try, but no cookies for you.

April 20, 2008 9:09 PM

Blogger Suzie said...

@eric:

that's what they said about 9/11 after it happened.

April 30, 2008 1:34 PM

Blogger CyberDeck 13 said...

Mr. Chertoff,

Thankyou very much for this article. I'll try my best to evince a follow up in the MSM but, as you mentioned, there will be little coverage there which is why I rely on this space for what "they" will not print.

And thankyou for doing a great job. Impressive. Thanks also to the men and women of the DHS and others who risk their lives daily so that our 'police state' might remain free and our liberties not taken for granted.

Vaxen Var

May 17, 2008 6:29 PM

Anonymous mike said...

As a former TSO at OAK when the liquids ban was placed in effect, and a 24 year US Navy Veteran. I applaud the work that all of the fine TSO's are doing. I do realize the plausability of terrorists using these liquid explosive techniques.
I am proud to say that I continue to work with a different branch of the DHS and I salute my former comrades that continue to work on the front line. Bravo Zulu to all.

June 4, 2008 11:25 PM