Terror Suspects Could Have Acquired Missiles Elsewhere, Analysts Say

The four men accused of plotting to blow up two New York synagogues and shoot down military planes could have procured surface-to-air guided missiles elsewhere if the FBI had not provided them with inert versions, terror analysts told."I don't know if you could buy it on Craigslist, but there's certainly a lot of people who engage in this type of contraband," Steve Emerson, executive director of The Investigative Project on Terrorism, said of the anti-aircraft Stinger missile. "They're not that big, either, so they could've been smuggled into the United States."Emerson said the 5-foot-long weapon, which has a range of 5 miles and weighs 35 pounds fully armed, could have been bought in a number of black arms markets in Middle Eastern countries, including Lebanon, Pakistan, Gaza and Saudi Arabia. The missile system could be purchased for "tens of thousands of dollars," Emerson said."It depends on the quality, how new it is, the version," he said. "It's like buying a used car. It depends on lots of factors, and they deteriorate over time."The four domestic terror suspects — James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen, all of Newburgh, N.Y. — were arrested late Wednesday after they allegedly planted a 37-pound device that they believed was a bomb in the trunk of a car outside the Riverdale Temple, a synagogue in the Bronx, and two other mock bombs in the backseat of a car outside the Riverdale Jewish Center, another synagogue a few blocks away. They also allegedly planned to shoot Stinger surface-to-air guided missiles at planes at the Air National Guard base in Newburgh, about 70 miles north of New York City.