TIME Exclusive: Cropduster Manual Discovered in Suspected Terrorist Hideout

Time.com ^ | September.22,2001 | MASSIMO CALABRESI AND SALLY DONNELLY

[Reagan Man]

Sources tell TIME that U.S. officials suspect that bin Laden conspirators may have been planning to disperse biological or chemical agents from cropdusting planes

Saturday, Sep. 22, 2001

New York -- U.S. law enforcement officials have found a manual on the operation of cropdusting equipment while searching suspected terrorist hideouts, government sources tell TIME magazine in an issue out on Monday, Sept. 24th.

The discovery has added to concerns among government counterterrorism experts that the bin Laden conspirators may have been planning — or may still be planning —to disperse biological or chemical agents from a cropdusting plane normally used for agricultural purposes.

Among the belongings of suspected terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui, sources tell TIME, were manuals showing how to operate cropdusting equipment that could be used to spray fast-killing toxins into the air.

The discovery resulted in the grounding of all cropdusters nationwide on Sunday Sept. 16th. The dusters have been allowed back up, but are not allowed to take off or land from what traffic controllers refer to as Class B airspace, or the skies around major cities.

One senior official cautions that because corroborative evidence is lacking the FBI does not place "high credibility" in the notion that the hijackers were in fact exploring the idea of stealing or renting cropdusters. However, the FBI is advising members of a crop-dusters' group to report any suspicious buys of dangerous chemicals in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks.

Last week, the National Agricultural Aviation Association, a crop dusters trade group, posted a message from the FBI to its membership: "Members should be vigilant to any suspicious activity relative to the use, training in or acquisition of dangerous chemicals or airborne application of same including threats, unusual purchases, suspicious behavior by employees or customers, and unusual contacts with the public. Members should report any suspicious circumstances or information to local FBI offices."

[spunkets]

"If someone can poke holes in my theory,"

FAE contain explosives in solution, that's what gives them their punch. It's the contained explosives that result in the whole disbused mass detonating. Straight fuels just burn, there's a flame front from the ignition source. FAE detonations are like knocking in an engine, they don't have a flame front that progresses from the igntion point as normal burn does. The knocks in a car engine are not smooth release of energy with a pushing force, but instantaneous release like a hammer blow.

With FAEs, is the stuff gets ignited before its disbursed, it just burns like napalm and doesn't explode.

[Nita Nupress]

What you say is true; I read the article myself. Don't make me look it up again, though. :-)

[HiTech RedNeck]

Nuke where? We are certainly aware of terrorist nests abroad.

We won't be intimidated into ceasing to eradicate this menace, any more than the V-bombs (?) that Hitler sent upon Britain in WWII caused Britain to withdraw from the war.

[FITZ]

When will the "moderate" moslem clerics put out a Fatwa on Osama Bin Laden, as Osama has put out on ALL Americans, military and civilian, using the koran's surya 9-5 as the justifcation from allah for mass killing?

I'm waiting for that too. I haven't seen any positive sign they will. They seem to be either frightened of retaliation by the less moderate Muslims, or they aren't that upset by the killings of thousands of Americans.

[HiTech RedNeck]

FLAG

[Travis McGee]

It would be great if our Nazi jihadists wore field gray uniforms with coal scuttle helmets, but sadly our Nazi jihadists wear civvies and live among the people while they plot mega murder.

So should we just accept it?

[LaBelleDameSansMerci]

These moslem soldiers are playing us like pianos. They're much more sophisticated about the way our society functions than I thought. They've obviously left little "turds" all across the country to keep everyone on edge.

The most terrifying chemical weapon is, obviously, panic. Second only to hate--and all other surrenders of rationality.

[eastforker]

three miles thats less than three minutes till impact,not very cautios at all

[Rustynailww]

Price: $49,900

[poweqi]

The manual shows them how to be nice and BLEND-IN. Don't wear a beard,smile when they smile,rent an apartment where neighbors don't know each other, don't break any laws,don't speed...on and on! That is why we need to deport ALL of them. If they "check-out" then they can come back?

[bootless]

Hi - I've got a question for you. I've heard from two different sources that (a) we just FAEs during the Gulf War, and (b) that we didn't. Do you know? Thanks...

[HiTech RedNeck]

So I guess we must just wait for each mega murder, in order to not be called (heaven forbid!) intolerant.

Methinks only one such will suffice.... :-(

[Travis McGee]

Exactly. Either they have been terrorized into silence, or they really don't disagree with OBL's Fatwa.

[FITZ]

Oh yes Germans were rounded up including some of my mother's recently arrived relatives. People then knew they at war, they knew many Germans were Nazi sympathizers if not Nazis. They didn't make the assumption every single German who had just entered the US was a friend. You seem to suggest we treat every Arab with great respect, lend them our crop dusters, sell them our chemicals. That way we can't be seen as racists bigots. If they kill us ---oh well, we can just have a nice memorial made at the place that happened.

[piasa]

The 220 pounds of sulfur and 13 gallons of acetone were found in an apartment above a North African fast-food restaurant in central Brussels late Thursday, said Laure Wynands, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office.

Also can be used to make nerve gas, if I remember right.

[LaBelleDameSansMerci]

"...When will the "moderate" moslem clerics put out a Fatwa on Osama Bin Laden.."

Do you mean to say you believed shoeless George when he told us that Islam was a peaceloving religion?

[bootless]

True. I'm sure there's more to this than is published ... LLSS.

[poweqi]

The mountains of Afganistan may prove to be a challenge.I heard a discouraging thing, 82 of Afganistans mtns. are over 4 MILES high,and the skys are not cloudy all day!

[MississippiMan]

You will not be seeing blimps or banner-tow planes over stadiums for a long time.

I wasn't aware of that NOTAM but am proud to hear of it. I'll definitely remember that if I see a plane approaching a stadium I'm in.

[HiTech RedNeck]

What kind of gun would it take to down such a plane? (Of course if it goes down you get a nice bio SPLASH but arguably that's better than scattering it far and wide in a mist.)