Black Sunday Happens

Geon

Donor
In the 1970s there was a best selling novel entitled Black Sunday by Thomas Harris.

In the novel a deranged Vietnam War vet/pilot works with members of Black September to perpetrate a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Specifically the pilot and his partner hijack the blimp being used to telecast the Super Bowl, fly the blimp over the Super Bowl arena (the game was being played in Miami) and then detonating a very powerful bomb underneath the blimp filled with shrapnel.

In the novel the two are stopped by a combination of daring FBI and Mossad agents.

But what if such an attack had actually occurred with a bomb being detonated almost right on top of the arena. What would be the immediate physical effects? Also follow up questions. What would be the political and international ramifications of such an event?

Final follow up. In the 1977 film version President Jimmy Carter is attending the game. If he is killed as a result of the explosion how does this further effect things?
 

Tsochar

Geon said:
In the 1970s there was a best selling novel entitled Black Sunday by Thomas Harris.

In the novel a deranged Vietnam War vet/pilot works with members of Black September to perpetrate a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Specifically the pilot and his partner hijack the blimp being used to telecast the Super Bowl, fly the blimp over the Super Bowl arena (the game was being played in Miami) and then detonating a very powerful bomb underneath the blimp filled with shrapnel.

In the novel the two are stopped by a combination of daring FBI and Mossad agents.

But what if such an attack had actually occurred with a bomb being detonated almost right on top of the arena. What would be the immediate physical effects? Also follow up questions. What would be the political and international ramifications of such an event?

Final follow up. In the 1977 film version President Jimmy Carter is attending the game. If he is killed as a result of the explosion how does this further effect things?
Click to expand...

Remember 9/11? About the same. The US and Israel go to war against the PLO and probably Syria, then establish pro-US regimes. This may cause a reactionary rise in Arab Nationalist terror organizations, probably led and financed by Iraq. This may or may not butterfly the Iranian Revolution. Reagan or Bush (depending on how the elections play out; I can't see the Dems winning in '84 even if Carter gets re-elected) would probably push harder and invade Iraq. It's anyone's guess how it all plays out, though.
 

galveston bay

I remember the novel and movie fondly (Robert Shaw was always a joy to watch, and so is Bruce Dern)

A successful attack would most definitely rip the US out of the post Vietnam malaise into righteous fury, and a major invasion of Syria and Lebanon would follow. The tricky part is that the Syrians are a quasi Soviet ally but in this particular case the Soviets would back off (hoping we get bogged down). The Saudis and company would be unlikely to impose an oil embargo this time, because they would be worried about being tarred with the same brush and the Shah would be hopeful that they would be so foolish.
 

James Ricker

The Palestinians are screwed again even worse than in our time line.The Soviet Union supplies Syria with weapons and money just to give America a hard time, further increasing cold war tensions.
 
Baconheimer

Baconheimer

Carter was at the game in the book too.

I didn't understand the logic of the plotters that carrying out such an attack would destroy the US' morale. It seems to me counterintuitive. Killing the American President and thousands of civilians would only make the US ready for war.
 
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