The original calendar appeared in the Netherlands and was reported in the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. For those who can't read Dutch, it was also reported at Newsmax.com.
Posted on 11/06/2001 5:59:22 AM PST by Missy35
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=226665&thesection=news&thesubsection=world Intercepts revealed plan for great devastation
05.11.2001 By DAVID USBORNE
A series of intercepted telephone conversations between suspected members of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network prompted President George W. Bush's decision to order a general terror alert for the United States last week.
The calls indicated an attack against America that would be more devastating than the September 11 atrocities.
While the intelligence from the telephone calls was chilling, officials wrangled for hours over whether the public should hear about it.
A general warning issued by Attorney-General John Ashcroft on October 11 drew sharp criticism from some Congressmen who complained that the warning then was too vague to be of much use to the authorities but sufficiently ominous to unsettle already nervous Americans.
But Mr Bush decided the latest alert had to be put out.
Transcripts of the intercepts have not been made available but officials said they were especially frightening.
The FBI was opposed to issuing a country-wide alert while nothing more specific could be made available.
The agency feared that law enforcement authorities around the country would be irritated by a warning that had no substance.
Last week, the Governor of California, Gray Davis, made public a confidential warning that had been conveyed to him and to seven other western states by the FBI.
The warning said terrorists might be planning attacks on suspension bridges on the west coast.
The governor's announcement triggered charges that he was overreacting and sowing panic unnecessarily among Californians.
But there is speculation that nothing happened after the alert on October 11 because whatever had been allegedly planned by al Qaeda was either postponed or cancelled after some of its operatives were caught in the international anti-terror operation and arrested.
While most cities across America were already on very high alert, the alert last week may have galvanised officials once more to be on their toes.
No-flight zones were established around all of America's nuclear power plants and the Sears Tower in Chicago, now the country's tallest skyscraper.
Smallpox would be indiscriminate as to borders, religions, race, everything. A massive outbreak would quickly become a global problem.
So I'm wondering how it would serve terrorist ambitions to unleash smallpox on the U.S., when we have (or soon will have) vaccines for everyone. Third world countries - which also harbor the most fanatic of Muslim populations - would be the most devastatingly affected by smallpox, or any other communicable disease.
The Islamic terrorist nutcases would soon be recognized by the world (not to mention their own religion) as the most evil people in human history. And most of their destruction would boomerang right back to their own followers and families.
On the flip side, I guess if there is an outbreak somewhere and we're immune to it, we'll probably get blamed for causing it. We can live with that.
Can we relax yet?
Haven't some of these operatives been released? Then the answer to your question would be "NO!"
The original calendar appeared in the Netherlands and was reported in the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. For those who can't read Dutch, it was also reported at Newsmax.com.
Okay, no problem. A sky-camouflaged balloon can't possibly be an effective weapon. There. Feel better? :-)
Welcome back, Sal. Long time, no see.
The greatest fear is always of the unknown, and unless we get some major intelligence breakthrough, the intent of the terrorists will continue to remain unknown. We're just going to have to learn to live with uncertainty for the foreseeable future. Sorta like the early settlers on the early frontier 200 years ago - plow the land with a musket strapped to your back.
I don't believe for one minute that WTC was the last shot to be taken at us in this mess. I expect there to be more. I stay alert, I notice anyone in my area who is new and unknown, and I pay attention to what's happening around me. 'Course, that's nothing new for me, but we can all learn to live like that. It becomes second nature, after which life on the surface returns to almost normal.
Even so, the world changed on 9/11, and we can't turn back the clock. We can only go forward.
So, what the hey - let's go! :-)
Good to hear from you again.
That calendar was one of the things we need to notice IMO, and that's why I keep thinking of those balloons. I'm trying to be practical, not hysterical. I guess what I'm hoping for is that security guards remember to look up once in a while in the day time and maybe run sweeping search lights into the airspace around sensitive targets at night. Some businesses do that just to attract customers, so it can't cost too much.
To find all articles tagged or indexed using
Anthrax_Scare_List
Go here:
Does anyone know if this story was reported anywhere else? I'd have thought that something this sensational would have been picked up by many journalists, but no...
Also, is there any place online with enlargements of these photos? I'm familiar with the September illustration, but not with the two others. Can someone tell me what these other two illustrations contain, as I can't make out anything on them.
Thanks.
As it seems you have a fan club, I was curious and had to check out your profile.
Anyone with a hopeful outlook and a C.S. Lewis link is okay with me!
DOE
Here is a link to a FR posting of the NewsMax article that Alouette linked for us and it includes Freeper responses. See reply #17: the October picture there is a little bigger and you can see the details better. It shows a battle with a bright explosion, two towers (cooling towers?), helicopters, and 3 hot air balloons. Two more pictures for later months are on reply #51.
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.