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Terrorists Among Us

EARLIER this month, four men with ties to a Muslim extremist group were charged with plotting to explode jet-fuel tanks and pipelines at John Kennedy International Airport. The plan was to kill thousands of people, cripple the U.S. economy and top the devastation of 9/11. The plan, recorded by the FBI, was to detonate the Buckeye Pipeline, which runs through densely populated neighborhoods at the Tremley Point section of Linden and the Queens airport.

The fact is, there are terrorists among us.

Had this chilling plan worked, it would have created unthinkable devastation.

While the FBI made the announcement of the terror plot, I realized it comes only four weeks after federal authorities charged six Muslim men, including five living in New Jersey, for a plot to kill soldiers at Fort Dix.

Thankfully, the airport plot, code-named “Chicken-Farm,” never got past the planning stages. The plan never included targets in New Jersey, nor did it call for directly hitting JFK’s passenger terminals or any aircraft. However, detonating stored jet fuel with dynamite likely would have caused a blast massive enough to cause thousands of casualties in residential neighborhoods.

Putting the terror plot aside, rest assured the pipelines are thoroughly protected, meeting FAA security standards. Even though the pipeline is a top terror target, there are routine patrols, razor wire fencing and multiple alarms on perimeter and the pipeline itself. There also are fire resistant coatings on the pipeline.

Thank goodness the ever vigilant work of federal authorities who thwarted this attack, and stop these terrorists among us.

About the Author

Ralph C. Jensen is the Publisher/Editor in chief of Security Today magazine.

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