Posted on 07/05/2002 7:45:41 AM PDT by browardchad
JACKSONVILLE - (AP) -- Federal and state officials said Thursday that rumors circulating about the presence of al Qaeda cells in Jacksonville were unfounded.
The stories spread after an interview aired Thursday on NBC's Today Show in which Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz discussed possible terrorist links in Afghanistan, Hamburg, Germany and Jacksonville.
''They're burrowed into some 60 countries around the world,'' Wolfowitz told NBC host Matt Lauer when asked about the al Qaeda threat. ``They had headquarters in Hamburg, Germany, and in Jacksonville, Florida -- not just in Afghanistan.''
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement called a news conference to help clarify Wolfowitz's statements, which were also addressed by the Office of Homeland Security.
According to FDLE Commissioner Tim Moore, Wolfowitz was referring to the trail of terrorists involved in the Sept. 11 attacks and not to specific terrorist cells.
White House officials concurred with Moore's statements. ''At this time we have no intelligence information that indicates al Qaeda has a headquarters in Jacksonville or anywhere else in Florida,'' said Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the White House Office of Homeland Security.
''There is no reason to believe that Jacksonville should be in a heightened state of concern beyond any other region of the country,'' Johndroe said.
Al Qaeda Network Operating In U.S.
Gov't: Padilla Was al-Qaida Protege
FBI closes down three stores at two Florida Panhandle malls
University of Florida Computer Servers Promoting Terrorist Friendly Web Site
Blacked out Nearly all 355,000 JEA customers left without power
About 4:30 p.m., two large electric lines heading east out of the Brandy Branch Generating Station near Baldwin shut down when circuit breakers tripped on both lines. It's unclear why those trips occurred, but the breakers are designed to shut down portions of the lines to prevent further faults from the actual point of trouble.
When those lines shut down, electric lines heading west out of Brandy Branch picked up the load along with other electricity coming from Georgia and redirected that flow back into the city grid over two other lines. Electricity was still flowing freely and not overloading the grid into the city.
A short time later, there was an unexplained transformer fire at the Kennedy Generating Station north of Talleyrand and the generator at the plant shut down. Electricity generated from Kennedy had been flowing in the two operating transmission lines along with the electricity from the Northside Generating Station and the nearby St. Johns River Power Park.
Cyber-Attacks by Al Qaeda Feared
The devices are called distributed control systems, or DCS, and supervisory control and data acquisition, or SCADA, systems. The simplest ones collect measurements, throw railway switches, close circuit-breakers or adjust valves in the pipes that carry water, oil and gas. More complicated versions sift incoming data, govern multiple devices and cover a broader area.
What is new and dangerous is that most of these devices are now being connected to the Internet -- some of them, according to classified "Red Team" intrusion exercises, in ways that their owners do not suspect.
Because the digital controls were not designed with public access in mind, they typically lack even rudimentary security, having fewer safeguards than the purchase of flowers online
Not to long ago a Bosnian from the Jacksonville area was arrested in Maine for making threats at an airport security check-in, when told he was to be searched.
Also, the Friday night after 9/11... a big party, was held by hundreds of Bosnians at a large apartment complex where most of the residents are Bosnian muslims or refugees from other countries.
My daughter who lived in Jacksonville at the time, told me about it. She has a friend who was the manager of the apartment complex.
Didn't the UN forces in Bosnia recently arrest some Bosnians and Algerians in Bosnia with ties to al queerda???
Well, my daughter's friend, said she grabed her daughter's hand and they FLED THE STORE and the MAN....she said she was still shaking when she called me to tell my daughter right after it happened.
Now, if the man thinks America is so TERRIBLE...WHAT THE HECK IS he DOING HERE??????
He is likely here to continue the fight against his enemies, which includes the U.S.,IMHO.
I wouldn't be surprised if the owners of the apartment building turn out to be Pakistanis or Arabs, through some corporation or other.
Rockledge (Brevard County) Man Charged in Terror Hoax Against Patrick AFB
Fox just reported that the guy actually threatened the Pentagon, but they weren't informed for 14 hours after the threat was received.
Maybe not an Islamic crazy, going by the name, but living in Florida, where so many "coincidences" happen, he might simply have gotten caught up in the momentum.</sarcasm
There are hundreds of Bosnian muslims who came to the USA after being in Germany as "refugees" and the German govt. gave every man, woman and child about $25,000 to 50,000 to leave Germany and move to the USA....some of the Jacksonville Bosnians came here and bought homes and business' RIGHT AWAY!! Several real estate agents made a small fortune in commission helping them....I know one of them quite well.
Now, the Serbs did not get money to come here...they came from camps inside Serbia and had to pay their owe way here....actually, they were loaned the money by the Espisocopal (Church) Office of Migration and they had 3 years to pay back the money.
Some of them have bought homes....but they had to WORK for the money!!
And, one more thing...the Serbs here cancelled a fund raiser party for their Church (that had been scheduled for months) because it was going to held the week after 9/11 and they said that they needed to wait until after the 40 day mourning period for the victims of 9/11, before they could have their party.
Wolfowitz: Al Qaeda Is an Infectious Disease With No One-Shot Cure
By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, June 26, 2002 -- Success in Afghanistan does not mean victory in the war against terrorism, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul D. Wolfowitz said today.
"Al Qaeda is not a snake that can be killed by lopping off its head," Wolfowitz told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "It is more analogous to a disease that has infected many parts of a healthy body. AFRTS Radio Report: DepSecDef updates Senate committee on military operations in Afghanistan
"There is no one single solution," he stressed. "You can't simply cut out one infected area and declare victory. But success in one area can lead to success in others."
Overall, Wolfowitz said, the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan to kill, capture and disrupt terrorists is helping to protect the American people. At the same time, the United States is helping the Afghan people ensure their country does not once again become a terrorist sanctuary.
Noting the highlights of the nation's "extraordinary military success," he said somewhat less than half of al Qaeda's top 30 leaders have been killed or captured. The United States has custody of more than 500 detainees. Law enforcement agencies in more than 90 countries have arrested some 2,400 terrorism suspects.
"Our military success in Afghanistan has contributed to that larger success, both indirectly by encouraging others to cooperate, and also more directly," Wolfowitz said. "Abu Zubaydah, one of bin Laden's key lieutenants, was driven out of his sanctuary in Afghanistan and as a result was captured last March."
Zubaydah's cooperation contributed to the detention of Jose Padilla (aka Abdullah al Muhajir), who allegedly was planning and coordinating terrorist attacks. A Moroccan detainee led law enforcement officials to two Saudi Arabians planning terrorist attacks in Morocco. A videotape discovered in Afghanistan led to the arrest of an al Qaeda cell in Singapore that was planning to attack a U.S. aircraft carrier.
"These developments are encouraging, but it is important to remember that al Qaeda is still dangerous and active," Wolfowitz said. "This network still poses threats that should not be underestimated."
Afghanistan is only one node in the global terrorist network. "A network, by its very nature is based on the idea that should one node be eliminated, the network can still continue to function," he said.
In Arabic, "al Qaeda" means "base," indicating that the entire organization is the base of terrorist operations. "It is spread throughout the world and it needs to be eliminated, root and branch," Wolfowitz said.
Al Qaeda has infected some 60 countries, including the United States, Germany, France, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines. It had critical nodes in Hamburg, Germany, and Jacksonville, Fla., as well as in Afghanistan.
In Afghanistan, the deputy said, U.S. and coalition forces rooted out both the terrorists and the tyrannical Taliban regime that protected them. He said the goal was to deprive the terrorists of a sanctuary where they could safely plan, train and organize. "Not only to capture and kill terrorists, but to drain the swamp in which they breed," he remarked.
Over the past eight months, he said, U.S. and coalition partners have defeated the Taliban regime, killing or capturing many of its ringleaders. Others are on the run. America's men and women in uniform have conducted operations with great bravery and skill.
Military plans were put together with remarkable speed, he said, and operations were swiftly and successfully executed. The campaign was "measured in weeks rather than months, and with relatively few troops on the ground. On Sept. 11, "there simply were no war plans on the shelf for Afghanistan."
Army Gen. Tommy Franks started "from scratch" on Sept. 20, Wolfowitz said, and less than three weeks later began military operations on Oct. 7. Two weeks after that, U.S. troops were operating in Afghanistan with Northern Alliance forces. "In many ways, it was a remarkable feat of logistical and operational utility," he said.
He also pointed out that the United States did not become bogged down in a quagmire in Afghanistan, unlike the British in the 19th century or the Soviets in the 20th century. "Nations that arrive in Afghanistan with massive armies tend to be treated as invaders and they regret it," he said. "Mindful of that history, Gen. Franks has deliberately and carefully kept our footprint small to avoid just such a situation."
"We have always viewed our mission in Afghanistan as one of liberation, not occupation," Wolfowitz said. "Afghans are an independent, proud people. We have worked from the beginning to minimize the number of our troops there and to focus instead on helping the Afghan people to help themselves in their journey to representative self- government."
Al Qaeda has infected some 60 countries, including the United States, Germany, France, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines. It had critical nodes in Hamburg, Germany, and Jacksonville, Fla., as well as in Afghanistan.
They should have stopped at the part that said, "At this time we have no intelligence".
ROFL! Thanks for the laugh.
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