U.S. Seeks Paris-L.A. Plane Passengers

Associated Press ^ | 12/26/03 | LARRY MARGASAK

[TexKat]

WASHINGTON - U.S. investigators are searching for a small number of people who failed to show up at the Paris airport to board flights to Los Angeles that fell under close scrutiny in a possible terrorist plot, a U.S. official said Friday.

One of those people was receiving pilot training, but was not yet certified, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Investigators remain interested in talking with those people to ease concerns some passengers aboard those flights might have intended to use them to launch terror attacks against the United States, the official said.

Discussions between U.S. and French officials led to the cancellation of six Air France flights between Paris and Los Angeles on Wednesday and Thursday. U.S. officials also were talking to officials in other countries.

After the Air France cancellations, French investigators questioned seven men pointed out by U.S. intelligence but found no evidence they planned to use a Los Angeles-bound jet to launch terror attacks against the United States, French authorities said.

Meanwhile, U.S. counterterrorism officials were turning to possible threats next week that might target large, public gatherings, such as New Year's Eve celebrations. One U.S. official said there was no specific information such an attack was likely, but said such gatherings would obviously be an attractive target for terrorists hoping to inflict large-scale casualties.

Already, Homeland Security officials have enhanced their ability to monitor the air for biological warfare agents in 30 cities, one of several ways the government is preparing for possible terrorist strikes during a high, Code Orange alert.

The alert also has activated special disaster response teams, while federal officials have been conferring with foreign governments to prevent terrorists from boarding international flights bound for the United States.

"People have their antennas up," said Brian Roehrkasse, a spokesman for the Homeland Security Department.

President Bush kept abreast of terrorism threats from the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland as he celebrated Christmas Day with his family.

The department previously modified air pollution monitoring equipment in the 30 cities to pick up any harmful biological agents and provide test results in 12 to 24 hours.

After the national threat alert was raised to orange on Sunday, officials took several dozen additional monitors and installed them in the same cities. The locations were not identified for security reasons.

The emergency response units that have been activated are divided up by areas of expertise.

Separate teams would:

_Provide expert advice and support to the on-scene commander if there was a threat or an incident involving weapons of mass destruction.

_Respond to any release of radiation with advice and air monitoring equipment.

_Provide medical personnel to assist state and local medical authorities.

___

On the Net:

Homeland Security Department: http://www.dhs.gov

[diamondjoe]

As with so many things, we may never know whether or not DHS actually foiled a plot, or if they simply over-reacted. The true story won't be known for 50 years or so, when we'll start hearing about all the scary plots that were thwarted back in the early part of this century.

[Dog]

They are really worried...

[Wright is right!]

Missing in this and all other stories about the flight cancellations is information about WHEN the flights were cancelled vis a vis their scheduled departure times. Also missing from these stories is any mention of when the cancellation info was broadcast by the media. It would be helpful to know, for instance, if the media was informed of the cancellations and the information broadcast sufficiently in advance of the flights' departures for people to know not to go to the airport. We haven't been told of that.

Michael

[rageaholic]

French investigators questioned seven men pointed out by U.S. intelligence but found no evidence they planned to use a Los Angeles-bound jet to launch terror attacks against the United States, French authorities said.

French authorities questioned and released Richard Ried too.

[FairOpinion]

Instead of having a sting operation, the French tipped off some of the terrorists, and allowed the rest of them to go free.

Remember Richard Reid. The French detained him, then released him, so he can board and try to blow up the next flight.

Same with these terrorists.

I think the US government is also seriously concerned with WMD.

On CNN they mentioned yesterday, that they have the NEST (Nuclear Emergency Survey Team) at LAX -- but couldn't see it anywhere in any article on the web.

But there are articles about monitoring the air for biological agents, in major cities.

And I just read a somewhat discouraging news, that it takes 12-24 hrs to find out the result, if they actually find something.

You don't think they would be doing this, unless they did have credible information regarding chem, bio and nuclear threat.


From the article:

"The department previously modified air pollution monitoring equipment in the 30 cities to pick up any harmful biological agents and provide test results in 12 to 24 hours.

After the national threat alert was raised to orange on Sunday, officials took several dozen additional monitors and installed them in the same cities. The locations were not identified for security reasons.

The emergency response units that have been activated are divided up by areas of expertise."

[carlo3b]

I have an entirely different take on this situation. I am glad the FROGS released these suspicious people. This way we can do our own research and grab them if necessary (you know we have them under surveillance) and whisk them off to a safe harbor to question them.

If the French actually caught a terrorist that threaten to do harm to the US, they would have awarded them the Legion of Merit Medal, and tried them for "Bad Thoughts" and found not guilty, apologized and placed them on a fully paid leave.. with a ticket anywhere they wished. We would have been prevented from re trying them by the World Court because of some double Jeopardy provision in the Belgium laws..until the year 2304.. :)

[Diogenesis]

========= IRAQI WEAPONS from France USED Against US and Coalition Heroes ========

French missiles were found by the Poles, and to protect France, blown up.

The pompous froggies said they did not say "2003". Decide for yourself.

[MediaMole]

But there are articles about monitoring the air for biological agents, in major cities.

I would check the health of the people who failed to show up. Long aircraft trips are great for spreading disease.

[Teri0811]

"You don't think they would be doing this, unless they did have credible information regarding chem, bio and nuclear threat."

Supposedly, there is credible information regarding an attack of this type. According to the Northeast Intelligence Network page of the NHS website:

"Specific intelligence obtained by this network determined the following:

1. There are four or five "teams" of terrorists, consisting of four or five members per group who already have, or about to acquire the same number of air cargo planes for use as missiles against US targets as they did with passenger aircraft on 9/11. Although it was reported by DHS that the aircraft are believed to be originating outside of the US, our information suggests that some or perhaps all are already within the continental United States, although their locations have not been confirmed.

2. Some or all of the terrorist groups are believed to possess some form of weapons of mass destruction, exacerbating the impact (or perhaps releasing the cargo in flight and prior to impact, depending on the nature of the WMD).

3. The targets include government facilities in Washington, possible strategic military sites in the US, nuclear power plants, and other sites that would create the greatest devastation and loss of life.

4. In conjunction or in addition to the above, evidence indicates the possession of a nuclear device, devices, material or materials already inside the continental US."

With regard to this information, I had also read that concerns included: (1) For NYC: weapons grade anthrax being distributed via remote control planes and from buildings; (2) For Washington D.C.: the possession of a nuclear device in the form of a suitcase nuke; and (3) that a major cable network would be tipped off of any event planned to occur in Las Vegas.

Unfornately, I don't remember where I had read this information. Therefore, the information I read could be quite wrong. However, the only 2 websites I had been reviewing were the Northeast Intelligence Network page of the NHS website and the website of Steven Quale, which can be linked via the NHS website, possibly the Northeast Intelligence Network page.

[Dog]

On CNN they mentioned yesterday, that they have the NEST (Nuclear Emergency Survey Team) at LAX -- but couldn't see it anywhere in any article on the web.

I heard that also...

[mrs tiggywinkle]

bookmarking...

[Publius6961]

French investigators questioned seven men pointed out by U.S. intelligence but found no evidence they planned to use a Los Angeles-bound jet to ...

One can't help wondering what the French would consider "evidence". What possible evidence can there be if the aircraft itself is meant to be the instrument of destruction?

[Azzurri]

Missing in this and all other stories about the flight cancellations is information about WHEN the flights were cancelled vis a vis their scheduled departure times. Also missing from these stories is any mention of when the cancellation info was broadcast by the media. It would be helpful to know, for instance, if the media was informed of the cancellations and the information broadcast sufficiently in advance of the flights' departures for people to know not to go to the airport. We haven't been told of that.

I agree with you, the reporting on this story has been woefully inadequate. I don't know if it's due to the holidays and perhaps a skeleton staff of competent editors or what, but there is just so much information missing that could've easily been discovered had these reporters had any ability.

[Smogger]

There was something going on in downtown last night prior to the Lakers Houston game. Police had everyting north of 12th street blocked off and there were ambulances and firetrucks, a circling police helicopter and lots of smoke. The parking lot attendant reported seeing an flash of light that looked like an explosion coming from downtown. There was a news chopper (KCAL Channel 9), but when I called my brother he told me there was nothing on the news. Lo and behold today there was no coverage of what was obviously a major event in the local news today.

[Teri0811]

"I have an entirely different take on this situation. I am glad the FROGS released these suspicious people. This way we can do our own research and grab them if necessary (you know we have them under surveillance) and whisk them off to a safe harbor to question them."

That'd be nice; however, Fox News reported at sometime between 10AM-11:30AM that at least 3 of the individuals scheduled to be on AF060 (I think I mistakenly stated that it was flight 068 in another post)are now missing and cannot be located. This either includes or is in addition to a pilot that was said to have been on the flight but was not scheduled to be flying nor scheduled to be a passenger. This story, however, has NOT been repeated, which leads me to wonder if it hasn't been killed for some reason or another.

[Yaelle]

(3) that a major cable network would be tipped off of any event planned to occur in Las Vegas.

This is important for all those who say that a Terrorist Would Never Give Heads Up, because 9/11 was a surprise. As we all know, a picture is worth a thousand bloviating words. It was the shocking images of the towers that will remain with those who were alive on 9/11 for the rest of our lives. The terrorists now WILL BE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE their attacks in time to get the news crews there for the photos.

[Yaelle]

This either includes or is in addition to a pilot that was said to have been on the flight but was not scheduled to be flying nor scheduled to be a passenger.

I heard this on Fox too. Does it make sense? Why would we pester the French about a supposed Tunisian pilot when he was not even listed as being on the flight? Or was he, under an assumed name? Perhaps he was tipped off and thus they never got a look at the phony passport he may have been using.

[Peach]

FNC just had a French reporter on who said the French goverment is alluding to the fact that President Bush made this up in an election year to garner international support for the war on terrorism!

[carlo3b]

I trust that we are watching these perps 24/7, all of them, and may be putting out a cover story to set them up again.. I TRUST BUSH AND ASHCROFT are on top of this baby. I am not going to believe nothing, or no one else, including FOX in this case.

[EggsAckley]

Also missing from this and other stories is whether country of origin is a factor in them searching for THIS guy.

One of those people was receiving pilot training, but was not yet certified,

Could this guy be perhaps of Arab descent....??

[Dog]

You are kidding?

[Dog]

The one who was the pilot...was Tunisian.

[Peach]

Nope. It was sometime in the 12:30-1:00 hour; husband heard it too and we were both quite angry.

[FairOpinion]

Keep posting this stuff until everyone gets it!

[FairOpinion]

It is helpful to give the link, where you are posting info from.

I am familiar with the Northeast Network and Steven Quayle sites, but not everyone is.

So for those, who are wondering where your info from your post #10 comes from, here are the links to the above two sites:

http://www.stevequayle.com/


http://www.homelandsecurityus.com/ (This is the Northeast Intel Network site, it's NOT, repeat NOT associated with the official homeland defense dept -- note it's .com, NOT .gov)

[TexKat]

wright is right, this morning before I left home for work Fox News was reporting that the US had been in talks with the French for some time regarding the threat. On Wednesday 12/24/03 the US was dissatisfied with something and informed France that the Air France planes could not land here.

Perhaps some of these links can help you.

U.S., fearing terror attack, seeks global cooperation

Terror intelligence leads France to cancel six international flights

By Jonathan S. Landay

Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON - Air France on Wednesday canceled six flights between Paris and Los Angeles at the request of the French government acting on U.S. intelligence reports that al-Qaida might be planning to hijack aircraft for a Sept. 11-style suicide attack.

Three of the flights - two bound from Paris to Los Angeles and one in the opposite direction - were scheduled for Wednesday. Two more Los Angeles-bound flights and one to Paris were to have flown on Christmas Day.

The cancellations followed U.S. intelligence reports that followers of Osama bin Laden have been looking to circumvent security measures at foreign and U.S. airports and hijack airliners for suicide attacks on the United States during the Christmas holidays, according to U.S. officials. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of their information.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday restricted planes from flying over downtown Chicago because of Mayor Richard M. Daley's fear that terrorists might hit the massive Sears Tower, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said. The mayor's request, made Monday because of the government's heightened terror alert, was granted after consulting with the Department of Homeland Security, Brown said.

The FAA's notice to the aviation community called the Chicago restrictions "special security instructions" and banned all but emergency law enforcement, fire fighting and rescue flights from a patch of downtown stretching from the Lake Michigan shoreline to the Dan Ryan and Eisenhower expressways.

One senior U.S. official with knowledge of the administration's deliberations over air space safety said the White House considered closing all U.S. air space if the French government did not cancel the Air France flights. On Wednesday, FAA spokeswoman Brown said there was no plan to close U.S. air space.

The senior U.S. official, who requested anonymity, said that U.S. and French officials began talking about the flights shortly after the United States raised its terrorism alert level on Sunday. Of particular concern, said U.S. officials, have been airports in France and Mexico.

An official at the Department of Homeland Security, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that U.S. intelligence officials had hoped to keep the reasons for the cancellations quiet so that al-Qaida operatives planning hijackings might be lured into the open and arrested.

"The bottom line is that we had some operational issues that we were trying to carry out and were hopeful that this (capture of al-Qaida extremists) would take place instead of what has happened in the media," said the official.

The official said the United States had been discussing with other countries besides France the need to step up security in light of the al-Qaida hijacking threat.

"We are working with all of our international partners to make sure they are meeting the increased security measures," said the official. "We know that al-Qaida is still interested in using aircraft" for suicide attacks.

The Air France cancellations came on the fourth day of a high-level "Code Orange" alert for possible terrorist attacks issued by the Department of Homeland Security.

U.S. officials said intelligence developed by the CIA on an al-Qaida threat to Air France aircraft was passed to the French government by the U.S. Embassy in Paris.

A second senior U.S. official declined to give further details, except to say that the intelligence did not concern inadequate security at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.

"It's not the airport," he said.

On Dec. 22, 2001, Richard Reid, a British convert to Islam, evaded security measures at Charles de Gaulle, boarded an American Airlines flight for Miami and tried to ignite explosives hidden in his shoes.

He was overpowered by other passengers, arrested after the flight was diverted to Boston and later convicted in the abortive attack.

A statement issued Wednesday by the office of French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said the decision to ask Air France to cancel the flights was taken after consultations with the United States.

"This measure was taken at the request of Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin on the basis of information, currently being checked, which was gathered in the framework of Franco-American cooperation in the fight against terrorism and which was of a nature to threaten the safety of these flights," the statement said.

Natelie Loisseau, a spokeswoman for the French Embassy in Washington, said that there had been several days of consultations between U.S. and French law enforcement officials in Paris and Washington "at the operational level."

French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin telephoned U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Wednesday to inform him of the cancellations, she said. The intense consultations illustrated how closely U.S. and French officials continue to work on counterterrorism operations despite serious political differences over the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

Security at public places and critical facilities remained tight Wednesday across the nation, including at Los Angeles International Airport. Some 2.6 million travelers are expected to use the airport between Dec. 19 and Jan. 4.

Nineteen al-Qaida operatives hijacked four U.S. commercial airliners on Sept. 11, 2001, and flew two into the World Trade Center in New York and one into the Pentagon. The fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.

The bloodiest terrorist attack in U.S. history killed more than 3,000 people and prompted the Bush administration to open a global campaign against al-Qaida and other terrorist groups.

The latest high-level terrorism alert, however, illustrated the persisting potency of al-Qaida despite significant successes achieved by the U.S.-led campaign to crush the Islamic extremist group.

---

(Seth Borenstein and William Douglas contributed to this report.)

[TexKat]

FNC just had a French reporter on who said the French goverment is alluding to the fact that President Bush made this up in an election year to garner international support for the war on terrorism!

Speaking of French reporters, I ran across this a few minutes ago.

2 French Journalists Arrested in Pakistan

Michael Kitchen

Islamabad

24 Dec 2003, 12:38 UTC

Marc Epstein, left, Jean-Paul Guilloteau Pakistan has arrested two French journalists for allegedly violating their visa restrictions. A Pakistani journalist assisting them is also in custody on unspecified charges. Authorities arrested Marc Epstein and Jean-Paul Guilloteau, reporters for the French magazine L'Express, for visiting the southern province of Balochistan earlier this month without permission.

The two men have been granted bail pending trial. Khawar Mehdi, a Pakistani journalist working with them, is still in custody but has yet to be formally charged.

Mr. Epstein and Mr. Guilloteau admit to being in Balochistan while working on a report about an alleged Taleban training camp in Pakistan.

The Taleban, former rulers of neighboring Afghanistan, are waging an insurgency against the current Afghan government.

Afghan officials say Taleban militants have set up bases on the Pakistani side of the border.

Vincent Brossel, head of Asia-Pacific affairs for the press advocacy group Reporters Without Borders, says the subject of the report may be the real reason the journalists were arrested.

"The Pakistani authorities are using the argument of the visa and authorization to arrest these people, because they don't want to see foreign journalists working with real investigative strategies in this part of the world," he said.

The case is complicated by reports suggesting the French reporters were victims of an elaborate hoax.

Pakistani state television has shown video footage said to have been found with the journalists when they were arrested.

The video shows what is said to be a Taleban training camp, including scenes of militants loading rifles and practicing martial arts.

But two men who appear on the video now say they are Pakistanis and were paid by Mr. Mehdi to pose as Afghan fighters.

Sayedullah Noor is one of the men on the tape. He spoke to Pakistani television reporters. Mr. Noor says he received 10,000 Pakistani rupees to pretend to be a Taleban guerrilla.

A mosque official from the northern city of Rawalpindi says Mr. Mehdi paid him to play the role of Taleban commander Mullah Malang.

Pakistan news reports say evidence suggesting the video was a fake prompted police to arrest Mr. Mehdi.

Pakistani reporter Fahimullah Yusufzai says he is not surprised by the allegations, adding that such hoaxes are common.

"This has happened in the past, it is happening right now," he said. "Foreign journalists, especially television, they desperately need some footage, they can't get it, so they fall prey."

He says that recently there were reports a Japanese television crew was sold a bogus video purportedly showing members from the al-Qaida terror network in Pakistan.

Mr. Brossel with Reporters Without Borders rejects the possibility of trickery. He says Mr. Epstein is an award-winning reporter who could not have been fooled.

"How [would] a journalist like Marc Epstein, who went to Pakistan dozens of times, not recognize that they are fake or true Taleban?" he asked.

But Mr. Yusufzai, who has spent decades covering Pakistan for both domestic and international news media, says he doubts the real Taleban would allow foreign journalists into their camps.

"Impossible," he said. "It can't really happen with foreign journalists. The Taleban have not reached a stage where they control a wide area, and where they can feel safe, and where they can take Western journalists."

He says unscrupulous Pakistani and Afghan con-men know they can make money from foreign journalists willing to pay to see Taleban and al-Qaida militants.

"People with covered faces, people shooting in the air," he explained. "Al-Qaida is a salable commodity, and people will believe everything about al-Qaida."

While Mr. Brossel admits such fraud does exist, he says he has received testimony vouching for Mr. Mehdi from former clients.

"I have letters from the leading newspapers in France and in Europe saying that they have been working with Khawar Mehdi and they know he is a professional journalist," said Mr. Brossel. But several Pakistani journalists working near the Afghan border say that because Mr. Mehdi does not speak Pashto, the language of the vast majority of Taleban members, he would be unlikely to gain access to Taleban camps.

Mr. Brossel, whose organization is campaigning for the release of all three men, says, however, that even if the allegations are true, it would not justify holding Mr. Mehdi without charges.

He says Mr. Mehdi should be allowed to defend his reputation in public

Same article posted as FR thread on 12/24/03 also. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1046262/posts

[Teri0811]

Thank you. I didn't realize that the Northeast Intel site was not associated with the Homeland Security site. Thank you also for providing the links, I just found the Free Republic site yesterday and haven't quite gotten the hang of posting or linking to sites yet.

[Peach]

Welcome to Free Republic. Warning: It's addictive...

[Peach]

TexKat: I hardly know what to say about that article you posted regarding the arrested French journalists. What's your take on it?

[blackie]

Do the frogs ever do anything right. :):)

Be Well ~ Be Armed ~ Be Safe ~ Molon Labe!

[Swanks]

The US should set up a straw-man situation in France with the intent of monitoring the French autorities' behavior.
Drop of few Al-Quada names to the French but with monitoring capabilities in place to catch the French bas**rds in the act of working with the enemy.

[FairOpinion]

"Northeast Intel site was not associated with the Homeland Security site."

===

Other people were making the same assumption, that's why I tried to forestall any confusion. Northeast Intel Network recently got themselves a new domain name: "homelandsecurityus.com", which is confusing, but they are NOT associated in any way with the US government.

BTW -- there is an ongoing thread, started on Nov. 3rd, which has a lot of info that people post, so if you are interested in keeping up and contributing additional info to a sort of a "reference thread", you can check out:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1013726/posts

Al Qaeda again threatens New York, Washington and Los Angeles
Debka ^ | 11-3-2003 | Staff

Posted on 11/03/2003 9:17:27 AM PST by tubavil

===

In general, if you find something interesting, it's helpful to post the site where you found it, so others can visit it as well.

BTW -- do you happen to remember where you saw the list of specific flights, which were canceled, which you posted earlier? I haven't seen the Tahiti Air flight from Auckland mentioned anywhere, except in your post.

[TexKat]

BTW -- do you happen to remember where you saw the list of specific flights, which were canceled, which you posted earlier? I haven't seen the Tahiti Air flight from Auckland mentioned anywhere, except in your post.

Air France Flights to LA Resume After Terror Scare

A second Air France flight to Papeete in Tahiti with a stopover in Los Angeles was due to leave Paris at 1:00 p.m. EST, and two return Air France flights from Los Angeles to Paris were also due to run as scheduled.

[usafsk]

Northeast Intelligence Network and Steve Quayle as sources? C'mon. This is a step down from Debka. These are fronts for people selling surplus military survival gear, MRE's, gas masks, and other such tripe. Get a grip on reality.

This is as bogus as the "suitcase nuke" scenario and the shootdown of Flight 93.

[usafsk]

It's not associated with DHS? Wow! It all looks so official. Look, you guys are getting all sweaty reading crap from one of the leading Y2K disaster hypsters who sells all kinds of survival gear through other websites that he links to. He's a crackpot - he's got a page on giants, on Yellowstone volcanoes, diseases, anything that will get you in a lather to buy a generator and move into Kazinski acres. Cowboy up, boys. Go on with your lives. Get out of the root cellar and into the world.

[usafsk]

You know, everyday our troops go through another day of danger and difficulty - really risking their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Feds and special operators cruise all over the Pak tribal areas undercover, looking for Bin Laden and company.

What are you doing? Reading drivel from a survivalist nutjob whose last big hit was that Y2K was going to bring us to our knees. He always has 5 or 6 "alerts" up that any numbskull could conjure up (Targets are NYC, DC, Las Vegas...oh, well who would have thought?). He takes them down as time goes by and nothing happens, so you only see the active ones. Note the current "Worldwide Power Outage" plan he has up. It will be gone soon, as it's both impossible and getting old.

Reading NEIN makes you weak, as does paying attention to Steve Quayle. Think about the women - not just the men - showing more balls than you right now by cruising the streets of the Sunni triangle daily, then remove your bookmarks and get on with your life.

[windchime]

Bump!

[expatpat]

The army has had near-real-time monitors for chemical agents for many years. I don't know where they stand on biological, though.

[Teri0811]

"Northeast Intelligence Network and Steve Quayle as sources? C'mon. This is a step down from Debka. These are fronts for people selling surplus military survival gear, MRE's, gas masks, and other such tripe. Get a grip on reality."

Yeah, apparently I didn't realize what I was looking at. FairOpinion let me know earlier that the sites I was looking at have nothing whatsoever to do with the government's national security website. My apologies, I tend to be oblivious to my surroundings and just skim through things. Not a good idea, I know.

[Teri0811]

"BTW -- do you happen to remember where you saw the list of specific flights, which were canceled, which you posted earlier? I haven't seen the Tahiti Air flight from Auckland mentioned anywhere, except in your post."

Fox New had reported that the Air France flights were cancelled and it just happened to be at the same time that I had found this site and saw that many had questions as to which flights and whether they were non-stop so I searched for went to Air France's website and then to their Flight Information page. At that time, it was announced by Fox that one of the flights was actually an Air Tahiti flight so again, I looked up Air Tahiti's website and went to its Flight Information page. That was about the time that it was announced that all flights were being cancelled and I just gave up on looking up the rest of the information. I originally thought that maybe the airlines would have an announcement of some sort on their sites considering the cause of the cancellations; however, there wasn't and I had to search the flight information pages for flights taking off from Paris to L.A.

Thanks again for the information regarding the Northeast Intel site. It didn't even dawn on me that I was looking at a .com rather than a .gov. Thanks also for the thread, which I have bookmarked. I have a tendency to just skim through these sites but freerepublic looks to be a site well worth reading.

[flying Elvis]

The warnings combined with the attempted assasination of Musharrif of Pakistan are straight out of the AQ playbook for a big operation. I believe we foiled a big one this time around. If this all turns out to be for real, then it was a significant strategic mistake by AQ to use the French to get to us, after all the frogs are their closest allies in Europe.

[Teri0811]

"Welcome to Free Republic. Warning: It's addictive..."

Too late :) one day and I'm addicted already. There's so much more and better information here than on most of the sites I had been looking at and reading through.

[radu]

Just when I think the french (lower-case "f" intentional) can do nothing to disgust me any more than I already am, they prove me wrong.

FNC just had a French reporter on who said the French goverment is alluding to the fact that President Bush made this up in an election year to garner international support for the war on terrorism!

OH PULEEEEEEZE!!!!! SHEEEESH!!

I honestly wish the flights hadn't been resumed from france. It doesn't matter that LAX and others have taken precautions and have the planes parking away from the terminals......if a plane is hijacked, it won't get that far. The flight will end wherever the intended target is.

I hope the people they're looking for who are supposed to be involved are caught....and KEPT....before they can board a flight.

[radu]

On CNN they mentioned yesterday, that they have the NEST (Nuclear Emergency Survey Team) at LAX -- but couldn't see it anywhere in any article on the web.

Same here. Got it on tape. I keep tapes in the VCR at all times and record reports pertaining to all kinds of events at home and abroad. Been doing this since 9/11 and tape #400 is almost full now.

And this thread will join the other zillions I've bookmarked. FR's a treasure trove of info. I don't know what I'll ever do with it all but I've got it. LOL!

[radu]

CNN reported that the french said they'd been told the Tunisian pilot wasn't planning to go anywhere over the holidays. BUT the report said his name was supposedly on the passenger list.
The big question was, if he wasn't planning to go anywhere, WHY was his name on the passenger list?

The info about this whole thing is so sketchy it's honestly difficult to know what's really happened.

[radu]

Welcome to FR!

I was addicted to FR immediately, too, but didn't get up the courage to post for several months. LOL!

The way FReepers work together to confirm or debunk news reports is amazing and this is the best place to find out what's really going on.

Happy FReeping!