WI: West Coast 9-11

[Gryphon]

The Space Needle in Seattle. The US Bank Tower in Los Angeles. Wells Fargo Center in Sacremento. The Golden Gate Bridge and TransAmerica Pyramid in San Francisco. Symphony Towers in San Diego.

Space Needle is a shite target. The Columbia Tower is a better bet.

What if they hit the Grand Coulee Dam?

If they hit something vital, it might knock out power production (which would be a serious problem for the Northwest and California), but the dam is not exactly easy to fly an airliner into (it sits inside a bit of a valley, for one thing, it's not exactly easy to spot from altitude, and you'd have to approach it from the north, which presents a major set of problems in and of itself).

And the Hoover Dam is even harder to fly at- there's a bridge in the way and the valley is only barely wider than the wingspan of a mid-size airliner.

 

[Doctor Imperialism]

I have to say, the idea of taking down the Golden Gate Bridge sounds as though it could be interesting.

 

[Orville_third]

Can Disneyland be such a target? Also don't forget the Bank of America tower in SF and the US Bank tower. And the Bay Bridge in SF-Oakland and the Hoover Dam!

Glen Canyon Dam might be a bigger target. Any dam would be hardened.
The US Government was concerned that Disneyland or Disney World could be a target. That's why it's a no-fly zone below a certain altitude.

 

[The Militant One]

If this were to be a west coast attack and using the same parameters that AQ used in 9/11, their intentions were to hit an economic symbol (Twin Towers), military symbol (Pentagon) and a political symbol (White House); they are going to hit similar targets in the west coast.

Economic Target: U.S. Bank Tower
-The U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles is one of the tallest structures in the western United States and easily identifiable. If AQ wants to flatten this building, they would need to use two planes. This is a reinforced building built to withstand severe Earthquakes.



Military Target: San Diego Naval Station
-Home of the Pacific fleet and pride of the United States Navy. Although more spread out, they could potentially damage multiple ships or the San Diego Naval Air Station.

Political Target: None
-There is no major political target that can be easily seen from the air. They might have a target in mind, but like the White House, they will not be able to reach it. This will either lead to a West Coasteque Flight 93 or they will have an alternate target and attack a cultural target.

-Easily seen from the air, this can cause mass casualties. This is the emphasis of a cultural target, what better for AQ to attack than the heart of "Great Satan's Godless Sin."

OR

This is the image of the West Coast. Although extremely difficult to hit, they might still attempt it. Not only would it be a visual hit, but it would cause panic and cut off the western coast of Southern and Northern California.

In summation, the top targets of AQ would be the U.S. Bank Tower, San Diego Naval Base, Las Vegas and/or the Golden Gate Bridge.

 

[Osakadave]

The Militant One's got it exactly right, and shows why they hit the east coast.

IMO, a bicoastal attack would be much more likely. Hit the WTC, Pentagon, and either the WH or Capitol in the East and Library Tower (AKA the US Bank Building), San Diego (push the attack into November and you can kamikaze the Nimitz in port), and the TransAmerica Pyramid on the west coast. For a wider attack, maybe hit the Sears Tower (Willis) in Chicago, the New York, New York casino in Las Vegas, and the JPMorgan Chase Tower in Houston.

That gives us 10 targets. Double up on the LA, SF, and Naval Base San Diego targets, target both the Capitol and WH in DC, and you have the 10 + 4 scenario that was supposed to have been the first and second wave.

 

[BlairWitch749]

what about hitting the staples center during a laker game? densely packed as any possible target

 

[Osakadave]

what about hitting the staples center during a laker game? densely packed as any possible target

Very doubtful. Again, simply causing mass casualties isn't the objective. Dams and sporting facilities aren't very symbolic of the forces of global capitalism and the government and military that support it.

 

[Kome]

Military Target: San Diego Naval Station
-Home of the Pacific fleet and pride of the United States Navy. Although more spread out, they could potentially damage multiple ships or the San Diego Naval Air Station.

Dont find that very likely. If the ships were crewed at the time they would likely be able to fire in self defense.

 

[Osakadave]

Dont find that very likely. If the ships were crewed at the time they would likely be able to fire in self defense.

Being theoretically able to and actually firing on a domestic airliner while in home port are two different beasts.