Al Qaeda magazine suggests starting huge forest fires in the US, says wooded areas like Montana are good

.
5/2/12, "Al Qaeda Magazine Calls for Firebomb Campaign in US," ABC News, R. Kreider

"The men who launched al Qaeda's English-language magazine may have died in a U.S. missile strike last fall, but "Inspire" magazine lives on without them -- and continues to promote jihadi attacks on Western targets, offering detailed advice on how to start huge forest fires in America with timed explosives and how to build remote-controlled bombs....

But issue nine carries equally lethal advice, with "It Is of Your Freedom to Ignite a Firebomb," which gives detailed instructions on how to ignite an "ember bomb" in a U.S. forest, recommending Montana because of the rapid population growth in wooded areas.

"In America, there are more houses built in the [countryside] than in the cities," says the writer, who uses the pseudonym The AQ Chef. "It is difficult to choose a better place [than] in the valleys of Montana."

Issue eight has an eight-page article on how to construct remote-controlled explosives, with a laundry list of parts and ingredients and photos showing proper assembly."...

--------------------------------------

July/August 2011, "Terrorists in the Woods," Wildfire Magazine, Dick Mangan

"Ever since Sept. 11, 2001, much of the world's focus has been on the issue of terrorism. The tragic deaths of thousands of Americans in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., coupled with hundreds of deaths in Spain and Bali at the hands of terrorists, has led to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the creation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the expenditure of billions of dollars (that's billions with a capital “B”) to improve security and reduce the risks from terrorists and their weapons of mass destruction.

The massive increases in the federal budget for protection from terrorism mostly have been sent to police and structural fire departments. But what about the threat of terrorist-caused wildland fires in our forests, community watersheds and wildland-urban interface? Who's worried about that threat, what are they doing about it, and how much is being spent to fund the efforts to prevent it?

The history of fire as a tool of warfare is well-documented: Native Americans used fire against their enemies, both other tribes and the expanding Europeans; the Aboriginal people of Australia used fire to discourage the incursion of the British settlers onto their island. In World War II, the Japanese launched “fire balloons” against the western United States. While largely unsuccessful, they started a few fires and killed six people in Oregon. The Palestinians in the latter half of the 20th century used fire to try to destroy Israel's carefully planted pine plantations....

The real question that lingers for fire managers at risk from terrorists is what are you planning to do to prevent terrorist-ignited wildfires intended to destroy resources, kill innocent civilians and disrupt normal life? Are you prepared to deal with multiple terrorist-ignited wildfires under the worst possible conditions?

Legislators in the countries that are being targeted by terrorists: What are you going to do to ensure that the wildland fire agencies in your areas are trained, equipped and financed to address these threats?"...via Free Republic commenter

.