Three mystery ships are tracked over suspected 'weapons' cargo

independent.co.uk ^ | 2/19/03

[Kay Soze]

Bump for reading later today.

[archy]

More likely Nigeria, Ethiopia, etc.

Flagging of convenience is sometimes known as a *PanLibHonCo* registry in the shipping trade, from the names of four of the more common nations in which such vessels are flagged.

-archy-/-

[archy]

If true, why in hell is this in the news?

Simple enough. If any or all of these three ships simply disappear, particularly if coincidental with the beginning of widescale US military operations in Iraq, that will serve as a message to those aboard other vessels with similar missions that the same fate can also befall them.

If that causes them to abandon their planned missions, swell. If it just makes them jumpy enough that they deviate from their preplanned routines and thereby identify themselves as having a possibly hostile intent, that will suffice.

Accordingly, the fate of those first three ships deserves to be publicised. We may hear far less about other later *shipping accidents.*

-archy-/-

[CyberAnt]

It wasn't funny ...

[Minutemen]

I wonder about Bin Laden's last message about himself waiting to go out in blazing glory this year "in the belly of the eagle".
Might just be what all these mystery ships are all about?

[null and void]

Further, just where are they going to get the merchant seamen to willingly lay down their lives for Ol' Saddam?

Same place thay got airline pilots...

[null and void]

Apparently not.

[Sacajaweau]

I don't believe Usama is alive either and believe the tapes ARE HIS VOICE, but a composite of many tapes he made.

Someone mentioned the Shuttle Accident and they are correct when they say he would have mentioned it, particularly since Iraq had mentioned it.

Guess Usama didn't anticipate that on his pre-recorded tapes. No doubt, he would have gloated over the death of Ramon.

[el_texicano]

Them two billion watt cruise missles will definitely take care of the radio silence matter. They won't be communicating with anybody. Everything will be fried.

[Travis McGee]

This might pass muster on Fleet Street, but we would tend to know a few things, such as, ships don't spend 3 months at sea steaming around. One month, maybe, then they need fuel. And you don't just drift around DITW to save fuel. Nope, doesn't add up.

If they want to hide a mobile cargo, it will be on large trucks in Iraq, possibly in Syria if they have a deal. The USN owns the oceans, and even Saddam and OBL know it.

[harpseal]

US Navy could keep ships on station months at a time but they have a whole infrastructure of oilers and supply ships that can do undersea replenishment. On top of that any cargo ships getting undersea replenishment would be very suspicous and would get a call from the USN and the USN outright owns all the oceans on this planet.

[Cindy]

re post no. 205: " I wonder about Bin Laden's last message about himself waiting to go out in blazing glory this year "in the belly of the eagle". Might just be what all these mystery ships are all about?"

I don't know if UBL's body is in the ships or not; but I sure do wonder what biological/nuclear/chemical weapons are on those ships -- if any at all. -Cindy

LINKS OF INTEREST:

IRAQ WATCH.org

GLOBAL SECURITY.org

SOFT WAR.net

IAEA.org - INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY: Press Releases

STATE DEPARTMENT: "CURRENT TRAVEL WARNINGS & PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS"

STATE DEPARTMENT: "SERVICES AND INFORMATION FOR AMERICAN CITIZENS ABROAD"

CDC: "TRAVELERS' HEALTH"

ICC COMMERCIAL CRIME SERVICES: "WEEKLY PIRACY REPORT"

NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION LIBRARY: "TRANSPORT SECURITY INFORMATION"

NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD

[Sacajaweau]

"Dream Dictionary": Eagle is a bird of light message made clear. Belly could be bad infection perhaps.

The Apples of the Hesperides. It's interesting, mentioning several countries and a bird (eagle?) "pecking at a liver" for 30 years.

We know for certain that Usama uses riddles for messages. I'm also thinking of the snipers little message.

[Godfollow]

I'll buy that...

[Cindy]

INDEPENDENT.co.uk: "ALARM OVER CARGO SHIP TRACKED BY INTELLIGENCE" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "n response to a report in The Independent yesterday, the Government will also be questioned over Britain's defence against illegal maritime trafficking in arms, people and drugs. Shipping industry sources said the three vessels set sail three months ago, spending much of their time in the Indian Ocean.

John Eldridge, the editor of Jane's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defence, said he was not surprised President Saddam might have decided to hide his illicit weapons at sea. He said: "It seems an extremely elegant scheme with a view to hiding these things until the heat is off."

Mr Eldridge said the Iraqi regime could easily have smuggled out the weapons in sealed containers through neighbouring countries. He said: "There's no way you could detect what they were without boarding the ship.

"Saddam never ceases to surprise the West with some of his off-the-wall actions."

Stuart Syrad, a maritime security consultant and former senior officer with the Special Boat Service, agreed the report was credible.") (February 20, 2003)
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/story.jsp?story=379893
###

SAAG.org - South Asia Analysis Group Paper No.608: "INDIA, IRAQ & US" by B. Raman (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "12. The US allegations of the Saddam Hussein Government's links with bin Laden and Al Qaeda remain unproved, but is it not a fact that Iraq has had contacts with the organisation of Carlos, the jackal, the Abu Nidal Organisation, the anti-Teheran Mujahideen-e-Khalq and the anti-Shia and anti-Teheran Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan and its militant wing the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LEJ)? The LEJ is a member of bin Laden's IIF and strongly supports his arguments on the right and duty of the Muslims to acquire WMD. Should India not be concerned over the dangers of the leakage of WMD from Iraq to anti-India terrorist elements through elements of the LEJ? Such a possibility may be  remote, but India's national security managers cannot ignore it.") (February 8, 2003)
http://www.saag.org/papers7/paper608.html
###

[69ConvertibleFirebird]

Sounds like a James Bond 007 movie plot. Maybe Tony Blair can Play Bond and Dubya can be his American buddy, Felix Leitner.

Who gets to be Pussy Galore, Hitlary? Or is that Miss Moneypenny? I always get these names mixed up.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Forming up a ping list here for War_List.

Anyone want on or off send me a Freep mail.
I can see the volume getting high.
I want on anyones bump list for articles going on the War_List

OFFICIAL BUMP(TOPIC)LIST

[Tatze]

Bump. Whats going on with these ships?? Havent heard anything since the original story.

[Minutemen]

bump

[logician2u]

Inquisitive minds bump.