Domestic Terrorism:
Keeping Events In Perspective
Baghdad Radio
Call, call from Hammad to Kutaybah:
Implement all that is on the table and outside it.
The winds of heaven are blowing and the flags of
victory have appeared in the multitude.
Oh strugglers in all the qualitative cells and
revolutionary cells: This is a call. This is a call.
Monitored on Cyprus
February 4, 1991
The cryptic messages broadcast from Baghdad Radio may have been an attempt by
Saddam Hussein to get his supporters to rise up and attack allied interests around the
world.
Or, it may have been a ruse to frighten his enemies.
The same day that Baghdad Radio began these messages, six pipe bombs were
discovered in Norfolk.
When we talked with news executives later, these devices had not been linked to the war
in the Middle East. But, the incident was taken very seriously, particularly as the story
broke.
Certainly, the specter of terrorism at home haunted many Americans. Officials had said
we might see something here.
Bombs were found
Around 7:30 a.m., the first police report came out that a security guard had found two
pipe bombs attached to a multimillion gallon tank of methanol --- a substance which is
highly volatile.
"Initially, there was a feeling it must be a prank," said David Cassidy, News Director of
WVEC-TV, Norfolk.
Although there was some concern about terrorism because of the huge naval base, one
would have thought terrorism would be at or near the base, instead of 10 miles away.
The bombs were found on valves on tanks at Allied Terminals, Inc. on the Elizabeth
River near downtown Norfolk. The first device contained two pipe bombs and a timer. A
second device containing four pipe bombs was found a short time later at an adjacent
tank.
