"After the first two jets were hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center, FAA managers had directed all planes out of New York airspace. Next they had stopped takeoffs nationwide. Minutes after a third jet hit the Pentagon, they had ordered controllers nationwide to undertake the most massive effort in aviation history: clearing the skies.
"Now they face an unprecedented challenge. They must land as fast as
possible almost 4,500 planes in or headed toward U.S. airspace. Their goal
is to bring 350,000 passengers and crew safely to the ground.
- from part 2 of a report called Clearing
the Skies.
"A briefing given last month to a top Pentagon
advisory board described Saudi Arabia as an enemy of the United States, and
recommended that U.S. officials give it an ultimatum to stop backing terrorism or face
seizure of its oil fields and its financial assets invested in the United States. (continued
in left column, below)
"The Saudis are active at every level of the
terror chain, from planners to financiers, from cadre to foot-soldier, from ideologist to
cheerleader," stated the explosive briefing. It was presented on July 10 to the Defense
Policy Board, a group of prominent intellectuals and former senior officials that
advises the Pentagon on defense policy." -from Briefing Depicted Saudis as Enemies:
Ultimatum Urged To Pentagon Board)
Seems
like a thinly veiled effort to get the Saudis to let us
use airbases there to invade Iraq, which they refused to
do. Meanwhile, more Muslims feel threatened and alienated.
“The US military action may well achieve a number of its immediate goals. However, only when the deepest fears of each side are both understood and addressed, and the narratives of all parties become more complex and nuanced, will events such as September 11 become less likely.”
"Mr Cummings stressed that terror groups did not yet have the capability to mount such attacks. Much more likely and more common would be further attacks on individual websites using a virus or worm or through hacking.
"But he said that while the threat of an attack that would knock out a critical public service or power source was lower than
attacks on websites, it was increasing.
""Terrorists are aware of the potential," he said. "Al-Qaida would be interested in developing the capability." If it recruited someone who worked inside an organisation such as a water or power company, "it could happen tomorrow," he said.
