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Senator: Flight cancellations necessary (US has no defense against bio agents released in a plane)
CNN ^ | Feb. 1, 2004 | CNN

Posted on 02/01/2004 12:00:22 PM PST by FairOpinion

Edited on 04/29/2004 2:03:49 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A key member of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Sunday the United States has no defense against threats to release biological weapons inside airplanes except to cancel suspect flights.

Asked about reports that a biological or chemical agent might be used in an attack on a U.S.-bound airline, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-West Virginia, said the United States would have no way to counter such moves.


(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; United Kingdom; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: airfrance; airlinesecurity; armedmarshals; ba; bioweapons
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To: FairOpinion; Dog
This whole topic has bothered me. For some reason now ALL the intelligence going back to the 90's is/was faulty? I don't even think Hans Blix believes this. Because large "Stockpiles" have not been "Found" means that every bit of intelligence was wrong? What ever happened to the other opinions such as it is still hidden somewhere in Iraq or it was moved to Syria? It just seems to convienent to just dismiss all the intelligence as being "Bad" just because the ends don't justify the means.
21 posted on 02/01/2004 12:54:17 PM PST by Normal4me
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To: Dog
You got that right, dog. Unfortunately right.
22 posted on 02/01/2004 1:09:57 PM PST by Peach (The Clintons have pardoned more terrorists than they ever captured or killed.)
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To: eno_
Heavy duty pin point bombing. I don't see us ever using nukes again. But history will tell.
23 posted on 02/01/2004 1:12:37 PM PST by Peach (The Clintons have pardoned more terrorists than they ever captured or killed.)
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To: Dog; Cindy; Calpernia; Huggy; Mylroie Fan; LayoutGuru2; FairOpinion; dennisw; Mo1
Saber is that countdown clock still winding down?

I don't know where to find it.

Not sure.

One of these folks might know.

Mo1, this is also in reference to your question the other day.


24 posted on 02/01/2004 1:12:40 PM PST by Sabertooth (Malcontent for Bush - 2004!)
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To: Dog
Is this the clock?

http://www.spiritoftruth.org/nuclearterrorism.htm
25 posted on 02/01/2004 1:16:08 PM PST by Peach (The Clintons have pardoned more terrorists than they ever captured or killed.)
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To: FairOpinion
Odd that he would specifically reference biologicals but not be specific as to what: anthrax? ricin? small pox? Very odd.
26 posted on 02/01/2004 1:47:46 PM PST by Ranger
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To: Peach
You could be right, but then why didn't Saddam let the UN back in?

I'm not sure what you mean, Saddam did let UN inspectors back in late 2002 I believe? It was our belief that Saddam was continuing to hide his WMD activities from the inspectors (remember Powell's UN presentation?) that led to our decision to go to war.

27 posted on 02/01/2004 1:55:35 PM PST by g35x
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To: eno_
Because it's Iran, and the only currently viable military response would be to nuke Iran.

Okay

28 posted on 02/01/2004 1:58:50 PM PST by af_vet_1981
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To: Peach
;It just doesn't make sense. My feeling is that Iraq had
;them and sold them.

Well then we'll just have to sack the whole region. I for one am firmly behind that proposal.........
29 posted on 02/01/2004 2:17:19 PM PST by festus
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To: g35x
It was so useless what Saddam did - taking stuff out the back door while UN inspectors cooled their heels at the front door that UNSCOM said "forget it - it's impossible".
30 posted on 02/01/2004 2:23:01 PM PST by Peach (The Clintons have pardoned more terrorists than they ever captured or killed.)
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To: Ranger
Other news did talk about smallpox and anthrax.

Not very encouraging prospects.

The fact that a domestic flight was also canceled, shows the terrorists are here AND they already have the nasty stuff inside the US. If they can't release it on an airplane, what's to stop them from taking it to a mall and releasing it there, if they hadn't done it already.
31 posted on 02/01/2004 4:17:23 PM PST by FairOpinion
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To: Normal4me
Here is an interesting excerpt from Kay's interim report on Iraq's WMD:

STATEMENT BY DAVID KAY ON THE INTERIM PROGRESS REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE IRAQ SURVEY GROUP (ISG)

http://www.cia.gov/cia/public_affairs/speeches/2003/david_kay_10022003.html

Why are we having such difficulty in finding weapons or in reaching a confident conclusion that they do not exist or that they once existed but have been removed? Our search efforts are being hindered by six principal factors:

From birth all of Iraq's WMD activities were highly compartmentalized within a regime that ruled and kept its secrets through fear and terror and with deception and denial built into each program;


Deliberate dispersal and destruction of material and documentation related to weapons programs began pre-conflict and ran trans-to-post conflict;


Post-OIF looting destroyed or dispersed important and easily collectable material and forensic evidence concerning Iraq's WMD program. As the report covers in detail, significant elements of this looting were carried out in a systematic and deliberate manner, with the clear aim of concealing pre-OIF activities of Saddam's regime;


Some WMD personnel crossed borders in the pre/trans conflict period and may have taken evidence and even weapons-related materials with them;


Any actual WMD weapons or material is likely to be small in relation to the total conventional armaments footprint and difficult to near impossible to identify with normal search procedures. It is important to keep in mind that even the bulkiest materials we are searching for, in the quantities we would expect to find, can be concealed in spaces not much larger than a two car garage;


The environment in Iraq remains far from permissive for our activities, with many Iraqis that we talk to reporting threats and overt acts of intimidation and our own personnel being the subject of threats and attacks. In September alone we have had three attacks on ISG facilities or teams: The ISG base in Irbil was bombed and four staff injured, two very seriously; a two person team had their vehicle blocked by gunmen and only escaped by firing back through their own windshield; and on Wednesday, 24 September, the ISG Headquarters in Baghdad again was subject to mortar attack.
32 posted on 02/01/2004 4:19:29 PM PST by FairOpinion
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To: FairOpinion
Someone in a business suit of clothes looking normal and un-obtrussive steps on a plane,ship,train or bus dusted with Weaponized Anthrax spores; pats his arm or leg or chest to disperse the product creating chaos & death beyond imagination.

When the post offices were hit they were taken out of business for long periods of time so now we have all these transportation mediums neutralized costing the Country multiple millions of Dollars to sanitize. Its not hard to see how open and un-defendable we really are; and don't think for a millisecond our enemies don't know this! We have telegraphed all this directly to the public airways. I am totally convinced all those ships the Israelies monitored had the WMD'S of Iraq on them and were distributed all over the Middle East into the Terrorists hands to do what Iraq was prevented from doing on its own! The WMD'S are scattered to the four winds by now and our avowed enemies are simply toying with us picking and choosing when and where to strike next. If the opportunity presents itself they will do everything in their power to hit us again. As I just said the senarios are just too numerous to discount and they are Toying around deriving sick pleasure watching us twisting in the wind!

33 posted on 02/01/2004 5:07:31 PM PST by winker
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To: Sabertooth
There is no clock running anywhere, the countdown is basically implying that something big will happen in the U.S. before the end of February 3rd. FWIW, here are the posts I have made regarding the "End US" countdown timer.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1013726/posts?page=9740#9740
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1013726/posts?page=9758#9758
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1013726/posts?page=9761#9761
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1013726/posts?page=9797#9797
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1013726/posts?page=9798#9798
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1013726/posts?page=9871#9871
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1013726/posts?page=14559#14559
34 posted on 02/01/2004 5:10:35 PM PST by LayoutGuru2 (Hi Daleel, EOM and Andreas Whackered)
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To: winker
creating chaos & death beyond imagination

Anthrax is very nasty stuff, but it isn't magical. You need a few spores to kill someone, and 99% of spores will never get inhaled unless you spray them up each individual victim's nose. The few grams of anthrax someone could disperse in clothing would be very nasty in terms of decontaminating all the places that person passed through, but it would not be a devastating attack.

35 posted on 02/01/2004 8:10:44 PM PST by eno_ (Freedom Lite - it's almost worth defending)
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To: FairOpinion
During sars and bird-flu season, the inside of
a plane should be considered a biohazard.
The cabin attendants really need respirators.
36 posted on 02/01/2004 8:12:16 PM PST by greasepaint
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To: FairOpinion
, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-West Virginia,

After watching this gentleman on FOX today, I am convinced he has no higher-level brain functions at his disposal ...

37 posted on 02/01/2004 8:15:59 PM PST by _Jim ( <--- Ann speaks on gutless Liberals (RealAudio files))
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To: FairOpinion
But the terror threat has been exaggerated by the Bush Administration - John Kerry said so! /sarcasm off.
38 posted on 02/01/2004 8:16:04 PM PST by Rummyfan
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To: eno_
You need a few spores to kill someone,

Actually, no.

The average person *can* ingest some thousand or so spores and easily survive; it HIGHER NUMBERS of the spores that work together to overwhelm the body in its defense response ...

39 posted on 02/01/2004 8:18:19 PM PST by _Jim ( <--- Ann speaks on gutless Liberals (RealAudio files))
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To: FairOpinion
Rockefeller: "I don't think so, and that's partly the problem of not checking cargo, and it's partly the problem of biological weapons, which nobody has figured out really what to do about yet,"

SPOKEN like a true BIG-GOVERNMENT, no ideas kinda man, a brain-draining idiot. I could NOT watch this man this morning on FOX; I could feel my IQ leaking out my ears after a couple of minutes. I used to get the same feeling watching Clinton lackies who were spinning the truth to suit their own twisted 'must cover-up the truth at all costs' ends ...

40 posted on 02/01/2004 8:29:07 PM PST by _Jim ( <--- Ann speaks on gutless Liberals (RealAudio files))
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