Posted on 10/02/2005 4:51:39 PM PDT by WestTexasWend
It may be the oddest tale to emerge from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists and pinpoint spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of Mexico.
Experts who have studied the US navy's cetacean training exercises claim the 36 mammals could be carrying "toxic dart" guns. Divers and surfers risk attack, they claim, from a species considered to be among the planet's smartest. The US navy admits it has been training dolphins for military purposes, but has refused to confirm that any are missing.
Dolphins have been trained in attack-and-kill missions since the Cold War. The US Atlantic bottlenose dolphins have apparently been taught to shoot terrorists attacking military vessels. Their coastal compound was breached during the storm, sweeping them out to sea. But those who have studied the controversial use of dolphins in the US defence programme claim it is vital they are caught quickly.
Leo Sheridan, 72, a respected accident investigator who has worked for government and industry, said he had received intelligence from sources close to the US government's marine fisheries service confirming dolphins had escaped.
"My concern is that they have learnt to shoot at divers in wetsuits who have simulated terrorists in exercises. If divers or windsurfers are mistaken for a spy or suicide bomber and if equipped with special harnesses carrying toxic darts, they could fire," he said. "The darts are designed to put the target to sleep so they can be interrogated later, but what happens if the victim is not found for hours?"
Usually dolphins were controlled via signals transmitted through a neck harness. "The question is, were these dolphins made secure before Katrina struck?" said Sheridan.
The mystery surfaced when a separate group of dolphins was washed from a commercial oceanarium on the Mississippi coast during Katrina.
It took 2 1/2 weeks for the ChiComs to pick this story up??
Laser beams on their frickin' foreheads?
Something for China to worry about.
Personally Ive said the story is unlikely all along. I just don't believe the military would leave the dolphins wearing the armed harnesses while they wern't training let alone with a hurricane bearing down on them.
For that matter would the military even use armed dolphins in training.
I'm surprised too, cause they love these kind of stories. I wonder what the chinese-language version of this story says. I can hear the guy-on-the-street now: "those warmongering Americans! - forcing peaceful dolphins to become killers!"
No wonder the casinos in Biloxi are going to be on land now instead of floating out on the water.
[/demoturdicunderground]
Jus' ask Dan Rather, he knows and has a memo or two to prove it.
This story will go over well in Europe. Anti-war and an environmentalist angle- wow, this is a shoe in hit story for some peacenik German. Never mind the validity!
Red6
Navy’s Mk 6 dolphins - Members of the Shallow Water Intruder Detection System operated by Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Mobile Unit 3
Mark Six swimmer defense dolphins are deployed to the Arabian Gulf to provide operational force protection capabilities for Navy ships, piers and other high-value assets as part of the global war on terrorism. The dolphins are trained to detect, locate and mark threat swimmers and divers attempting to commit terrorist attacks.
Some finned brothers have gone AWOL
Bump! LOL!
I'm sure he has his cracked team of forgers, er, REPORTERS on it .
That's what I was thinking. I even heard this discussed on FoxNews a few days ago (morning show).
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