Plot to blow up Eiffel Tower foiled, say French police

[arjunadawn]

this story is not credible for me. Just an internet chat. It's punishable, but no the question is "how to do it"

First response to OP and you really capture the essence of this "news" piece; it really doesn't pass muster, does it? I am uncertain the exact "line" where we interdict cells in planning and call our intervention "thwarting" the bad guys. However, it's not lost on me that nearly every single FBI terrorist plot thwarted (for example) has been patsy manipulated sting operations. I am a very aggressive supporter of actions that define, interdict, and minimize any jihadi threats as I believe the threat is clear and present, but this story here? It really sounds like much ado about little. (Sounds like a vestige of Europe's Operation Gladio- "keep 'em in fear" to enact laws government wants).

[Mudcrab]

As I recall the Eiffel Tower is quote substantial, it would probable need at least a few tons of well placed shaped charges to bring it down, obviously some kids on the internet just caught the French with their knickers in twist.

I think even CDI would run a mile if asked to bring it down.

just a small bomb on the elevator would cause terror and panic...exactly what these <deleted> want. Don't have to take the whole structure down.

[Deacon Bell]

"I wonder how many hicks and rednecks have talked about blowing up places in Islamic nations (after getting out an atlas) online over the past 13 years."

While in these Islamic nations?

While in these Islamic nations what?

Were those "hicks and rednecks" talking about blowing up places in Islamic nations while living in those Islamic nations?

Dude is obviously dealing with personal issues being projected here. Haha, hicks and rednecks might shoot you if you break into their house, but they are not out their bombing train stations, high jacking airliners and blowing up markets trying to kill as many women and children as possible.

How many suicide redneck bombers do we hear about? Good ole boys got better sense than that and good ole boys are more interested in beer and shooting a deer than harming other people.

Unfortunate, some in this world have no other goal in life than to cause terror and harm others. These aren't the red neck and hicks. Most of these seem to be Muslim.

I don't think I ever seen someone not pick up such a point before.

"but they are not out their bombing train stations, high jacking airliners and blowing up markets"

Of course they aren't.

Edited July 11, 2014 by Deacon Bell

[capcc76]

"I wonder how many hicks and rednecks have talked about blowing up places in Islamic nations (after getting out an atlas) online over the past 13 years."

While in these Islamic nations?

While in these Islamic nations what?

Were those "hicks and rednecks" talking about blowing up places in Islamic nations while living in those Islamic nations?

Dude is obviously dealing with personal issues being projected here. Haha, hicks and rednecks might shoot you if you break into their house, but they are not out their bombing train stations, high jacking airliners and blowing up markets trying to kill as many women and children as possible.

How many suicide redneck bombers do we hear about? Good ole boys got better sense than that and good ole boys are more interested in beer and shooting a deer than harming other people.

Unfortunate, some in this world have no other goal in life than to cause terror and harm others. These aren't the red neck and hicks. Most of these seem to be Muslim.

I don't think I ever seen someone not pick up such a point before.

"but they are not out their bombing train stations, high jacking airliners and blowing up markets"

Of course they aren't.

Heroes doing their job to keep the world safe from nutzo terrorists. Only those with chips on their shoulders or blinded by hate refuse to see the difference. Yes, we have had a few soldiers go off the reservation. That is wrong and they have been punished for that.

I don't think anyone reasonable can compare out soldiers to nut bags running around in the streets perpetrating mass beheadings of innocent civilians, burning people alive in barrells and whose lifetime goal and aspiration is to kills as many innocent women and children as possible.

[Scott]

Inflammatory post removed.

[MJP]

Guns, borders and religion. The axis of evil.

[Basil B]

As I recall the Eiffel Tower is quote substantial, it would probable need at least a few tons of well placed shaped charges to bring it down, obviously some kids on the internet just caught the French with their knickers in twist.

I think even CDI would run a mile if asked to bring it down.

*Deleted post edited out*

I think the tower would be much easier to bring down. Take out one or two legs and weight may do work for you. I have heard that the parking garage bomb in WTC could have potential worked given precise placement.

The WTC bomb was placed in a confined space low down in the supporting structure of the building and indeed such a bomb could have easily have blown out supporting walls even floors that could have brought the building down.

From memory (20 years ago while working in Paris, I actually pulled up and slept in my van under the Eiffel Tower one night) as I recall and from further research, the Eiffel Tower has 4 legs, each has 4 beams.each beam looks nearly a meter square, possibly they are hollow and probably have inspection covers to access for inspection and painting.

But it has no supporting walls, or many solid floors so a van full of explosive, (even a 44 ton lorry) placed under it would hardly scratch the paint work.

Placing a large quantity of explosive against a supporting beam would hardly dent it, remember the Eiffel tower has 16 of these, placing explosive inside a supporting beam would require a lot of explosives and you would need to knock out quite a few beams even to cause concern about the towers structural integrity, let a lone case it to topple.

Shaped charges are designed to cut trough steel, but again you would need a large quantity as they do tend to just blow clean cuts, you probably need two cuts for each beam and a kicker charge to blow it out the way.

Just how can you rig all that much explosives without being seen?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower#mediaviewer/File:Construction_tour_eiffel.JPG

Edited July 11, 2014 by Basil B

[MJP]

As I recall the Eiffel Tower is quote substantial, it would probable need at least a few tons of well placed shaped charges to bring it down, obviously some kids on the internet just caught the French with their knickers in twist.

I think even CDI would run a mile if asked to bring it down.

*Deleted post edited out*

I think the tower would be much easier to bring down. Take out one or two legs and weight may do work for you. I have heard that the parking garage bomb in WTC could have potential worked given precise placement.

The WTC bomb was placed in a confined space low down in the supporting structure of the building and indeed such a bomb could have easily have blown out supporting walls even floors that could have brought the building down.

From memory (20 years ago while working in Paris, I actually pulled up and slept in my van under the Eiffel Tower one night) as I recall and from further research, the Eiffel Tower has 4 legs, each has 4 beams.each beam looks nearly a meter square, possibly they are hollow and probably have inspection covers to access for inspection and painting.

But it has no supporting walls, or many solid floors so a van full of explosive, (even a 44 ton lorry) placed under it would hardly scratch the paint work.

Placing a large quantity of explosive against a supporting beam would hardly dent it, remember the Eiffel tower has 16 of these, placing explosive inside a supporting beam would require a lot of explosives and you would need to knock out quite a few beams even to cause concern about the towers structural integrity, let a lone case it to topple.

Shaped charges are designed to cut trough steel, but again you would need a large quantity as they do tend to just blow clean cuts, you probably need two cuts for each beam and a kicker charge to blow it out the way.

Just how can you rig all that much explosives without being seen?

Construction_tour_eiffel.JPG

This is right. To blowdown a steel structure takes cuts to legs and a kicker charge.

Here's a video of a blowdown of a small structure we did last month.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/56053365@N07/14312798234/

[impulse]

Dude is obviously dealing with personal issues being projected here. Haha, hicks and rednecks might shoot you if you break into their house, but they are not out their bombing train stations, high jacking airliners and blowing up markets trying to kill as many women and children as possible.

How many suicide redneck bombers do we hear about? Good ole boys got better sense than that and good ole boys are more interested in beer and shooting a deer than harming other people.

Unfortunate, some in this world have no other goal in life than to cause terror and harm others. These aren't the red neck and hicks. Most of these seem to be Muslim.

Timothy McVeigh ring a bell?

Edit: And I don't think it was Muslims blowing up or torching black churches in the south...

Edited July 12, 2014 by impulse

[Deacon Bell]

^ Shhhh. You might cause conflict within the conditioned.

[capcc76]

Dude is obviously dealing with personal issues being projected here. Haha, hicks and rednecks might shoot you if you break into their house, but they are not out their bombing train stations, high jacking airliners and blowing up markets trying to kill as many women and children as possible.

How many suicide redneck bombers do we hear about? Good ole boys got better sense than that and good ole boys are more interested in beer and shooting a deer than harming other people.

Unfortunate, some in this world have no other goal in life than to cause terror and harm others. These aren't the red neck and hicks. Most of these seem to be Muslim.

Timothy McVeigh ring a bell?

Edit: And I don't think it was Muslims blowing up or torching black churches in the south...

I thought about McVieigg when typing the above. A dispicable act by a dispicable human being. I will grant you that this one little dispicable man and his actions 20 years ago are comparable the the Muslim terrorists sitting around dreaming of committing such acts and carrying out terrorist attacks every day throughout the world.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_incidents,_2014

The burning of churches is also dispicable, but were they not empty? Muslim terrorist would torch them with people in it or systematically kill shot everyone inside that can not answer questions about Islam as commonly seen now in African countries.

Incidentally, there were an equal number of white churches burned during that early to mid-90s rash of empty churches being burned down, typically by loser kids that saw empty country churches as easy to torch. Our government stepped up investigations and allocated millions in a budget to investigate and stop these ridiculous actions. Stark contrast with Muslim reactions to comparable acts and their lack of any effort to police their own.

[Deacon Bell]

Somewhere, a TV is missing its Fox News viewer.

[capcc76]

Somewhere, a TV is missing its Fox News viewer.

I am a liberal, although Obama is trying very hard to change that.

[Scott]

An off-topic post has been deleted.

[Scott]

Troll post removed.

[alfalfa19]

"French police stumbled on the plans" Thank goodness for Inspector Closeau.

[Loptr]

I wonder how many hicks and rednecks have talked about blowing up places in Islamic nations (after getting out an atlas) online over the past 13 years.

Yes, but in Rednecklandia it's called war games and done in the Pentagon...

[MJP]

The steel in the Eiffel Tower comes to 7,300 tonnes, mostly oversize plate and girder, or around £1.4m in scrap credits.

If they do want it knocking down I'll be happy to quote.