Posted on 04/07/2005 8:53:42 PM PDT by FairOpinion
THE Pope’s funeral today will see one of the biggest ever anti-terrorist operations.
Fighter jets will be on alert and there will be a 35-square-mile air exclusion zone over Rome.
PM Tony Blair, US President George W. Bush and Russia’s Vladimir Putin will join leaders from more than 100 countries at the service — and the Italian government is taking no chances.
Nato agreed to Italy’s request for an AWACS early-warning spy plane to SCOUR the skies. Batteries of Spada and Hawk anti-aircraft missiles will be TRAINED on the heavens in case of an air attack on the Vatican.
Four MB339CD interceptors will be ready to SCRAMBLE — as will four AMX fighters and four F16 warplanes.
A navy warship armed with torpedoes was last night CRUISING off Italy’s coast. Air force helicopters will also be on patrol.
On the ground up to 10,000 police and troops will keep watch on crowds — with snipers on rooftops and bomb disposal experts on standby. A ban on traffic was scheduled to start at midnight.
Officials admit the “unprecedented” gathering of VIPs — including Prince Charles — could be irresistible for terrorists.
Many of the world leaders’ bodyguards will be carrying weapons around St Peter’s — a practice the Vatican frowns on but puts up with.
Rome’s police chief Marcello Fulvi said: “An exceptional presence of heads of state obliges us to provide the highest security levels.”
Fears were growing that al-Qaeda fanatics might try to mingle with the three million mourners in Rome.
Security experts were amazed that people queueing to see the body of 84-year-old Pope John Paul II lying in state were not searched.
City officials in Rome were planning to keep St Peter’s Basilica open later “to give Polish pilgrims time to pay their respects”.
About a million people attended a night-time mass for John Paul II in KRAKOW, Poland, where he was Bishop before becoming Pope.
In LONDON up to 10,000 people took part in a candlelit procession of remembrance organised by a Polish radio station.
So many heads of state are assembled all in one place...
The Muslim terrorists are mad dogs, but even they can't be that mad.
Putin's not attending, as far as I can find.
Good info ping
I hope you're right.
Remember, they don't care if they die in the process.
We can discover 99 out of 100 and it's not enough. For them, if 1 out of a 100 succeeds, they succeeded.
As I said, I hope they have the place locked down tight, but how do they make sure some terrorist doesn't get mixed in with the crowd.
I think we should all pray extra hard for President Bush for the next 24 hrs.
ping
It won't be just them that die in the process. Europe, for one, is already very uneasy with their Muslim population, and such a terrorist attack might well start huge crack-downs and deportations on the resident Muslims. Not to mention the reaction from the rest of the non-Muslim world vis-a-vis their immigrant Muslims. There's too much to lose for them to pull any such attack.
It is, of course, a good thing to always pray for President Bush.
They WANT a jihad. God is on their side. They can't lose!
With so many global leaders in attendance security needs to be at its very best.
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No sweat... Cardinal Law is on the job !!! ;-))
We will see tomorrow, but I'll bet Muslim self-interest in their growing European demographic take-over will preclude any terrorist attack during the Pope's funeral. Not to mention further pissing off America.
I hope al-Qa'ida's crackpots are not aware of that fact :)
We remember the last time he was 'on the job' (sleeping).
We'll see in a few hours.
We remember the last time he was 'on the job' (sleeping).
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We remember the last time he was 'on the job' (sleeping with little boys) !!! ;-))
Everyone is worried about terrorists but the President of Iran and Syria are sitting a few feet from Bush.We all Know these people dont die they send other suckers to die for them.
Everyone there is perfectly safe
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