Free Republic

<p>The nation's terror alert level was raised to orange in the weeks leading up to the holiday season because of threats that Al Qaeda (search) was possibly looking to use explosives on Air France flights, Fox News has confirmed.</p> <p>For the first time since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, a U.S. intelligence source was able to give officials such specific information about how Usama bin Laden's (search) terror group may be planning imminent attacks in the United States using commercial airliners, U.S. officials confirmed to Fox News. The source provided strategic and tactical details of how the terror network wanted to carry out terror attacks on American political and economic targets.</p>

What the heck is going on in Tappahannock? First this story from the 1 January 2004 Richmond Times-Dispatch: A more limited terror storyEastern Virginia town is not seen as a target, but a person in the area is under scrutiny BY MICHAEL MARTZ TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jan 1, 2004 The FBI is investigating a person in the Tappahannock area for possible ties to terrorist organizations, but the eastern Virginia town is not considered a target for a terrorist attack, sources said yesterday. The person under investigation is considered a possible source of financing and other assistance for terrorist groups, according...

A New Year's Eve incident at Tappahannock Municipal Airport had townspeople talking yesterday, but there was little anxiety about reports linking the village of 2,000 to al-Qaida terrorism. According to the FBI, an illegal alien tried to enter the airport late Tuesday afternoon, then fled. And the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported yesterday that unnamed sources said a Tappahannock resident has been under investigation for some time on suspicion of financing or assisting al-Qaida. Airport Manager John McDonald said the Virginia State Police pursued a car that tried to enter the airport grounds, then sped off at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. State...

<p>The FBI is investigating a person in the Tappahannock area for possible ties to terrorist organizations, but the eastern Virginia town is not considered a target for a terrorist attack, sources said yesterday.</p> <p>The person under investigation is considered a possible source of financing and other assistance for terrorist groups, according to the sources, who did not want to be identified. They did not identify the person by name or nationality.</p>

HOMELAND INSECURITYReport: Bin Laden behind terror threatIntelligence indicates Osama, al-Zawahiri approved plans to hijack foreign airliners <![if !supportLineBreakNewLine]> <![endif]> Posted: December 23, 2003 9:15 p.m. Eastern © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and his chief deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, approved the terror plans that led U.S. officials to raise the threat level and heighten security through the holidays, intelligence officials told NBC News.   According to the report, U.S. intelligence has gathered details about the attack plans, which they say include al-Qaida operatives hijacking foreign airliners and flying them into targets in the U.S. The information even includes some specific...

Officials in Rappahannock County and the town of Tappahannock were put on alert over the weekend that something sounding like the names of their Virginia communities was heard among the chatter that triggered the nation's move to a higher alert for terrorism. Both are small, rural communities far from Washington. Rappahannock is in the western part of the state just past Fauquier County. Tappahannock is a town on the state's east side, about halfway between the nation's capital and Tidewater on Route 17. Rappahannock County Administrator John McCarthy said someone from the Virginia State Police called the county's sheriff Sunday...