The FBI has uncovered and thwarted an advanced Jihadist plot to blow up a number of tubes and tunnels connected New York and New Jersey in hopes of disrupting lower Manhattan’s Financial District. The story was initially reported this morning by the New York Daily News and at that time was thought to be limited to bombing the Holland Tunnel:

Counterterrorism officials are alarmed by the “lone wolf” terror plot because they allegedly got a pledge of financial and tactical support from Jordanian associates of top terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi before he was killed in Iraq, a counter-terrorism source told The News.

It’s not clear, however, if any cash or assistance was delivered.

The News has learned that at the request of U.S. officials, authorities in Beirut arrested one of the alleged conspirators, identified as Amir Andalousli, in recent months. Agents were scrambling yesterday to try to nab other suspects, sources said.

They didn’t indicate how many people were the target of the international dragnet but said they were scattered all over the world.

“This is an ongoing operation,” one source said.

The Washington Post now reports that the plot was more extensive:

U.S. authorities said they have uncovered a terrorist plot to attack transit systems linking New York City and New Jersey, crediting the arrest of a key suspect by Lebanon, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security said in a joint statement today.

An investigation is ongoing across three continents, but the scheme to bomb PATH commuter rail tunnels serving thousands of commuters daily was caught in the early planning stages, U.S. officials said. Two other suspects are in custody, and five are at large.

The Associated Press is now reporting additional details:

Initial reports said that the terrorists wanted to attack the Holland Tunnel, a major thoroughfare for cars entering the island of Manhattan. But officials said the group had specifically mentioned only the train tunnels under the Hudson River used by commuters on their way to New York and New Jersey.

“This is a plot that involved martyrdom and explosives” and focused on the “tubes that connect Jersey and lower Manhattan,” said FBI Assistant Director Mark J. Mershon.

The Democrats and the media are already dismissing the notion that flooding tunnels would only fill the tunnels with water and cause no additional damage. A quick flooding of water into the tunnel could very well cause it to expel water from both ends.

It would also weaken the soil surrounding the tunnel entrances, possibly causing the collapse of buildings. Not only that, but the collapse of only the Holland Tunnel would cause flooding throughout much of lower Manhattan’s subway system and underground tunnels carrying electrical and communication lines.

First, check out this map showing the entrances to the Holland tunnel on Manhattan.

Next, check out this map showing the proximity of subways to the Holland Tunnel. Look at lower Manhattan in the proximity of Canal Street and Spring Street.

Finally, as an example of what happens when underwater tunnels flood, check out the following historical examples:

Read this account of a small 6-foot diameter tunnel collapsing at St. Anthony Falls:

Early the next morning, the river broke through the limestone at the upper end of the [tunnel] project, forming a large whirlpool that sucked everything nearby into the tunnel. The water quickly scoured out the 6- by 6-foot tail race, enlarging its width as much as 90 feet and increasing its depth to 16 and a half feet. As the roof of the tunnel fell in, Hennepin Island began to sink and the falls were in danger of collapsing.

Also read about the Chicago Flood of 1992.

Finally, read about the July 1, 2003 collapse of an underground, below-water rail tunnel in Shanghai:

The breach caused a six-story audio-video wholesale market to settle unevenly, separate and eventually collapse. Five other buildings tilted and now are being demolished, according to local press reports. The 25-story Linjiang Huayuan building, housing the Shanghai Labor and Social Security Bureau, was threatened but declared safe on July 7.

A collapse of even one of the tunnels connecting Manhattan with the mainland would cause much more damage than just the filling of the tunnel itself with water. The media and the Democrats are going to try to downplay the risk of the collapse of an underwater tunnel. Don’t believe them for a second.