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So, whatever happened about the Canal Zone, anyway?
Here's one story, the Canal Zone Giveaway Story, which is a subset of stories I have dubbed DUBOB's- the Dark Underbelly of the Beast- news items, tales, legends, and rumors that the mainstream press in this country simply don't want to talk about.
-The Dark Underbelly of the Beast- Stories the Media won't Discuss...--
This story surfaced in my pre-web days, and I'm very curious to see what
FReepers have to add to it, both in links & comments.
In trying to rouse
public opinion through local talk radio I noticed an interesting phenomenon- as
soon as my call finished, one or both of the local 'toon-worshippers would get
on the line, and their angle of attack was always the same:
1- "Who is this guy?"
2- "Where did he get his information?"
3- "Why
would 'our president' do such a thing?"
Interestingly, this same line of attack was used for
1- the Blood Trail issue,
2- the theft/purchase/giveaway of national
security secrets.
This is by no means an extensive list of links ( google.com returns over 200... ), however, many I found were redundant or questionable- these should be enough to get the ball rolling...
-"First, the Panama Canal have treaties... not been ratified ... and are not in effect now"--
-Y2K & The Panama Canal Giveaway ( Larry McDonald mentioned )--
-The giveaway treaties are null and void on at least the following points: ...--
-America lets go of Panama Canal--
-Panama Canal Resources--Articles from THE NEW AMERICAN--
-Cox Report Is a Real Whodunit--
( That mention of Larry McDonald in the second link? He was the anti-communist, anti-totalitarian Congressman killed in the 1983 KAL 007 shootdown.......)
Firesuit On! Tinfoil Faraday cage On!
What is that black
helicopter-like object I spy outside the kitchen window?
Original Post located here:
Just to start the ball rolling... the old thread was getting too long!
I thought everyone already knew that the Chinese have control of the Panama Canal at present, right?
bump
That's a darn good question: who knows?
Neighbor of a neighbor lady says she took a cruise that went through the canal and they didn't see or hear anything other than Panamanian flags.
She may be senile, goofy, sober or sane, her husband can't tell.
Her husband, ex-Navy, says our Navy doesn't have anything valuable but small enough to use the canal, so he doesn't care who owns it. He may be in the same shape as his wife, but he says as a for instance the Russian Kursk submarine couldn't fit so in his opinion the canal has little strategic value.
What the heck do I know, I get seasick.
LOL, may I suggest Dramamine? The Chinese are using it for a toe hold in this hemisphere, they own port facilites at both ends of the Canal, in fact they own the largest big container port on one side of the canal, which is very handy for smuggling Chinese and medium range missles into the area.
They also own a port in California, when one container was opened out popped a group of Chinese, some of whom are suspected of being members of the Red Army. Also the son of the head dog in China was found to be shipping arms, grenade launchers and some of those super destructive types of grenades into the country.
Add to that the reports of skirmishes between border patrol and Chinese dressed as mexican peons at the border and it all gets very interesting. LOL, we are so stupid, we deserve what is coming. Let me qualify that, some of us derserve what is coming.
Just a reminder for the thread readers of the added ingredient into the Chinese/Panamanian stew: there has been & is increasing overflow of the Colombian conflicts into Panama.
There are some refugees trying to escape over the border into Panama; but there are increasing numbers of Colombian guerrillas in Panama setting up base camps & guerrilla refuges. What will they bring with them into Panama?
I don't think Panama has the military ability to deal with them, even if they had the will.
How much does China openly support these guerrillas?
(The guerrillas are ostensibly Marxist. They originated that way, but now all has deteriorated into power & control for its own sake. They keep the Marxist label for recruiting purposes from the public universities--and for fundraising from gullible leftists.)
Just another thought to complicate the Panamanian questions.
It's my understanding that Panama has no military capability to speak of. You may also recall it was a breakaway from Columbia, who still has an eye on it.
The frequently raised point about our big ships no longer fitting is one of those "straw man" arguements- yes, it's true, but about 90% of everything else can pass, and the alternative is the incredibly long, rough voyage around Cape Horn or Tierra del Fuego- which are "choke points."
What we really need is a big, sea-level canal like the one we talked about digging in the 1950's with small nukes.
Rest assured that the Chinese, with their inroads in Panama, the Bahamas, and elsewhere, are walling us off and hemming us in. The Public's just too TV-numbed, School-dumbed to see it or care....yet!
"....for instance the Russian Kursk submarine couldn't fit so in his opinion the canal has little strategic value."
Well, the bad news NextMesa is that as stated in Thread I, the Communist Chinese company...(a COSCO company), Hutchison-Whampoa is now in control of boths ports - Balboa and Cristobal and the Communist Chinese could now be hiding short range missiles in containers which they now have thousands on their Panama Ports company grounds. This is why backhoe and I will be pushing this Panama thread and more threads to follow....for many months to come...huh backhoe.
backhoe...my son is bugging me for the computer....so, no more time for tonight. See you in this this weekend. (thanks for making thread 2 backhoe...and we can both look forward to many, many threads on this issue....ok)
Thanks for those flags... I just keep hoping that with "60,000 registered members & over 180,000 distinct URL's served every day" enough people will see this- and other- posts to "question the official story...."
My thoughts exactly.
Well, the bad news NextMesa is that as stated in Thread I, the Communist Chinese company...(a COSCO company), Hutchison-Whampoa is now in control of boths ports - Balboa and Cristobal and the Communist Chinese could now be hiding short range missiles in containers which they now have thousands on their Panama Ports company grounds. This is why backhoe and I will be pushing this Panama thread and more threads to follow....for many months to come...huh backhoe.
I do hope this thread and this discussion will continue. When people hear things such as that the PRC "could now be hiding short range missiles in containers which they now have thousands on their Panama Ports company grounds," I hope that they ask for evidence or facts to back up an assertion such as this one. So far I haven't seen anything except speculation.
Same here
Bttt-
...Bring Back ...oh, Bring Back...
Thanks for the bump, RONNIE- you & I know how we'll probably get the CZ back- with blood being spilled.
Sure wish we had an "edit post" feature!
Just to cross-reference this, the CZ "issue" is a subset of these:
DUBOB IV- yet more Tales from the Dark
Underbelly of the Beast-
I thought everyone already knew that the Chinese have control of the Panama Canal at present, right?
Are you kidding? Most Americans couldn't even find the Panama Canal on a map if their lives depended on it.
BTW, what's this about Chinese dressed as Mexican peons on the border? I'd pay to see photos of that.
"I hope that they ask for evidence or facts to back up an assertion such as this one. So far I haven't seen anything except speculation."
Nah, they can believe me! I know!
back at ya
bttt
"...what's this about Chinese dressed as Mexican peons on the border? I'd pay to see photos of that."
Noodles in hand...rofl.
The first time I heard about it, the event was blown off as tin foil hat stuff, then it made the local news but was passed off as a non event.
The first I heard was about rumors coming up from Mexican citizens of Chinese hiring Mexicans to build some kind of wall for a compound the hint was that it was a military type affair. The Mexicans reported that the Chinese were dressed as peons with sombreros. Many on FR blew it off as tin foil hat stuff, but it turns out at least some of it was true.
The way it was reported on the local news was that some Chinese were caught attempting to cross the Mexican border into Texas. Which is passed of as just an attempt at illegal imigration, but evidently a few shots were fired from both directions.
George Bush, cocaine and Panama
1991
The US government's pretext for the invasion of Panama in December 1989 was the alleged involvement in drug trafficking of Panamanian President Manuel Noriega. That pretext is now becoming seriously unstuck with revelations that Noriega's replacement, the US-installed Guillermo Endara is himself closely linked to the narcotics trade.
The Brazilian publication Jornal do Brazil's correspondent Manuel Britto broke the story in January 1990. Britto indicted the entire Panamanian aristocracy, including Panama's first vice-president, Ricardo Arias Calderon, and second vice-president Guillermo Ford. He charged that they had been involved in drug smuggling and money laundering over the past two decades.
Earlier this year, the opposition Revolutionary Democratic Party called for a legislative investigation of Endara, based on testimony last August of a US Drug Enforcement agent before a grand jury in Miami, Florida. The agent testified that, according to affidavits from 35 witnesses, two traffickers involved in smuggling cocaine into the US since 1978 control a number of corporations based in Panama. In all of them, he said, Endara appears as treasurer and director.
NORIEGA ASSAILS GEORGE BUSH ON CONTRA DRUG DEALING
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a374e15f42e6a.htm
Washington Weekly
May 6, 1996
In an unedited interview with CNN's Larry King, former Panamanian dictator General Manuel Noriega made allegations against former President George Bush who used the U.S. military to bring Noriega to trial on drug and racketeering charges in the U.S.
Noriega said he was caught and prosecuted "to hide the dirty dealings that Bush did. They flew weapons to the Contras and flew drugs back to the United States."
Noriega was convicted in 1992 to a 40-year sentence and is now serving in a Miami prison. Last month, a U.S. judge in Miami denied a bid for a new trial on grounds that a key government witness in his original trial was bribed $1.25 million by Colombia's Cali drug cartel. Noriega's lawyers are appealing the finding and Noriega said he expected to the decision to be overruled.
Noriega Convicted on 8 Drug and Racketeering Charges
http://www-tech.mit.edu/V112/N19/noriega.19w.html
By Robert L. Jackson and Mike Clary
Los Angeles Times
Deposed Panamanian dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega was convicted on eight of 10 drug and racketeering charges Thursday, two years after the United States took the extraordinary step of invading a foreign country to bring its leader to trial.
The jury returned its verdict on the fifth day of deliberations, just 11 hours after signaling to U.S. District Judge William M. Hoeveler that they feared they were deadlocked.
Noriega, 58, sitting ramrod straight in his general's uniform at the defense table, showed no emotion as a court clerk read eight "guilty" verdicts and two "not guilty" verdicts on lesser charges. Seated nearby in the front row of the packed courtroom were his wife, Felicidad, and three grown daughters, two of whom wiped away tears from their eyes as they listened to the verdicts.
As the courtroom emptied, defense attorney Frank Rubino put his arm around Noriega's shoulder and whispered briefly to him. Noriega was then led away by U.S. marshals to a private room to confer with his family.
Hoeveler set sentencing for July 10.
Convicted of allowing Colombia's Medellin drug cartel to ship tons of U.S.-bound cocaine through Panama in return for cash payoffs, Noriega could receive a maximum sentence of 120 years in prison and almost $1 million in fines.
President Bush hailed the verdict as "a major victory against the drug lords."
"He was accorded a free and fair trial and he was found guilty," Bush said during a picture-taking session at the start of a meeting in the White House with Nicaraguan President Violetta Chamorro.
"I hope it sends a lesson to drug lords here and around the world that they'll pay a price if they continue to poison the lives of our kids in this country or anywhere else."
The verdict was crucial for the Bush administration, which took a politically risky step when it invaded Panama in December 1989 to bring Noriega to trial. "Not guilty" verdicts or a hung jury would have been deeply embarrassing to the White House.
Rubino, declaring he was "bitter" about the verdict, called the trial "a political case, not a drug case." He said he would appeal the verdict on government misconduct issues, including the invasion, as far as the U.S. Supreme Court.
"A new page has been written in American history," Rubino said. "The U.S. government, in its role as world policeman, saw fit to invade a country and seize its leader. The jury has condoned that action and sent a message to the rest of the world's leaders that you, too, may soon be in our courthouse."
Calling Noriega's prosecution "a modern-day version of the Crusades," Rubino added that "the United States is trampling across the entire world imposing its will unless they (foreign leaders) are willing to kneel once a day and face Washington and give praise to George Bush."
He said Noriega had no personal reaction although his family was "horribly dejected about the verdict."
Authorities said that Noriega, after his sentencing, still faced another federal indictment in Tampa, Fla. on charges of massive marijuana smuggling into the United States. In addition, the government of Panama hopes to try him on charges that he ordered the murder of a political opponent in 1985 and committed acts of malfeasance in office.
James McAdams, the acting U.S. attorney in Miami, said he had no idea when or if Noriega would be sent to Panama on such charges. Officials expect him to be sentenced to a long prison term in the United States.
Attorney General William P. Barr, in a statement released in Washington, called the verdict "an historic accomplishment and a great victory for the rule of law and for the American people."
Lead prosecutor Michael P. Sullivan attributed the outcome to "so much effort by so many prosecutors, agents and staff," adding: "It was worth it all."
________________________
From the book "Called to Serve" by James "Bo" Gritz.
Published May, 1991
Gritz - most decorated Green Beret Commander was stationed in Panama prior to the invasion and had wanted to arrest Noreiga on drug charges (or kill him), but was told by General Aaron, "Bo, you must keep your hands completely off Noriega. He has immense value at the highest levels." (p. 181)
p403
Even though he still "can't remember" what he was doing in all those meetings he attended when the Iran/Contra scandal was being hatched, Bush has admitted meeting with Manuel Noriega on at least two occasions in 1983, photographs of which have been published. According to a statement by former CIA Director Admiral Stansfield Turner in November 1988, he removed Noriega from the Agency's payroll in 1977 because he was an "unscrupulous character," but Vice-President George Bush met with Noriega in 1981 "and put him back on the payroll."
p 488
After years of coddling by his CIA handlers, the U.S. invaded Panama on December 20, 1989, and forced Noriega to capitulate.
Major Moises Giroldi captured Noriega on 3 October 1989. Bush wasn't interested, Noriega was restored to power and Giroldi was executed. It wasn't until Manuel threatened to "nationalize" U.S. assets - including Bush holdings - that the Marines went in. Twenty-six U.S. soldiers died, 324 were wounded to preserve the President's personal holdings. Bush installed Gillermo Endara former director of a bank known to launder Medellin drug money.
February 6, 1990, Bush released Panamanian banking restrictions allowing drug profits to pour through the countries 110 banks.
p590-597
A large-scale, illicit traffic in cocaine and marijuana from Colombia was facilitated to finance the Contra buildup in an effort to dislodge the Sandinistas after they and Somoza had refused to play ball. You have already read, here and elsewhere, about the corridors which have been established with planes flying weapons down to bases in El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica, and flying drugs back by the the ton, often to U.S. military bases. Much of the cocaine was even shipped to a CIA-front company called Ocean Hunter in Miami, funded to the tune of a quarter of a million dollars by the the U.S. State Department. Arms flown on the CIA-chartered Southern Air Transport to the Contra forces were replaced with drugs for the return trip to Homestead AFB in Florida and Laguna Army Air Field, Yuma, Arizona. It is doubtful that these were the only drop-points for these shipments.
When General Richard Secord was asked by Sen. Paul Sarbanes of the Senate Investigating Committee why the "Enterprise" made such an exorbitant profit from the weapons and supplies he sold to the Contras, he replied, "Senator, we were in business to make a living. It was a commercial enterprise."
When Sarbanes countered that "I thought the purpose of the enterprise was to help the Contras," Secord replied, "Can't I have two purposes? I did."
The Columbian drug cartel was more than willing to pick up the tab, though - to the tune of at least $10 million - as long as the planes supplying the Contras came back to the U.S. filled with narcotics.
General Khun Sa, leader of Burma's Shan people, has offered to stop all the heroin coming from the Golden Triangle (approximately 80% of the world's production) in exchange for a simple crop-substitution program, yet the White House and the State Department have expressed "no interest." We are now allocating billions of dollars to fight a war on drugs and dedicating $300 million in 1990 to Colombia with absolutely no assurance of success.
Even the former Commissioner of Customs, William von Raab, who resigned in digust and frustration, declared that: "We are fighting an uninspired war of attrition - a war of words. The drug issue is NOT a priority right now. I don't think our government, either in the Congress or the Administration, has the stomach necessary to win this battle.... We're not using any diplomatic energies of consequence to try to put pressure on the producer and transhipping countries."
Why? Why did we send 24,000 U.S. troops to root out Panama's indicted drug king, Manuel Noriega, in December 1989? Why was he paid more than the President as an agent of the CIA by George Bush, the Director of Central Intelligence, in 1976, and put back on the payroll by George Bush, the Vice President, in 1981 after Carter's CIA Director, Admiral Stansfield Turner, removed him? Why the sudden U.S. Naval and Air Force initiatives to blockade Colombia? What is really behind the government's facade this time?
Having served as the Commander of Special Forces in Latin America during the same time period George Bush was Director of Central Intelligence, I believe the entire charade is an elaborate set designed to hide our real intention - the building of a new canal in Nicaragua.
(skip) The Panama Canal became obsolete with the advent of supertankers and huge warships: We need a new canal to accept these ocean-going behemoths. Widening the existing canal isn't possible because Lake Gatun, the heart of the canal, cannot be suitable enlarged. Lake Nicaragua, on the other hand, provides the perfect alternative. The Bryan-Chamorro Treaty of 1916 gave us the exclusive right to build such a canal through Nicaragua, along virtually the same route as the old Vanderbilt Road!
(skip)
The parallel government - the faceless, nameless, irresponsible forces of the super-rich who have decided America's destiny since before Vanderbilt - would again apply its king-making ability to insure that Japan's doorway to our East Coast would be open on schedule. Enter George Bush - champion of the cause, personified - with serious ties to both the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission.
As former director of Central Intelligence, Vice President and friend of the rich, I believe the task of opening the new Vanderbilt Road is now his. Who is better prepared? He has observed all the mistakes of his predecessors.
Part of the answer was simply to declare another war on drugs. Manuel Noriega could be counted on to cooperate, as well as the Colombians. Skillful orchestration would allow a buildup of manpower and material in the area sufficient to ignite an explosion at the slightest real or imagined provocation. The extended powers accorded the Drug Czar would facilitate unilateral options consistent with past Executive decisions. The die was cast.
(skip)
Bechtel Corporation will probably be chosen for the "first of a kind" engineering alliance. Bechtel is the largest privately-held engineering and construction firm of its kind in the world.
(skip)
Every detail has been attended to but one - our control over Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Now for world-class finesse: President Bush sends U.S. Forces into Central America under the guise of bringing Noriega to justice and stopping drug infiltration from Colombia. Having Noriega in a U.S. prison will eliminate any unexpected disclosures by the Little Dictator - and open the canal for sabotage if required.
In 1976, I described to Admiral Isaac Kidd, Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Forces, and to the Commander in Chief of the Southern Command, exactly how in 15 minutes with three unskilled men, I could put the Panama Canal out of commission for more than five years. The key to canal operation is the Gatun Dam. The dam creates Lake Gatun which allows operation of the locks. All that is necessary to make the canal inoperative is to take over the helm and engine room of a tanker as it prepares to enter the Gatun Lock and at "full steam ahead" drive the tanker over the dam, which is a convenient quarter of a mile away and adjacent to the lock. Lowering the Lake stops the canal.
Once the lake recedes, it will take a minimum of five years to fill it after the dam is repaired. The real Catch-22 is that there are only two cranes in the world capable of such repair and both of them are in the wrong ocean and can't get there! This is just one example of how vulnerable the canal is to sabotage-and a reason to build a new one.
Now the equation is all but solved. George Bush, the Organization of American States and the United Nations can pressure Nicaragua to make available a new facility to preserve the free world economic and strategic routes between the two oceans - an offer Nicaragua won't refuse, especially if they're already on the payroll of the CIA! - and own land along the canal route.
What, you may ask, about Noriega? Won't he upset the apple cart by revealing in open court the U.S. Government's involvement in illegal drug smuggling? Not a chance - the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA) will prevent even a word of "National Security" information from being heard by the public. Already the federal prosecutors are admitting that they are unable to unearth the "smoking gun" evidence they hoped to capture in Panama. Noriega will be shuffled through America's judicial catacombs until he is put out to pasture in a place provided by the international fascists in appreciation and compensation for all his cooperation and good work. He and Saddam may be neighbors.
(skip)
If the people of the third world - in Iran, Angola, Central and South America - were allowed to testify in the World Court about what the United States has done to them, and the rest of us were allowed to hear it, it would not be that much different from the Nurenberg trials in Germany. All that is different is that the technology of death has improved many-fold; the brutalization and the horrors brought upon these people are no different. If our position were reversed - if they could be accusers in a world forum - we Americans would have to ask ourselves the same questions: How could it happen here? How could this be going on without somebody saying something?
__________________
Feb. 4, 2000
Strategical Intelligence
By Alex Cline
Information provided this morning to Strategic Intelligence indicates that there may have been an unauthorized crew change aboard the Taxi Aereo Centroamericano LET 410 that crashed in San Jose, Costa Rica on January 15th with the former CIA Director Stanfield Turner on board.
An inside source with Aero Centraoamericano has stated that minutes before the scheduled departure of the ill fated flight, the scheduled pilot, Juan Carlos, was released from the flight crew by an unscheduled, unqualified pilot, stating that he will be taking the seat. According to sources, an argument ensured between pilots but was settled by an operations supervisor for the airline. The operations supervisor advised the scheduled pilot (Juan Carlos) that the change was unscheduled but he was authorizing it, and that he would be given additional flight time to compensate the imposition. Minutes later, the plane crashed in a local subdivision, killing Karen Turner, the wife of Ex-CIA Director, Admiral Stansfield Turner.
Within minutes following the crash, the CIA's Costa Rican Station Chief was observed combing through the aircraft wreckage, restricting access to rescue personnel. The mostly intact aircraft was stripped of all cargo to include carry on items. This was accomplished while passengers were being evacuated.
On February 2nd, in a San Jose hospital, the substitute pilot died of injuries received during the crash.
www.aci.net/kalliste
J. Orlin Grabbe website (who lives in Costa Rica)
Feb. 9, 2000
The U.S. military is secretly massing men and supplies in the region of Liberia, Costa Rica, for an operation on the Panama Canal.
The U.S. presence is illegal under both U.S. and Costa Rican law.
Ex-CIA Director Stansfield Turner was in Costa Rica as part of this operation when his plane crashed, and his wife was killed. The CIA has failed to acknowledge the presence of Turner, because he had entered Costa Rica illegally.
___________________
AP
Jan 17, 2000
San Jose, Costa Rica (AP) - Former CIA director Adm. Stanfield Turner was in critical condition today after his wife and three others were killed when a plane crashed into a home shortly after taking off in the Costa Rican capital.
Turner, 76, who was CIA director under President Carter, suffered injuries to his chest and head, said Dr. Deborah Beaychan of the emergency surgery unit at the Hospital Mexico.
His wife, Eli Karen, was killed in the Saturday afternoon crash, which occurred shortly after the Taxi Aereo Centroamericano flight took off from San Jose, U.S. Embassy spoksman David Gilmour said.
Also killed in the crash were Siegfried and Therese Richert of San Francisco, and Spaniard Antonio Sanchex Diaz, according to Gilmour and Javier Montero, chief of operations for Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Organization.
_______________
Costa Rica plane-crash mystery
Expert: Turner, others were preparing for intelligence op
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=13150
February 29, 2000
By David M. Bresnahan
© 2000 WorldNetDaily.com
A multinational group of intelligence and military operatives are preparing men and supplies in the area of Liberia, Costa Rica for a possible operation in Panama, according to intelligence sources.
While investigating the mysterious Jan.15 plane crash that occurred in San Jose, Costa Rica, WorldNetDaily was led to intelligence sources who provided some details of the operation on the condition of anonymity -- revealing an even bigger mystery.
Former CIA director Stansfield Turner was nearly killed when the private plane he was in crashed. His wife Karen, along with Sigifred and Therese Richert, and Antonio Sanchez Diaz were killed in the crash. The pilot, Cleto Miranda Luna, died of his injuries on February 2. There were 12 others who were injured on board the plane and one on the ground.
The Czechoslovakian-built Taxi Aereo Centroamericano LET 410 was a small charter plane available for hire at the Tobias Bolanos airport in San Jose, Costa Rica.
The CIA refused to confirm or deny press reports of the crash at the time. An intelligence source told WorldNetDaily that the CIA could not admit any knowledge of the crash because all the passengers were intelligence operatives.
Turner and his group were in Costa Rica as part of a secret intelligence operation, according to an informed source, who says the plane crash brought press attention to their presence, possibly forcing the operation to be moved. Whether the operation is still underway in a new location and the specific involvement of Turner could not be determined, but the source would only say the plans involved possible deployment to Panama.
The flight plan showed that Turner's plane was headed for the Tortuguero National Park on Costa Rica's Atlantic sea shore, which is said to be near the area where the military forces and supplies were being accumulated.
The plane was only a short distance from the airport when it exploded and fell like a rock from the sky, according to witnesses. It crashed into a house with three people inside, all of whom survived.
"I was coming up the street when suddenly I saw the plane start to fishtail," said eyewitness, Pedro Chinchilla, as reported in La Republica. "It fell, and then I heard a loud noise, like a hurricane. When I reached the site I could hear screams coming from inside the house," he said.
The intelligence source was able to help WorldNetDaily talk to another eyewitness of the crash. The witness worked for the airport and went immediately to the site after the crash. He said he has worked with CIA agents before and recognized several going through luggage at the crash site. He insisted that his identity remain anonymous out of fear that he would face reprisals in his job.
Rescue personnel were delayed slightly while CIA agents were going through the plane, which remained mostly intact. All luggage and carry-on items were removed from the plane while the rescue crew evacuated survivors and casualties, according to the source.
A Nicaraguan housekeeper was in the house with two other people when the plane crashed through the roof. She suffered only minor injuries.
"It was like a bomb. Pieces of cement, wood and even a wall fell on top of us," the housekeeper, Yamileth Saenz, told La Nacion.
Information released by the International Red Cross showed that there were nine Spaniards, two French, one Salvadoran, and three Costa Ricans on board when the plane crashed. Asked the cause of the crash, the intelligence source said, "Well, let's just say it wasn't an accident," but he declined to give any details.
He helped WorldNetDaily contact sources who
were at the airline office and at the crash site
during the rescue after the crash, saying it
would help prevent future problems if word of
the nature of the crash became public.
_______________________
Secret operation in Costa Rica
Bungled military shipment exposed presence of base
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=13154
March 10, 2000
By David M. Bresnahan
© 2000 WorldNetDaily.com
A shipment of Humvees and other military equipment was sent in error from the U.S. directly into Costa Rica, inadvertently exposing the existence of a secret operation there, according to government sources.
Although the supplies are now being held by customs agents and cannot be released until a fee has been paid and papers signed, the U.S. military cannot acknowledge the equipment because it does not have permission to be in Costa Rica.
Military sources told WorldNetDaily that incompetence caused the error, and that the supplies should have been flown in secretly to avoid exposing the operation. If the U.S. does not claim the equipment within 60 to 90 days, it will be sold at auction to the highest bidder.
The embarrassing situation is just one of a string of events that upset veteran military and intelligence sources who have spoken with WorldNetDaily on condition of anonymity.
"We lost the element of surprise. The whole world knows we're there, so there's no danger in telling the story," one military source reassured WorldNetDaily.
"This is not a surprise to any of us who've been around for a while. The military is filled with, well, let's just say a lower quality soldier than what we need. Mistakes like this are not unusual," said the officer.
Operation Channel is the code name being used to refer to the once-secret operation taking place in Costa Rica. A multinational military force, headed by the U.S. Army, has been gathering soldiers and equipment in a remote area. Sources would not provide details of the plans, but indicated it is for logistical support if action is needed in Panama.
When the U.S. relinquished control of the Panama Canal on January 1, it lost a military presence there. This new secret base gives the U.S. a place to coordinate both sea and land forces for possible problems in the area if needed.
WorldNetDaily first became aware of a secret operation in Costa Rica when press reports told of the crash of a tourist plane on which former CIA director Stansfield Turner was a passenger on January 15.
The CIA reportedly is involved in Operation Channel only as a resource to the military for intelligence information. It is not legal for U.S. military to be present in Costa Rica, or to be a part of a multinational force, without an act of Congress. The U.S. can, however, participate in drug enforcement-related activities without special congressional action. The Drug Enforcement Agency was not aware of any such operation, but a military source told WorldNetDaily that the "DEA has agents present." Several possible locations for a secret military base allegedly were to be evaluated by Turner and his group. The pilot was specifically selected for his knowledge of the potential areas and was substituted at the last minute before the flight took off.
The base for Operation Channel has since been located near Liberia, Costa Rica. The U.S. Embassy has been reported to be holding reservations at hotels in the area. Vegetation has been burned, bulldozers are at work clearing large areas, and fences have been erected.
I like what the late S.I. Hayakawa said about the Canal when ol' "no longer our worst President" was about to give it away: "We stole it fair and square and we ought to keep it!"
Thanks for the info!
"We stole it fair and square and we ought to keep it!"
I well recall that quip, and while it's funny & memorable, it isn't very accurate. The area where Panama is was once part of Columbia, and decided to declare independence... we supported them ( no doubt from elightened self-interest )... and we did pay for the canal as well as build it.
Sat. afternoon/kids everywhere bump
Excellent post ratcat.
.
.
ThankX, & a tip O' the Hatlo Hat to you:
bump
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Thanks for the article and the flag. This is worthy of recurring bumps for Newbies.
Maybe if we can't get through to the American people on the basis of common sense and basic national security and strategy, we can do the PC thing and appeal to their new love of restoring and preserving America's historical landmarks. We could even get Hillary's support (hah!). Question on Ben Stein: "Who was the first American President to travel to a foreign land during his presidency?" Answer: Teddy Roosevelt, to Panama.
Perhaps a "Panama Preservation Society?" (^:
Bump
BackatchaBTTT...MUD
This is worthy of recurring bumps for Newbies/common sense....etc. Big Bump - -
This is worthy of recurring bumps for Newbies/common sense....etc. Big Bump - -
"I don't think Panama has the military ability to deal with them, even if they had the will."
I agree. Panama has nothing to contend with anyone.
HI ChaseR, you have been busy today!! Thanks for the flag(s). I wish I didn't have to work!
Are you kidding? Most Americans couldn't even find the Panama Canal on a map if their lives depended on it. BTW, what's this about Chinese dressed as Mexican peons on the border? I'd pay to see photos of that. 19 Posted on 06/10/2001 08:13:53 PDT by white rose
I have yet to see pictures of Chinese soldiers or missiles in the Panama Canal Webcam. Although it is obvious the one of the 4 companies running the ports has Chinese shareholders, the Chinese military presence seems as real as the Trilateral Commission or UFOs.
US companies do not want to bid on Panama airfield
Panamanian President Reaffirms Ties With Taiwan
U.S. consumers buying Chinese goods at Wal-Mart, K-Mart and Home Depot, fuel incursion into Panama
US company running Panama Canal ?
bump
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bump
A bttt to you... sorry I haven't been around more, lots of minor family things, and a major one or two... I'll bump & comment when I can....
"I'll bump & comment when I can...."?
O. K. Hope everyone is in good health. BUMP
bump
Thanks, ChaseR.... it sort of varies!
I'm OK ( amazing, I'm one of the older, more beat-up ones in my family, but still standing! )- wife goes in for MRI today ( old wreck injury nagging her; she's had bronchitis, A. Pylori infections over the last 3 months- one dam' thing after another! )... my sister-in-law Judy's cancer seems to be back, and Mayo pretty much released her to go home & die.
This naturally preys on my wife's mind as she worries about her brother more than anything else...
Life, sometimes, is a dang Zoo....
Appreciate the link- thanks!
bump
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Thanks for the link and thanks j_accuse for the time you've put into these Panama Canal posts.
Let's bump this so-and-so again^
...and again
...PANAMA wants us back informally ...So MUST we...
I thought everyone already knew that the Chinese have control of the Panama Canal at present, right?
The President of Taiwan does not know that, and the Chicoms are upset at the Panamanians for opening the doors to anti-communists like him.
 |
| President Chen holds a certificate presented to him during his visit to the Miraflores Locks on the Panama Canal, May 30. |
 |
| First lady Wu Shu-chen, center, poses with her Panamanian counterpart, President Mireya Moscoso's sister, local and Taiwanese dignitaries - plus two young couples wearing traditional Panamanian attire - after donating money to a charity in the Central American country, May 28 |
I stand corrected! Freegards
Why would the Chicoms be upset if they were not the main player at the canal right now? China has ports on both sides of the canal, one being the largest large container port.
reset?
Gee, where'd that come from?
Haints, I guess.
Thanks for posting your #60 j. Keep up the good work.
bump
bttt
bttt
I'd say we need to be back down there....yes.
free the SOUTH! for dixie,sw
Monday night bump - -
Bttt^
Bump for unresolved questions....
back to ya
Thanks- come on, you !@#$!-ing Lurkers! Wake up!
"Lurkers! Wake up!"
Lurkers...spread the word about FR.com
Another Bleedin' Lurkers bump^
bttt
Bump for spreading information^
BTTT...because it's important!
Adding a now-working link to Newsmax's articles:
-Panama Canal- NewsMax.com Hot Topics--
Great link...let me examine-thanks. bttt
83 Posted on 11/06/2001 14:44:54 PST by backhoe
84 Posted on 11/20/2001 16:19:05 PST by backhoe
85 Posted on 12/17/2001 11:06:47 PST by MrMuse
Castro, the Carribean, and Terrorism
I've been cautioning people for years that the Carribean and South/Central America were simmering- look for this area to heat up soon.
86 Posted on 12/17/2001 15:25:58 PST by backhoe
87 Posted on 12/19/2001 10:13:34 PST by MrMuse
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
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