___________________________________________
Casio watches are cheap, dependable - and the timepiece of choice for bombmakers.
The watches have been used so often in terrorist plots that the feds have urged airport screeners to look out for them. They've been cited as evidence that Guantanomo Bay detainees need to be locked up. There are, of course, millions of Casio watches sitting innocently on the wrists of upstanding citizens, but they have also been tied to numerous bombing attempts, with terrorists rigging the circuitry to make them into timers.
Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind behind the foiled plot to blow up 11 U.S.-bound airliners in 1994, chose Casios. Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian convicted of plotting to bomb Los Angeles International Airport around 2000, bought a pair. Numerous Al Qaeda soldiers are believed to have built bombs using the digital watches, which can be bought for less than $30.
Counter-terrorism officials put out an advisory in 2005."Casio watches have been extensively used by (Al Qaeda) and associated organizations as timers for improvised explosive devices," it reads.
It noted the watches are available around the world and inexpensive. Long battery life also makes it valuable, because the bomb can be planted far in advance, giving the terrorists plenty of time to get away
Episode III was on TV last night. I laughed at that part.
