REPORT: ATTA EYED PLANTS IN TENNESSEE

New York Post ^ | 10/15/01 | TRACY CONNOR

[kattracks]

October 15, 2001 -- The FBI is investigating a report that lead Sept. 11 hijacker Mohamed Atta asked a lot of "crazy" questions about a Tennessee chemical plant and a dam between two nuclear-power plants after he flew over them last spring.

[lavaroise]

One of the calls was even tracked not to a sleeper cell, but to the offices of The New York Times.

So the NY times supports terrorism?

[spycatcher]

Sleeper agent inside the NY Times waiting for the signal to publish some bogus disinformation

[Hugh Akston]

One of the calls was even tracked not to a sleeper cell, but to the offices of The New York Times.

I was going to ask how the fact that it went to the TImes ruled out it going to a sleeper cell, but then it dawned on me.

That would not be to a sleeper cell, but to a fully functional and active cell ;-)

[Ranger]

One of the calls was even tracked not to a sleeper cell, but to the offices of The New York Times.

Better theory is that call to NYT was to get address to mail anthrax to writer there. If this connection can be made then it is a likely clear link between terrorists and destination of anthrax letters.

[jokemoke]

One of the calls was even tracked not to a sleeper cell, but to the offices of The New York Times.

Hmmm....very interesting...

[The Raven]

Oh ......that's how they get to the nuclear power plants...bust up an upstream dam.

[Eagle74]

How did that line in the movie "Heat" go? DeNiro says "First they've got your name, then they've got your phone, then before long they've got you."

[GROUCHOTWO]

If you want stick out like a sore thumb and you have dark skin, then go to Copper Hill,Tenn. If you really want to start people talking, then start asking odd questions.

Remember that FBI Chief Robert Mueller admitted on two separate occasions the FBI has yet to develop legal proof of the true identities of the suicidal hijackers.

Watch your propaganda, folks. Believing that this crack team of terrorists spent all this time putting themselves in positions of calling attention to themselves should be questioned.

[N00dleN0gg1n]

Believing that this crack team of terrorists spent all this time putting themselves in positions of calling attention to themselves should be questioned.

Unless it was a deliberate act of psychological warfare. Its intent was to make us go nuts trying to guard everything in the entire country.

[classygreeneyedblonde]

HMMMMMMMMMM very interesting...I wonder who wasn't working on the 11th at the Times......

[Space Wrangler]

Yes, I must agree. Two arabs in Copper Hill, TN would stick out like a sore thumb (Polk County is officially listed as 99% white, 1% "other"). The thing that bothered me about this, was that even if they took out Hiwasee Dam, it would cause virtually no damage, other than two small power plants would no longer be able to produce power. The lake above the dam is not all that big, and it's not like some huge wave is going to go down the Hiwasee valley and take out the Sequoia Nuke plant in Chattanooga. At best, you might see a 6-8 inch rise in water levels on the TN River, which is what the Hiwassee River runs into. This is a VERY sparsely populated area. Polk Co., TN is 75% national forest, and has a population of about 30,000 people. It is very mountainous, and very remote. Chattanooga and Knoxville are the closest population centers, with Chattanooga being the closest, and about 60 mi. away. In short, it doesn't make sense to attack anything here. And as far as the chemical plant being hit and releasing acid into the Ocoee River, well, two or three trucks a year do that, so it's nothing we haven't seen before. I know all of the areas I have just mentioned intimately. I kayak on the Ocoee, and I keep my cruiser on the TN River about 5 mi. downstream of Seqouia Nuke facility. In short, your not going to do too much damage here in one fatal blow. It would take ALOT of preperation, and even more luck. I don't doubt that the terrorists could have been interested in the area though. The Olympic Whitewater park on the Ocoee hosted the World Cup whitewater events 2 weeks before the Trade Center/Pentagon attacks. Why would that be a target? About 10,000 people, all packed tightly into an area about 6 acres in size, and in a very deep valley. It's all speculation on my part, but the whitewater park could be considered an "international target", because this was where the Whitewater events took place in the '96 Olympics. Crashing a jumbo jet into the middle of that would have caused a very large amount of casualties. My $.02 worth, and a local perspective.

[OrioleFan]

I suppose now the Federation of American Scientists will start publishing satellite pictures and plans for chemical plants, dams, and nuclear power plants on their website. The Communist, John Pike, already publishes information about every government facility and military base.

[GROUCHOTWO]

I agree that we are experiencing psychological warfare. What I am trying to say is that there are many flaws in what has been presented to us.

We are being told that this crack team of terrorists wound up leaving so much evidence in the wake of the WTC and Pentagon attacks that the FBI could not fail to stumble over it.

We are also told that they were religious fanatics willing to commit suicide for their beliefs and yet spent the last night drinking and whoring.

We only know who we are TOLD to blame.

[GROUCHOTWO]

Good assessment but you ought to stop bragging about your beautiful area. You don't want to be flooded with a zillion tourists, do you?

[Fred Mertz]

According to the Washington Post, investigators are especially interested in Atta's visits to the Vegas Internet cafe Cyber Zone.

Looks like the Las Vegas connection may turn up more clues. Is it true that Atta resembles John Doe #2 from OKC Bombing?

[aristeides]

Bolstering that theory is evidence from "technical sources" that leaders of bin Laden's al Qaeda terror movement made at least four calls from Afghanistan to the United States after the atrocities, Newsweek magazine reported.

FBI agents believe bin Laden was trying to activate cells of terrorists waiting for marching orders here, and they're trying to develop new leads from the calls.

Poor opsec, or deliberate misdirection?

[aristeides]

If it's true that Atta started his studies in Germany in '92, a connection with Strassmeyer and the Bundesnachrichtendienst might be worth investigating.

[Publius6961]

We only know who we are TOLD to blame.

Bet your 20-20 hindsight is working great too.
Ok genius, what's your suggestions for those of us who want to remain informed?

That we all individually investigate the terrorists?
Hire private investigators to do it for us?

Inquiring minds need to know.

[Space Wrangler]

You don't want to be flooded with a zillion tourists, do you?

Too late. I went up to the Ocoee yesterday to get what will probably be the last bit of paddling in for the year. I barely found a parking space, and if I'd been 30 minutes later, I wouldn't have found one at all. Traffic is bumper to bumper on Hwy. 64 from Parksville Lake all the way to Copper Hill. I'm a local, and I can remember going up there and hardly seeing anyone. Ugh! The price of progress!