Posted on 11/19/2001 4:20:08 AM PST by Eyes Now Opened
Edited on 04/22/2004 12:31:39 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
There was no moonlight in Afghanistan on Wednesday night. The new moon, marking the beginning of Ramadan, had yet to appear. Invisible under the stars, an unmanned American spy plane circled inaudibly over a stretch of dark landscape, transmitting grainy images back to the United States. Its night-vision camera was focused on a pinpoint of light in the distance, a three-story hotel building, where it detected a great deal of movement. Turbaned men talked agitatedly outside among parked pick-up trucks and military vehicles. Others moved in and out of the building. The drone's controllers, thousands of miles away in a bunker on the eastern seaboard of America, knew who they were. For two days since being roused from their beds in Kabul, these ragged figures had been fleeing south, trying to stay ahead of enemy forces and anxious to avoid satellites and surveillance planes. Moving furtively in small groups across the parched plains, they had spread out on side tracks and dirt roads, avoiding the main highway. Progress was slow. They were still less than 100 miles from the capital when they reached the end of the second day of flight. Many thousands of men had fled in the Taliban withdrawal from Kabul. But amid all the chaos of the retreat, this small convoy was given special attention. It was believed by American intelligence to consist of fighters from Usama bin Laden's Al Qaeda organization. Predator spy planes, capable of staying aloft for 24 hours on station, and JSTARS surveillance planes, equipped with radar that can monitor ground movements across a vast area, tracked them from the moment they left Kabul
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Now more than ever before, Americans must remain eternally vigilant in the defense of liberty.
Such technology helps make the world safe from terrorists such as Atef, Zawahiri, and bin Laden and their Al-Qa'eda network.
But what if men such as these had such technology themselves? People such as they are present in every population and always have been.
What if Hitler had had such technology? or Pol Pot? or Stalin?
Americans must be particularly vigilant toward threats from within the U.S.--internal threats to liberty.
Imagine such technology under the control of a powerful but evil American leader! a psychopathic American president, perhaps! a scoundrel of dazzling charisma! or a president who was a fool! or even one who was misguided!
Imagine Waco or Ruby Ridge under such circumstances.
Now more than ever, Americans must demand that their liberties be secured and must be very wary about trusting the federal government!
America has never before been in such danger--and the real threat is from within!
"Just let me kill one more terrorist sir ... please ... PLEASE ... awwwe what a jip."
LOL...ain't that the truth. I've got one of 'em I'd send to the cause. Best hand-eye coordination I've ever seen.
This article certainly raises the question of whether or not there may have been good reasons for the occasional delay.
Here's a REALLY scary thought: you can put together a lot of this sort of capability with stuff from Radio Shack and the local model & hobby shop.
Imagine terrorists, foreign or domestic, with this sort of gear.
That's also from necessity - there are practical limits for manned flight, namely the G-forces pilots can withstand. Future warplanes may easily exceed those forces...
What do you suppose was the last thing that went through his mind, like a 2 pound piece of shrapnel, maybe?
The recruiters will be asking, "What video games have you mastered, and how long have you been playing?" It's an incredible world...
Better than the last thing to go through Princess Diana's mind: the windshield :o)
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