Comments on: Al-Qaeda Planned USFK Attacks

By: Joshua

Joshua — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 18:26:20 +0000

I can see a motive for North Korea and its extensive net in the South to support something like this, but I have no direct evidence of that. Can anyone add any substance to my speculation?

By: Soldier_6

Soldier_6 — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 06:28:18 +0000

Soon after September 11th, while I was re located to Yangsan. I started to notice more and more arabic males out in the city. I mentioned it to some of my higher ups, but they told me they’ve always been there, I was just noticing them because of the attacks….

Not more than 1 week after that, I was doing backfill in Daegu, working gate 6 when a couple arabs rolled up on a moped with a video camera, video taping the traffic and gate operations. Needless to say, after a long long chase, I began to suspect a terrorist plot in the works against USFK….

While back in Seoul I too steared clear of Gecko’s, Hard Rock Cafe and those other “Western” style bars…

BUT JESUS! THE KING CLUB!! COME ON AL!! WHATS THE WORLD COMING TO?! THATS WHERE I SPENT MY FIRST NIGHT IN KOREA!! (Also where I met and took home a hot golfer chick.)

By: Lazy_Contractor

Lazy_Contractor — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 01:32:16 +0000

Hmmm, and down in SONGTAN – I’ve counted I think 5 different ‘middle eastern’ carpet shops. All of which I NEVER have seen any (or much) business. NOR have I seen an Adjashi working in any of them.

If they were successfull enough to warrent 5 shops – don’t you think Adashi would have opened his own version of middle eastern rugs by now and ran out those who didn’t have Korean ties (spouses, partners, etc)?

Oh, then there is that restaraunt outside the gate – serving middle eastern dishes. Odd that you can find ‘free meal’ cards on Osan AB. Hmmmm? Covert intel collection?

I dunno, I’m just saying…

By: jtb

jtb — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 02:24:09 +0000

Mind you, I’ve only heard about certain aspects of “the Hill”; but al Qaeda may well have thought that Itaewon was a very potent weapon against our troops all by itself!

Certain aspects of life in Korea need to stay there; but does Injun Joe’s still have those novelty matchbooks?

By: John McCrarey

John McCrarey — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 08:13:36 +0000

There was a specific target in Itaewon, one that is always crowded with foreigners of every stripe. At the time I was told, the name of the bar was classified and since I haven’t heard otherwise I won’t divulge the name here. But yeah, it makes sense that the popular hangouts would be targets, similar to what happened in Bali. And the curfew, initially at least, was in response to specific intelligence regarding an attack.

By: Mingi

Mingi — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 15:51:22 +0000

Below is the link to an article I wrote two years ago on the Islamic fundamentalist threat with regards to South Korea. This should answer some questions, though certainly not all.

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2611515

By: usinkorea

usinkorea — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 14:02:56 +0000

I remember on my old blog, in the emotional days right after 9/11, I mentioned SK as a ripe target and remarked how I felt a little worried about even posting about it – because I didn’t want to give any terrorist ideas – but when I read months and months later about the ROK and US authorities saying SK had been scouted – it made perfect sense.

I remember teaching in Songnam and meeting a lot of 3-D workers from Muslim nations in North Africa, Africa, Pakistan, and other parts of Asia. There was a foreign workers dorm near my apartment, and I talked to a good number of them. Nice guys…

After 9/11, (years later), I thought given the amount of US bases, US camp “villes”, GIs moving about, and South Korean anti-US activists proving you could cut a fence and easily get on a US base, or scale the walls of the US Embassy (even after 9/11) —

— if I were a terrorist, I’d be maping out an effort in Korea…

By: Al Qaida Linked to Possible Korea Terror Attacks at ROK Drop

Al Qaida Linked to Possible Korea Terror Attacks at ROK Drop — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 07:19:37 +0000

[...] Via OFK, comes this news that Al Qaida mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad planned to conduct terrorist attacks against US interests in Korea: [...]

By: The Marmot’s Hole » Well, this is disturbing

The Marmot’s Hole » Well, this is disturbing — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 06:40:19 +0000

[...] Did al-Qaeda plan to hit Itaewon? Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]

By: slim

slim — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 00:46:53 +0000

I agree, Joshua, and didn’t mean to be flippant. I recall that on Sept 7, 2001, US Forces in Japan and Korea got unprecedentedly specific warnings, which may have been part of the Qaeda chatter to divert or confuse monitors. I always steered clear of Geckos and that area of Itaewon because of the same sense you expressed.