Situation out at Camp Pendleton

[Night_stalker]

Note, this isn't in N&P yet because there's no article about it, and I only heard about it because my aunt is one of the Marine wifes on base.

Apparently last night, 3 "Middle Eastern guys" (I heard it 2nd hand, so be advised there will be some open questions/lack of proof, due to it not being publicly stated, yet), tried to get onto base using Google Earth Directions, but due to a mistranslation for some bits, got lost and ended up stopping at a gas station to discuss their plans. The attendant there overheard their plans, and calls the base. Later, one of the guys shows up at a gate (Not sure which one), and gets stopped by security. Then the other two guys show up in another car, and try to ram the gates. Note, for some odd reason, they had yanked the airbags in the 2nd car, so there was wires sticking out apparently, and they ended up all being stopped. But, for some unknown reason, security couldn't do anything other than say "Get the Hell out of here", so they had to let them go. Then, today one of the guys showed up at a gate, again, for a unknown reason.

Any ideas as to why they couldn't arrest these morons? I mean, they tried to get onto a Marine base without authorization, and two of them tried to ram down the damn gate! Why on Earth weren't they arrested?

[Block]

There isn't one. This has to have been heard/told wrong, or simply made up. If they had to translate the directions into arabic or farsi, they wouldn't then speak in english while discussing plans at a gas station. Not that I'm saying anyone is a liar, but there are a number of things that don't make any sense in this story.

[Night_stalker]

Hey, I'm just relaying the message, as I heard it.

[Zaune]

Later, one of the guys shows up at a gate (Not sure which one), and gets stopped by security. Then the other two guys show up in another car, and try to ram the gates. Note, for some odd reason, they had yanked the airbags in the 2nd car, so there was wires sticking out apparently, and they ended up all being stopped. But, for some unknown reason, security couldn't do anything other than say "Get the Hell out of here", so they had to let them go. Then, today one of the guys showed up at a gate, again, for a unknown reason.

Any ideas as to why they couldn't arrest these morons? I mean, they tried to get onto a Marine base without authorization, and two of them tried to ram down the damn gate! Why on Earth weren't they arrested?

Emphasis here being on "tried". What exactly are they going to charge these people with, attempted trespassing? And I take it from the fact that we know the airbags in the second car were missing (for which I can think of at least two innocent explanations, by the way) that the car was searched, hopefully by someone who knew what to look for?
If these guys weren't just looking for a Marine who owed them money, this is the most laughably incompetent excuse for a terrorist plot in the continental US since the guy who filled his underpants with gunpowder.

[Night_stalker]

They tried ramming through a gate on a military facility. Last I checked, that could be argued as a potential terrorist attack, which would necessitate being held for interrogation.

[lazerus]

They tried ramming through a gate on a military facility. Last I checked, that could be argued as a potential terrorist attack, which would necessitate being held for interrogation.

Yes. If this actually had happened, that would be correct. Which suggests overwhelmingly that it did not.

[Zaune]

They tried ramming through a gate on a military facility. Last I checked, that could be argued as a potential terrorist attack, which would necessitate being held for interrogation.

Without a first-hand source it's hard to say, but if the gate-guards decided it wasn't worth the paperwork to drag these idiots in then I'm inclined to believe them.

[Block]

They tried ramming through a gate on a military facility. Last I checked, that could be argued as a potential terrorist attack, which would necessitate being held for interrogation.

Without a first-hand source it's hard to say, but if the gate-guards decided it wasn't worth the paperwork to drag these idiots in then I'm inclined to believe them.

Mmm no. They'd open fire at that point.

[Balrog]

If this was in any way remotely true, Fox News would be all over it like flies on crap; it's something a significant portion of their demographic would love to hear. The fact that they aren't leads me to believe it's another of those "heard it from a friend, who heard it..." stories.

[Dalton]

Flushing this turd. Come back when something actually happens that gets picked up on a news wire.

[Zaune]

Mmm no. They'd open fire at that point.

Let me rephrase myself. If the gate guards decided that these individuals were not terrorists but in fact just dicking around, they were probably right.

If this was in any way remotely true, Fox News would be all over it like flies on crap; it's something a significant portion of their demographic would love to hear. The fact that they aren't leads me to believe it's another of those "heard it from a friend, who heard it..." stories.

I bet it shows up next time one of their employees sticks "terrorists let go" or something into a search engine, with night_stalker as the primary source. If they don't just pull something out of their arses, cut together a bit of stock footage and a reporter green-screened in front of the White House or something and spend the rest of the day playing Farmville.

[Darth Fanboy]

Hey, I'm just relaying the message, as I heard it.

Well unfortunately you may have heard completely wrong. I'm sure local law enforcement would have ended up being involved also. Given Pendleton is located right in between two very populous parts of Southern California, given the proximity to San Onofre nuclear power plant, given that this would be plastered all over the media right now...

Sorry to say that the person you heard it from is , in all likelihood, completely misinformed.

[tim31]

I heard it was more like twenty guys, with a bus. One of them had an AK.

[atg]

and then they busted out a bunch of their mates from CIA holding cells and it took the 101st airborne to put them down

true story

[Phantasee]

I thought this was a Jersey Shore spinoff. MIKE "THE SITUATION" AT CAMP PENDLETON

Jimmy Fallon had a great one last week. He said something like, "The Situation in Libya sounds like a great spinoff of Jersey Shore. Watch out for the grenades, bro!"

[Big Phil]

Let's think through this logically, shall we:

3 guys try to ram the gates at Camp Pendleton
They're stopped somehow
Security "can't" do anything except tell them to leave... why exactly? Is there some law you're aware of that says people who try to ram the gates at Camp Pendleton have immunity from arrest?


As your title is retarded spambot and I have no idea who you are otherwise, I'm going to assume this is roughly the quality of your typical post. It sounds like a bad Snopes article, like "4000 Jews didn't go to work in the Twin Towers on 9/11!," "Muslim gas station owners cheered on 9/11!," or "TERROR ON THE SKIES!!! 14 Middle Eastern Men make a terrorist dry run and security does nothing!"

[Sarevok]

Sounds like the plot for a reverse tacticool shooter where you play as the bad guys.

[MKSheppard]

It's been picked up by a local news affiliate -- ABC San Diego KGTV:

Link

Alert Issued After Security Incident On Camp Pendleton
3 Middle Eastern Men Tried To Enter Base Without Proper Authorization, Base Alert Says

POSTED: 4:36 pm PDT March 30, 2011
UPDATED: 11:31 pm PDT March 30, 2011

SAN DIEGO -- One of the nation's largest military bases is reportedly under tighter security after three Middle Eastern men tried to enter without proper authorization.

10News learned the three men -- 40-year-old Afghani Ahmad Rahmani Naeem, 41-year-old Iranian Vahik Petrossian and 27-year-old Iranian Sengekdi Norvik Avanosian -- attempted to get into Camp Pendleton last weekend under what was considered suspicious circumstances.

On Wednesday, base officials said there was no threat, but others on the base told 10News security has been stepped up.

According to a Be On the Lookout (BOLO) alert issued to high-ranking Camp Pendleton officials, someone reported hearing hateful comments and terrorist threats from three men at a gas station in Oceanside Saturday.

Investigators at Camp Pendleton said the men asked the attendant for directions on how to get to Camp Pendleton before they left the gas station.

According to the alert, shortly after midnight Sunday, a rented silver Toyota Corolla driven by Naeem attempted to enter Camp Pendleton through the main gate. As it was being searched, Petrossian and Avanosian drove up in a black Mercedes, but were told to wait. Instead, they continued past the gate and onto the base. Following a short pursuit, the Mercedes was stopped and searched.

No weapons or contraband were found in the Mercedes, but base security noticed the air bag in the steering wheel of the Mercedes had been pulled out and re-attached with duct tape and had wires hanging free, the alert said.

According to the alert, Naaem told base security he was lost and was trying to go to Glendale. When interviewed, Petrossian and Avanosian said they were lost and trying to go to Glendale. The three men claimed not to know each other, the alert said.

Naaem, Petrossian and Avanosian were photographed and released after questioning, and a warning about the trio was posted to law enforcement.

However, later that morning about 8:30 a.m., Naeem returned in the Toyota and tried to get on the base again, saying he made a mistake and was trying to enter Interstate 5, the alert said. After his vehicle was searched, Naeem was issued a letter of debarment from the base and escorted to the freeway.

Since the incident, 10News learned high-ranking Camp Pendleton officials have notified other military bases and law enforcement of a potential threat.

According to a local security expert, that comes with good reason.

"I think after 9/11, anybody on any government facility should be worried," local expert John told 10News.

John, who does undercover security and anti-terrorism work for Eagle Eye Security Solutions, did not want to be identified.

He told 10News the Camp Pendleton incident sounds like a possible probe or dry run and said their visits raise a few red flags.

"Number one: they went on base twice. Their stories didn't stick, kinda wishy washy. Number two: the vehicle, the condition of the vehicle," said John. "They could have been probing the security, not just cameras, sensors, individual security from MPs. Three: [they] could have wanted to know what background checks would have produced."

Amanda Sumner, who lives on the base, said the alert was very concerning for her.

"My family lives there and I know it's very easy access to get on base at the front gate… All you have to have is a driver's license that isn't suspended," she said.

A criminal background check on the trio conducted by the Department of Homeland Security found no "derogatory records" for the men. Additionally, the U.S. Border Patrol said the immigration statuses for the three men were confirmed and they did not appear on any terrorist watch databases.

[Dalton]

OK, NOW it's newsworthy.

[Zaune]

I stand by my earlier assertion that this was either the most laughably inept terrorist plot since the guy who tried to crash an airliner in the middle of Detroit (which would probably constitute gentrification anyway) by filling his underpants with gunpowder and applying a lit match, or some kind of ill-conceived practical joke. Either way, I think the gate guards made the right call letting them go; these idiots weren't worth the paperwork to lock up.

[Mr. Coffee]

I stand by my earlier assertion that this was either the most laughably inept terrorist plot since the guy who tried to crash an airliner in the middle of Detroit (which would probably constitute gentrification anyway) by filling his underpants with gunpowder and applying a lit match, or some kind of ill-conceived practical joke. Either way, I think the gate guards made the right call letting them go; these idiots weren't worth the paperwork to lock up.

Or, it could be like this guy says...

According to a local security expert, that comes with good reason.

"I think after 9/11, anybody on any government facility should be worried," local expert John told 10News.

John, who does undercover security and anti-terrorism work for Eagle Eye Security Solutions, did not want to be identified.

He told 10News the Camp Pendleton incident sounds like a possible probe or dry run and said their visits raise a few red flags.

"Number one: they went on base twice. Their stories didn't stick, kinda wishy washy. Number two: the vehicle, the condition of the vehicle," said John. "They could have been probing the security, not just cameras, sensors, individual security from MPs. Three: [they] could have wanted to know what background checks would have produced."

See what we can learn when you read the whole article? It's like miraculous. Move over magnets, here comes mother fuckin' readin' up in this bitch! Readin', how the fuck does that work?

[Todeswind]

There isn't one. This has to have been heard/told wrong, or simply made up. If they had to translate the directions into arabic or farsi, they wouldn't then speak in english while discussing plans at a gas station. Not that I'm saying anyone is a liar, but there are a number of things that don't make any sense in this story.

It's not beyond belief that a gas-station attendant might speak arabic or farsi.

[Darth Fanboy]

I'm surprised that this went so long without an official report, I apologize for my earlier doubt.

[PainRack]

The original story didn't make sense.

The latter on the other hand, does. It isn't impossible that people are utterly clueless to proper security measures which sounds like what happened. Is it cause for concern?

Without further evidence, probably not. Sounds to me that any news from this in the military would probably be circulars and etc so that security forces know what to do when they meet similar situations.

[Big Phil]

I'm surprised that this went so long without an official report, I apologize for my earlier doubt.

You shouldn't apologize - the original story (and even the updated story) sounded like a bad Snopes article. Just because it really happened and was reported on doesn't mean that it's not a strange, hard to believe story.