The terror threat at sea
December 31st, 2009 | Blogs Maritime operations Ships The Middle East | Posted by Phil Ewing
A boarding team from the destroyer Laboon approached a suspicious small boat in the Red Sea in July. Internet chatter about at-sea terror threats has increased this week // Navy
All of a sudden, there is lots of discussion online about terrorist threats to U.S. warships in the Middle East. Galrahn has an excellent post today about a new warning for ships, including this money quote: “We assess a direct, grave threat, by Al Qaeda, against U.S. Navy warships and U.S.-flagged vessels. Moreover, if U.S.-flagged merchantmen are still steaming anywhere in the U.S. 5 Fleet area of responsibility without armed security, they do so now at a considerably elevated risk.”
There’s more: Richard Wachtel, a spokesman for the Middle East Media Research Institute, tells Scoop Deck that a post on a jihadist Web site Wednesday called for people to “gather intelligence” about the U.S. and international warships that patrol the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf. Here’s the whole post, provided by Wachtel:
“The affair with the U.S. Navy began several years ago, when the lions of Al-Qaeda struck the destroyer U.S.S. Cole, in Yemen; now, with Allah’s help, all the American vessels in the seas and oceans, including aircraft carriers, submarines, and all naval military equipment deployed here and there that is within range of Al-Qaeda’s fire, will be destroyed…
“To this end, information on every U.S. naval unit – and only U.S. [units]!! – should be quietly gathered [as follows:] [the vessel's] name, the missions it is assigned; its current location, including notation of the spot in accordance with international maritime standards; the advantages of this naval unit; the number of U.S. troops on board, including if possible their ranks, and what state they are from, their family situation, and where their family members (wife and children) live; what kind of weapons they carry; the [vessel's] destination…; the missions it has carried out; the [recommended] way to monitor it around the clock; if its location is changed, define its movements and its route; monitor every website used by the personnel on these ships, and attempt to discover what is in these contacts…; identify the closest place on land to these ships in all directions…; the number of any nuclear arms that might be on these ships, and the extent of the damage should they be attacked; the simplest way of neutralizing these naval units; the newest technology used by these ships; all scientific developments in the area of naval warfare; which naval units are closest to Islamic countries; which naval units are close to Western countries in general; searching all naval websites in order to gather as much information as possible, and translating it into Arabic; search for the easiest ways of striking these ships…
“My Muslim brothers, do not underestimate the importance of any piece of information, as simple as it may seem; the mujahideen, the lions of monotheism, may be able to use it in ways that have not occurred to you.”
This isn’t the first time MEMRI has found online threats to Navy ships, but it’s one of the most detailed.
Comments
-
ZZMike Says:
January 2nd, 2010 at 3:21 pmThis sounds a lot like a declaration of war. We should respond appropriately.
-
Lt. Nathan Christensen, Official Navy Spokesperson Says:
January 6th, 2010 at 3:51 pmThe Navy has been aware of the terrorist threats since discovery on Dec. 31, 2009. Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) disseminated that information through a threat summary that received timely and appropriate dissemination.
While using social media, Navy commands, Sailors and their families are encouraged to remain mindful that disclosure of operational information could potentially jeopardize security or expose the safety of our people or forces. The Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, Rick West, commented on this subject in a news story today: http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=50411.
The Department of Defense Social Media hub (http://socialmedia.defense.gov/) is a good resource for commands, Sailors, and Navy families on the safe use of social media.
-
Navy Families Warned of Terrorist Threats Says:
January 11th, 2010 at 12:23 pm[...] any developments. Information Dissemination: Disturbing Direct Mujahideen Threat Against US Navy The Scoop Deck ? The terror threat at sea Reply With Quote + Reply to Thread « Previous Thread | [...]