Terror Threat?

[pacman]

(seamus @ Jan. 16 2012,02:04) I Know Pacci wont go to Bali cause of the Muslim nut nut's...

I won't?

You've gotta love the internet... you learn new things every day...

[seamus]

Perhaps I had a conversation with a different pacman in the old chat room, sorry for My mistake

[Torurot]

Terror Suspect Says Ammonia in "Cool Packs" Not For Bombs
Saturday, 21 January 2012, 3:08 pm
Column: Richard S. Ehrlich

BANGKOK, Thailand -- An imprisoned Lebanese-Swedish terror suspect said he stockpiled medical "cool packs" which "contained ammonia" for commerical export, and is not a Hezbollah member, after being arrested for possessing 10 gallons (38 liters) of ammonium nitrate which can be used to build bombs.

"I am 100 percent not guilty in the terror crimes I am accused of," Hussein Atris, a dual Lebanese-Swedish citizen, told the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.

"This is a conspiracy. I deal only with ordinary business operations," Mr. Atris, 47, said in Swedish, describing why he repeatedly came to Thailand during the past two years while exporting items to Lebanon, Liberia and other countries from a building he rented on the outskirts of Bangkok.

"We bought goods in Asia and exported them to other countries, including Lebanon. It was fans, photocopier paper and cool packs used to relieve pain. These bags contained ammonia," Mr. Atris said.

Ammonia nitrate can be extracted from some cool packs, which are usually plastic bags containing chemicals that maintain a cold temperature after being refrigerated, and can be used for cooling medicine, food, physical aches and other purposes.

His rented building held 4.8 tons (4,380 kilograms) of urea fertilizer, 10 gallons (38 liters) of liquid ammonium nitrate, and 400 electric table fans in cardboard boxes, police told reporters.

"Carefully cut the cold pack open with a exacto knife or razor blade," said an "anonymous" poster on a California-based, question-and-answer website, when "kuyakev" asked how to extract ammonia nitrate from a cool pack.

"The ammonium nitrate is in little pellets, that will begin to come out," the poster said in a reply which could not be independently confirmed.

Police charged Mr. Atris with illegal possession ammonium nitrate -- which requires a Thai government permit.

Ammonium nitrate, together with fertilizer and other items, can be used to build a bomb.

In the U.S., for example, ammonia nitrate was used in the 1995 Okalahoma City bombing.

"Three years ago we started doing business in Thailand. I have rented a store here for two years now," Mr. Atris said in the interview conducted on Thursday (January 19) inside Bangkok Remand Prison.

"We have never dealt with chemical fertilizers. It must have been placed in our store room by someone, probably the Mossad," he said, referring to Israel's secret service.

No fuses, timing mechanisms or detonating charges were discovered in Mr. Atris's building.

The description by Thai police of the building's contents included "enough materials to construct several truck bombs comparable to the one detonated at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad in 2008," which killed at least 40 people, according to the Texas-based, intelligence analysis website Stratfor in its report on Thursday (January 19) titled "A Hezbollah Threat in Thailand?"

"Urea fertilizer can be used to manufacture the improvised explosive mixture urea nitrate, which was the main charge used in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The compound is also frequently used in improvised explosive devices in Iraq and to some extent in Afghanistan," Stratfor said.

"The largest vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices in recent history have contained about a ton of fertilizer," Stratfor reported, speculating on the potential use of the 4.8 tons (9,656 pounds or 4,380 kilograms) allegedly found in Mr. Atris's building.

"The device used in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing consisted of about 1,300 pounds (590 kilograms) of urea nitrate. Constructing and delivering bombs larger than that tends to create technical and logistical hitches. It is much more likely that such a large amount of fertilizer would be meant for multiple smaller or medium-sized devices."

In the interview, Mr. Atris said, "I am a Shia Muslim, but not part of the Hezbollah.

"However, I live in an area outside Beirut where they are strong. I also have sympathy on the left, I also voted for the Social Democrats when I lived in Sweden. Maybe it made me suspicious in Mossad's eyes. They kept an eye on me."

His current return to Thailand came after floods killed more than 800 people, inundated one-third of the country, and swept through parts of Bangkok.

"Firstly, I had to check the warehouse after the floods in November and December. And secondly, I should arrange a shipment to Liberia, that we had problems with. The cargo is now booked on a freighter," Mr. Atris said without elaborating on its contents, schedule, route or customer.

Shipping containers on freighters are also a problem for counter-terrorist agents who fear huge containers can be packed like a gigantic car bomb, and detonated at sea or in a harbor.

Mr. Atris was arrested on January 12 while departing through Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport, and led police to the rented building on January 16.

"I was just about to fly home. When I went through all the [Bangkok airport] controls and got my bag, I was X-rayed. They took me to a detention center at the airport and interrogated me.

"I only had a bag with some clothes and gadgets like fake iPhones, some USB flash drives, hard drives and memory sticks with me. I usually sell them in Lebanon. And then I was accused of being a terrorist. But I am 100 percent innocent."

On December 18, Israel reportedly told the U.S. and Thailand about the presence of at least two Hezbollah members in Bangkok.

After a three-week secret manhunt by Israeli, U.S. and Thai security forces -- and one day after Mr. Atris was arrested -- the American Embassy issued a public alert on January 13 "that foreign terrorists may be currently looking to conduct attacks against tourist areas in Bangkok in the near future."

The U.S. warning is still in effect, despite repeated efforts by Thai officials to have it cancelled amid worries that Thailand will lose money if fearful foreign tourists avoid the country.

"I feel pretty good in spite of the situation," Mr. Atris said.

"I miss contact with my family in Lebanon. It is only now here in the prison that I have been able to read some papers and get to know more details of my arrest. I have been treated well by the Thai police," he said.

"One evening I was taken out of prison, was placed in a car that drove off with me to a house somewhere. In there, I was interrogated by three men who apparently came from Mossad. I have their first names. They claimed that I lied about various things."

Mr. Atris said he moved from Lebanon to Sweden in 1989, married, and became a Swedish citizen in 1994.

After working as a "hairdresser" for 10 years in Gothenburg, the family moved back to Lebanon in 2005 where they have two sons, aged 15 and 12, and two daughters, 17 and 7, he said.

Mr. Atris said he visited Sweden in 2010 to register his fingerprints for his Swedish passport which was issued in 2005 and expires in 2015.

*************

Richard S Ehrlich is a Bangkok-based journalist from San Francisco, California, reporting news from Asia since 1978, and recipient of Columbia University's Foreign Correspondent's Award. He is a co-author of four non-fiction books about Thailand, including "Hello My Big Big Honey!" Love Letters to Bangkok Bar Girls and Their Revealing Interviews; 60 Stories of Royal Lineage; Chronicle of Thailand: Headline News Since 1946; and King Bhumibol Adulyadej, A Life's Work: Thailand's Monarchy in Perspective.
His website is
http://www.asia-correspondent.110mb.com

(Copyright 2012 Richard S Ehrlich)

[BAM]

This guy had 4.8 tons (4,380 kilograms) of urea fertilizer?  

All he needed next was some Diesel fuel... and that's easy to get anywhere!

Did you know that  " The 1995 explosion that collapsed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City contained 4,800 pounds of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil "

For sure these guys were looking to make a bomb of the exact same specifications !!!

[rxpharm]

The Mossad setup excuse is really so weak. If the Mossad really wanted him, he would be dead, not set up.

As for exporting all that urea and ammonia nitrate - a load of crock. This was definitely a plot to bomb targets in LOS.

[rxpharm]

Clearly now the terrorist threat is real and has now expanded to other terrorist countries. Story from Bangkok Post

Iranian injured in Bangkok bombs
Published: 14/02/2012 at 05:17 PM Online news: Security
Three explosions rocked Sukhumvit 71 in Bangkok on Tuesday afternoon, badly injuring an Iranian man who lost both his legs.

Another man was arrested at Suvarnabhumi airport after police discovered explosive materials in a house rented by three Iranians in Soi Pridiphanomyong 31.

Four other people were injured in the blasts.

Government spokeswoman Thitima Chaisaeng said police reported the house was being used to make bombs and had uncovered a cache of C4 explosives and remote control detonating devices.

She said a bomb went off inside the rented house and two of the three men fled.

The third man, identified as Saeid Moradi, followed and tried to hail a taxi, which refused to stop. Police said he threw a bomb at the taxi, injuring the driver, and ran off.

He then was spotted by police and threw a third bomb at them, but it bounced off a tree and blew his legs off. He was rushed to Kluaynamthai Hospital.

Mrs Thitima said investigators were now trying to find out if an attack was being organised or whether there was a suicide mission planned.

The Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, is contacting the government of Iran to check if the Iranian men are on its terrorist watch list, she said.

Police temporarily closed Klong Ton and Phra Khanong intersections so that bomb disposal experts could inspect the area and asked commuters to avoid using roads in the vicinity.

No explosives were found in the black bag the injured man was carrying.

One of the bombs damaged a telephone booth outside Kasempithaya School. A spokesman said no one at the school was hurt and that parents had been informed of the situation. Pupils were ordered to remain in their classrooms.

Police said the man detained at Suvarnabhumi airport was trying to board an Air Asia flight o Malaysia. They said he arrived in Thailand on the same day as Mr Moradi.

The names of the four other injured people are Sutatip Sajjadamrong, taxi driver Sanchai Boonsoongnoen, Apichart (surname not reported) and Kangwan Horprasattong.

Fortunately Thailand dodged a bullet this time with no one killed, but it could easily have been much worse. The story also has photos.

Hopefully the government will not continue to deny the terrorist threat and will take some serious action.

[azza33]

I hope they do whatever it takes to extract information from these scum. Ill personally chip in for the body bags to send the parts back to Iran.

[strocube]

Would not surprise me in the least to find out these scum are CIA stooges, just like the late Osama bin Laden.

[BAM]

threw a third bomb at them, but it bounced off a tree and blew his legs off.

These guys are stupid like Wile E. Coyote!

[kevin4252]

CIA stooges, like OSB ? You're some piece of shit Strocube, looking

forward to sitting down with you for a few short moments sometime in the

near future. Confine your remarks in the future to the other assholes

from California.

[BlueBallz]

Well, it takes a lot to rile up Kevin. Congrats Stro, you did it!! I was gonna say its all Bush's fault but Stro beat me to it!!!!

Kev save some of your sanity (and you are deffo one of the most sae guys I know) dont engage charecters like this...... Its always the blame America crowd first!! Its amazing now that their comrade one Barack Hussein Obama is in charge now!!! Its incomprehensible to them that Iran/islamo nuts can be up to no good around the world.


As an aside, I am in LOS right now. There was a very short blubr on the news last night about this and even less about it on the breakfast news this am. I had loads of questions and looking around a couple of other inter web places this what it sounds like to me.

This went down on Suhk near Soi 71. Now there are farangs around there but I thought it would make a "weird" target. It appears it wasnt a target at all. It sounds as if the bombs went off prematurely as they prepped them. The one maniac was injured and ran into the street. He tried to hail a cab and when the cabbie didnt pick him up he chucked anohter bomb at him and it went off. these gutter rats were living in the area together.

[strocube]

(kevin4252 @ Feb. 15 2012,11:25) CIA stooges, like OSB ?  You're some piece of shit Strocube, looking

forward to sitting down with you for a few short moments sometime in the

near future. Confine your remarks in the future to the other assholes

from California.

Calm yourself, Igor. How very American of you to resort to insults and threats of violence when I express an opinion you find upsetting. Also, you may want to have a look at what I actually wrote. I never said that these bomb throwing scum were CIA stooges. I have no way of knowing that for sure. Merely that it would not surprise me to find out they were or are.
Not really sure what it is you find so egregious about my comments. The CIA funded, trained and armed the Mujahadeen way back in the 80s. They of course later morphed into the Taliban, as well as that very convenient James-Bond-villian type of nefarious organization, Al Queda. That venerated icon of American conservatism, Ronald Raygun, even had the leadership of the Taliban over to the White House where they were celebrated as heroes. Good old Ronnie even compared them to the founding fathers of the U.S. This is a fact. It is also a fact that the CIA also worked closely with OBL and other fundamentalist Islamic leaders during that time. Of course this was all done within the context of the cold war.
It is also a fact that the CIA has close ties to the Pakistani intelligence organization, the ISI. The ISI is known to be funding Islamic insurgents in Afghanistan.
Add to this, the lies and propaganda leading up to the invasion of Iraq. Also, the U.S. has a history of lies and propaganda when it needs a pretext to intervene or invade another country for fun and profit: Iran, 1953, Guatemala 1954, Viet Nam in the 60s, Chile in the 70s, Nicaragua and El Salvador in the 80s, et al.
So given that context, and the fact that the U.S. and Israeli militaries have a raging hard on to attack Iran. I am naturally suspect of anything that looks like false flag operations and propaganda implicating Iran. In fact, I am extremely suspect of any so called "terrorist" actions. Call me cynical, paranoid, and a tin foil hat wearing, America--hating conspiracy theorist, but when you've been lied to so much and for so long, it tends to make one suspect. But hey, that's just me, you're free to believe whatever you like.  USA! USA! USA!
   

[kevin4252]

First of all asshole, I'm far too old to make threats. Promises yes,

we'll hook up, no problem, i'm in los from 7/29 thru 8/26, can u make it ? If

not, no worries, continue your bullshit on here, what I took offense at,

was not the drivel you mentioned in this screed, but your comment

about OSB, just like every other conspiracy quack, and I don't make

threats on forums, when I have a message to deliver, I always do it in

person.

have a nice day.

[strocube]

Get a grip, dude. Grade school was over for both of us a long time ago.

[BlueBallz]

Skulking away like the frightened turtle he is.....

Your "analysis" of the USA's support for the muj is way out of context and bordering on childlike. There is no context whatsoever as to what was happening back in the world at the time. Its pathetic.

If you dont think iran is a major problem, I dont know what to say. they have repeatedly threatened Israel with total destruction and dont tell me its just coming from Fox News and the "Israel" lobby.

If and when Iran get the bomb what do you think will happen in the region? So many others will feel compelled to do so.

I will do you a huge favor. I will make certain I am in attendance in August when you meet up with Kevin so I can pull him off you!