Free Republic

In the summer of 2003, an Air Force pilot named Greg Harbin was doing desk duty at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Day in and day out, Harbin sat in front of five computer screens, scanning photographs and video sent by unmanned planes flying 1,200 miles away, over Iraq and Afghanistan. His job was to take that information, along with reports from ground troops, and identify fresh targets -- Taliban fighters or Iraqi insurgents. But one thing puzzled him. When regular units called for an attack by a Predator drone, the request went to Harbin, and then, if...

New Orleans, LA (AHN) - The last four of eight bottlenose dolphins swept out of an aquarium tank by Katrina have been rescued, according to NOAA officials. Scientists on the scene had not seen the remaining dolphins for a few days and were worried. Captive animals cannot survive long in the wild, as they do not seek out food and may not possess the survival skills necessary to avoid predators or boat traffic. All eight dolphins are currently undergoing evaluation. NOAA Fisheries Service lead veterinarian Teri Rowles says the rescue team is optimistic the dolphins will recover. The bottlenose dolphins...

JACKSON, Miss. - Two anemic dolphins that were swept from their aquarium tanks into the Gulf of Mexico by Hurricane Katrina were retrieved Thursday, but six others remained at sea. The two retrieved dolphins were captured after scientists in a boat coaxed the trained animals into sliding onto mats. The dolphins had cuts and appeared to be the worst injured of the eight, Jeff Foster, a marine specialist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They were immediately moved to a hotel swimming pool. Trainers and scientists hope to catch more of the dolphins on Saturday, but said that may...