In recent weeks, officials from the FBI/NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force have briefed security officials of top Wall Street firms about the existence of a Yemen-based Al Qaeda plot to attack major banks and investment houses — possibly targeting individual high-ranking executives of Goldman Sachs, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, and Barclays, among others.
The move follows months of infighting among national security officials since the initial discovery of the planned attacks. While some experts see the plot as an attempt to further disrupt US and world financial markets, many see it as a gesture intended to be a first step toward a dialogue and perhaps reconciliation with the West.
"Clearly, it is not unreasonable to interpret this as a ‘peace offering’ aimed at what little is left of the American middle class," according to Newton Toomey, professor of 21st Century Financial Terrorism at Pueblo State University. "It may very well be their way of saying to the average taxpayer and/or homeowner, ‘we understand and we’re with you’ — after all, who better to understand the prospect of living in caves while ducking bill collectors?"
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