TIME Exclusive: Cropduster Manual Discovered in Suspected Terrorist Hideout

Time.com ^ | September.22,2001 | MASSIMO CALABRESI AND SALLY DONNELLY

[Reagan Man]

Sources tell TIME that U.S. officials suspect that bin Laden conspirators may have been planning to disperse biological or chemical agents from cropdusting planes

Saturday, Sep. 22, 2001

New York -- U.S. law enforcement officials have found a manual on the operation of cropdusting equipment while searching suspected terrorist hideouts, government sources tell TIME magazine in an issue out on Monday, Sept. 24th.

The discovery has added to concerns among government counterterrorism experts that the bin Laden conspirators may have been planning — or may still be planning —to disperse biological or chemical agents from a cropdusting plane normally used for agricultural purposes.

Among the belongings of suspected terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui, sources tell TIME, were manuals showing how to operate cropdusting equipment that could be used to spray fast-killing toxins into the air.

The discovery resulted in the grounding of all cropdusters nationwide on Sunday Sept. 16th. The dusters have been allowed back up, but are not allowed to take off or land from what traffic controllers refer to as Class B airspace, or the skies around major cities.

One senior official cautions that because corroborative evidence is lacking the FBI does not place "high credibility" in the notion that the hijackers were in fact exploring the idea of stealing or renting cropdusters. However, the FBI is advising members of a crop-dusters' group to report any suspicious buys of dangerous chemicals in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks.

Last week, the National Agricultural Aviation Association, a crop dusters trade group, posted a message from the FBI to its membership: "Members should be vigilant to any suspicious activity relative to the use, training in or acquisition of dangerous chemicals or airborne application of same including threats, unusual purchases, suspicious behavior by employees or customers, and unusual contacts with the public. Members should report any suspicious circumstances or information to local FBI offices."

[Burkeman1]

From my understanding of such attacks- a crop duster would be useless to spread biological agents. First- crop dusters are low altitude and effect small areas of fields. Second- if released at a high altitude it would have minimal effect. The Japanese tried such attacks with ballons that burst over american air space and they had no impact. The Japanese did however suceed in dropping "bubonic" bombs over the chinese countryside that did kill up to a million people over 20 years- well after the war. The chemical threat is minimal. Biological is minimal as well since the delivery apparatus are most likely beyond the reach of terrorist groups. What we should fear are highly radioactive elements or compounds being dumped into our water supplies- that would be devastating. Or a suicide bomber walking into a city with a tactical nuke stolen from Russia and setting it off.

[Dog Gone]

Will you please shut up with your Nuke Everything and Kill Everyone suggestions?

[Ciexyz]

I for one am going to sleep soundly tonight, feeling secure that our government is finally getting its shit together to protect us. Otherwise Bush will be looking for private industry employment in four years time.

[Linda]

refer to reply 193. I DID IT!!!!!!!!

[Rockitz]

The 9/11 acts by themselves merit nuking. The subject act would merit "a fused silica parking lot" for the whole region.

[Anonymous2]

well, um, would china be a richer nation possessing north america or poorer? with 1/4 of the world's population and having to butcher babies to, in their mind, *control* population growth, china desperately wants to *be* america, in a fascist, communist totalitarian communist way. china hates us, they say so, i believe it, and chinese expansion is the number *1* concern of russia. why isn't it one of ours? china controlling a fractured america might sound far fetched to you now, but i'm sure the concept used on 9-11 was to you as well, on 9-10. a major strike of millions killed would give us about a week to solve our problems or we as a nation would be finished. the world is getting sharper and the end game is coming into focus, my friend.

[HiTech RedNeck]

warning nukes

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

Please see #193 or #205. It's simple.

[HiTech RedNeck]

They'd have a hard time POSSESSING it. What do you think, we'd surrender???

[Norman Conquest]

Huge numbers of Hong Kong Chinese bailed out over the decade before Britain withdrew, most making their way here. There are hundreds of millions of ethnic Chinese spread across the world outside China -- Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Taiwan -- who see more opportunity here. Freer markets and travel in the mainland give a few people means and opportunity to leave, and it doesn't take a huge fraction of a billion people to make a splash here.

[Anonymous2]

i don't know. but, what if their *homeland* was had a warning nuke go off in their desert, with the next one incinerating the nation and making it uninhabitable within 24 hours if all terrorists and holy warriors aren't rounded up and executed with a terrorist supporting nation?

[HiTech RedNeck]

They'd have a hard time POSSESSING it. What do you think, we'd surrender???

P.S. unlike these terrorists, with China we'd have a single well defined target to nuke to a crisp.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Too many terrorists washed up on Florida shores. Our Fla. community recently celebrated the work of the "Moquito Control District" w/ the largest number of mosquito sprayer planes anywhere in the nation.

[Neophyte]

To your #7: I can easily imagine covered jihadists among the American Muslim population... but it's white haters of the Western values, the Leftist fellow-travellers of the terrorists who're of much bigger concern. They live in the community, they're not under serious suspicion, and they're eager to destroy the society they hate.

[Rockitz]

I openly defy all the 'tolerance' preachers and social utopians to go and spend five minutes in Kabul!!

...or to enlighten us as to what they pesonally would choose- 1) burn to death or 2) jump from a 110 story building!

[Miss Marple]

Thank you. I forgot about Hong Kong.

However, the people in the two restaurants I visit proudly told me Beijing and Shanghai. I am still curious.

[poweqi]

Sorry ya'll,But kewl! Just one question off the subject; why, when I make a post, I can't get to the latter post that everyone makes?

[Anonymous2]

well, dog bone, if i were advocating nuking everything and killing everyone, i would. you need to move to the heart of a top 10 american urban city and report what bio/chem warfare feels like for us. the people harboring terrorists will lie, deny, obfuscate and deceive america until we're completely paralyzed. the next attack linked to back to the nation state should be warned in a way in which the whole world shi*s it's pants and starts executing the murdering terrorists slinking around their nations.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Watch for the RAPTURE (all of a sudden millions of Christians disappear, no trace). That's when the bad juju really gets unleashed, when the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way... it does look like God has kept America from more trouble than it easily could have seen, even years and years ago.