The Plot

"The defendants are charged with conspiring to bomb one of the busiest airports in the United States, located in one of the most densely populated areas in the northeast - had the plot been carried out, it could have resulted in unfathomable damage, deaths, and destruction," stated U.S. Attorney Mauskopf.

Now, I'm really glad that law enforcement has broken up this plot, and the people who were dedicating serious effort to doing damage to the nation and innocent people have been arrested. That said, I remain skeptical. We've previously heard dramatic news of a plot to take down the Brooklyn Bridge by cutting its cables with a blow torch, which, while being being physically impossible (the first strand cut would whip around with such force as to puree the torch man), would have also required doing it in plain view of the local police precinct station. We've also heard about a plot to take down the Sears Tower, hatched by a Miami group that needed their FBI agent 'al Qaeda' connection to get them all new boots.

So, I've been wondering if, when the US Attorney described the destruction as "unfathomable", she meant in the sense that "there's no way to understand how the plot these guys are charged with could have resulted in such destruction."
And what do you know:

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Four men have been charged with conspiring to blow up jet fuel supply tanks and pipelines at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Homeland Security sources said there is no current threat at the airport and the attack as planned was "not technically feasible."

The alleged plot did not target airplane flights, officials said.

A wiretap transcript given to CNN by the FBI indicates the plotters targeted the airport because of the popularity its namesake, John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963.

"Anytime you hit Kennedy, it is the most hurtful thing to the United States. To hit John F. Kennedy, wow ... they love JFK -- he's like the man," former JFK airport cargo worker Russell Defreitas allegedly said in a telephone conversation monitored by the FBI.

"If you hit that, this whole country will be in mourning. It's like you can kill the man twice," the recording adds.

OK, so, even officials at Homeland Security are saying the attack was "not technically feasible." And that wiretap evidence (which I hope was obtained using a warrant, but you know how things are now), suggest that the ringleader Defreitas is not the saaviest guy on the planet, since I can't really picture many Americans who'd be more upset about assault on the memory of John F. Kennedy than the fact that it's a major East Coast hub and would scramble flights for days. Seriously. Do you take a moment to recall the great man when you fly through there? I didn't when I was there two weeks ago, and I think Kennedy was perhaps the best president of my lifetime to date.

Based on press reports so far, it appears Defreitas' vision was to ignite a fuel pipeline that runs under the airport and adjacent neighborhoods in Queens, with the idea that the entire pipeline would explode. The plan was that it would destroy the airport and parts of Queens, causing greater damage than 9/11. I have a little trouble picturing it, for the same reason that the natural gas pipeline on my block doesn't explode when I light my stove burner. Sure, it would be devastating if that pipeline blew up, but is that even possible? Physics has an annoying way of not cooperating with ideological agenda.

MSNBC reports:

Richard Kuprewicz, a pipeline expert and president of Accufacts Inc., an energy consulting firm that focuses on pipelines and tank farms, said the force of explosion would depend on the amount of fuel under pressure, but it would not travel up and down the line.

“That doesn’t mean wackos out there can’t do damage and cause a fire, but those explosions and fires are going to be fairly restricted,” he said.

Since Defreitas retired from his job at the airport, security has significantly tightened and his knowledge of the operation was severely outdated.

So yes, these guys were actively plotting, and really wanted to do some serious damage, and it's a good thing that they are in custody.

But it really doesn't look like the Justice Department just saved us from the horror of dead bodies and flame from one end of Queens to the other. And sadly, given the record of past busts, I'm not expecting that information yet to be released will show otherwise.

Despite the hoopla, it appears that the worst these guys could do would be to cause damage, deaths and destruction on the order that is sadly quite fathomable to anyone who's been watching the news from Iraq.