al-Qaeda is targeting banks? Bring it on, motherfuckers!

[christo]

I was at work today and checking my e-mail when I got a message from our corporate security department informing us that the FBI had received an unsubstantiated threat against banks in the Northeast. I happen to work in a bank in the Northeast, so the news got considerable attention 'round the office.

FBI director Robert Mueller helped out by saying that suspicion should fall up on "individuals entering banks who normally don't go into banks". Thanks, Bob. Like who, exactly? What type of person, on appearance, would you say don't belong in a bank? Homeless people? Brown people? People who have a little bit extra padding around the middle, padding that could either be a beer gut or a belt of C-4?

The Northeast is now at "yellow alert", which means, uh, I don't know. When we get to "brown alert", that's when I get nervous.

Fear not, Lit denziens. I'm on the case. Any terrorists I see, I'm going to show them the door, and give them a swift kick on the ass in the bargain. And if I make a "mistake", and the person I end up hustling outside and beating the shit out of is just another pain-in-the-ass customer, well, I'm referring them right to John Ashcroft. We're at yellow alert, dammit!

 

[p_p_man]

I was at work today and checking my e-mail when I got a message from our corporate security department informing us that the FBI had received an unsubstantiated threat against banks in the Northeast. I happen to work in a bank in the Northeast, so the news got considerable attention 'round the office.

FBI director Robert Mueller helped out by saying that suspicion should fall up on "individuals entering banks who normally don't go into banks". Thanks, Bob. Like who, exactly? What type of person, on appearance, would you say don't belong in a bank? Homeless people? Brown people? People who have a little bit extra padding around the middle, padding that could either be a beer gut or a belt of C-4?

The Northeast is now at "yellow alert", which means, uh, I don't know. When we get to "brown alert", that's when I get nervous.

Fear not, Lit denziens. I'm on the case. Any terrorists I see, I'm going to show them the door, and give them a swift kick on the ass in the bargain. And if I make a "mistake", and the person I end up hustling outside and beating the shit out of is just another pain-in-the-ass customer, well, I'm referring them right to John Ashcroft. We're at yellow alert, dammit!

Thanks for pointing out the stupidity of it all. But keep alert nevertheless...

Over here we're told to report anything suspicious to our superiors and let them handle it. And many people, me included have been questioned as to what I am doing in such and such a place, we don't mind. We know it helps us all to remain safe. And we all understand the need for questions.

Likewise I've reported suspicious packages to a passing policeman. Just in case.

Just try not to go it alone.

If it's a suicide bomber look out for the single person who looks at the leaflets, or writes out a cheque (or writes out anything for that matter) and makes no move towards the counter. And tell you're security people - fast!

If you're wrong, no harm done.

If you're right you made a contribution against terrorism.

 

[Cheyenne]

Feds Received Threats Against Banks


By Ted Bridis
Associated Press Writer
Friday, April 19, 2002; 2:33 PM

WASHINGTON -- The FBI said Friday that officials had received
unsubstantiated information that terrorists were considering attacks against U.S. banks in the Northeast. A government official said the threat came from the al-Qaida terror network.

Authorities cautioned that they had no information about a specific plot or threats to any specific financial institution.

However, they issued a public warning to banks and law enforcement in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and the District of Columbia.

The FBI said the decision to issue the warning came after discussions among the Justice Department, Office of Homeland Security and the Treasury Department.

The FBI said the nation's threat status remains at "yellow," using the new system of color codes assigned by the Justice Department and Office of Homeland Security. The threat status for the Northeast similarly was unchanged at yellow, the FBI said. Yellow represents the midrange of threat status.

Friday's warning came after a bomb threat earlier in the week against an unspecified national bank in downtown Washington. Many bank branches shut down but there was no explosion. Police later said the threat was a prank by a 13-year-old Dutch boy.

Friday's warning came on the seventh anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City.

The threat to financial institutions came from al-Qaida operatives, said a U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The FBI announcement came a few hours after the Treasury Department blocked financial assets belonging to a Pakistan-based group and nine people believed to have provided financial support to al-Qaida, the terror network operated by Osama bin Laden.

The Treasury Department, which worked with the FBI on the warning against banks, is monitoring the situation closely. But banking regulators did not order banks to close.

"The FBI has said they have a responsibility to alert Americans when they are aware of a credible threat so that people can make informed decisions on their own," a Treasury Department spokeswoman said.

 

[christo]

I jest, but it is a serious problem. I don't work directly in the branch, but when I walk through the lobby on Friday's the place is just mobbed, and if someone in the crowd had a bomb strapped to them it would be total carnage.

We have heightened security at the building where I work since 9/11. Uniformed guards all over the place, ID cards we have to swipe through a scanner to gain access to the elevators, computerized locks on the doors leading to our offices. None of it, unfotunately, makes me feel any safer. The guards aren't armed. The security checkpoint doesn't have a gate or anything. If someone really wanted to get in and kill people they could brush aside our security precautions in about 10 seconds. It makes me wonder why they have them at all, because if the goal is to deter terrorist attack, they're totally ineffective.

I know the FBI is giving us all the info they can, but to say, "Look for people who don't belong in banks" isn't helping much. I actually like accosting total strangers and asking if they have enough cash to bank with my wonderful employer, but insulting customers is frowned upon. Looks like the terrorists knew another of our weak spots.