-Caveat Lector- http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,34951,00.html FBI Grounds Crop-Dusting Planes AP Monday, September 24, 2001 To allay fears that terrorists will conduct chemical and biological warfare attacks on the United States, crop-dusting planes will be grounded until Tuesday afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday. The FAA's Frasier Jones said that as of right now, agricultural planes will be grounded until 12:05 p.m. local time, but that this is subject to change. The government has reason to believe terrorists have researched using crop-dusting planes in attacks. J.D. "Will" Lee, 62, general manager of South Florida Crop Care in Belle Glade, said Monday that groups of two or three Middle Eastern men came by almost every weekend for six or eight weeks before the terrorist attacks, including the weekend just before the assaults. Lee said a co-worker, James Lester, positively identified one of the hijacking suspects, Mohamed Atta. Atta is believed to be one of the suicide hijackers in the terrorist attacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Virginia. Asked about the new grounding, the FBI said it was one of the steps the bureau has taken out of an abundance of caution and "in reaction to every bit of information and threats received during the course of this investigation." James Callan, executive director of the National Agricultural Aviation Association, said he got a call from a Federal Aviation Administration official about 8 a.m. Sunday. "They said it was a national security issue," said Callan. "I made some calls and the indication was that there still is no specific threat, but the FBI apparently ordered this and they just want to make sure that everyone in the ag aviation industry is keeping their eyes and ears open." FAA spokesman Scott Brenner said, "The intelligence community came to us and encouraged us to shut down the crop-dusters." Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld outlined the potential threat Sunday on CBS' Face The Nation, saying that countries sponsoring terrorism have "very active chemical and biological warfare programs." "We know that they are in close contact with terrorist networks around the world," he said. Crop-dusters also were grounded Sept. 16 and for the past week have been barred from flying over metropolitan areas, with some exceptions. The crop-dusters were grounded along with all other civilian aircraft after the attacks, with flights resuming Sept. 14. Callan said there are probably about 3,500 agricultural aviators and that this is a crucial time of the year for aerial spraying of crops. The Investigation Continues All airport workers with access to planes and secure areas were ordered Monday to submit to new criminal background checks. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, airports and airlines are required to redo criminal checks and scrutinize employment histories for baggage handlers, food service workers and other employees who have access to airliners, ramps, tarmacs and other secure areas. "We are requiring revalidation of all airport IDs to make sure that they are genuine, current and belong with the person they are with," said FAA spokeswoman Rebecca Trexler. Investigators are looking at whether box-cutting tools found on two jets may have been planted there by individuals other than passengers who had access to airliners. The hijackers used box-cutters in the hijackings two weeks ago. The FBI spent an hour Saturday questioning Khalid al Draibi, who was arrested 13 miles south of Dulles Airport the night after the attacks. A man with the same birthdate and a similar name appears on an FBI list of 21 alleged suspects in the attacks. Attorney Drewry B. Hutcheson Jr. said his client spoke voluntarily without immunity to an agent and "I hope at this point that based on our interview that the FBI's suspicions have subsided." Hutcheson said his client, a Saudi citizen, denies knowing anything about the attacks or anyone involved. Hutcheson said Draibi, who has worked in Alabama, was in the Washington, D.C., area because he wanted to go to the Saudi Embassy, "probably for financial help." __________________________________ http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/abc/20010924/ts/wtc_investigation_1.html Hijacker Visited Crop-Duster Airfield By ABCNEWS.com Authorities: terrorists may have been planning a chemical, biological attack. The man believed to have flown a hijacked passenger airliner into the North Tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 also wanted to get behind the controls of a crop-dusting plane, leading authorities to believe terrorists may have been planning a chemical or biological attack. Mohamed Atta, a suspected ringleader in the terror attacks on New York and Washington, made repeated visits to a crop-dusting airfield in Florida, according to Willie Lee, the chief pilot and general manager of South Florida Crop Care in Belle Glade. Lee identified Atta to the FBI, telling agents the suspected hijacker came to the airfield as recently as the Saturday before the terrorist attacks, asking questions about the capabilities of crop-dusters, including how big a load of chemicals they could carry. Atta was "very persistent about wanting to know how much the airplane will haul, how fast it will go, what kind of range it has," Lee told ABCNEWS. "The guy kept trying to get in the airplane," Lee added, saying his ground crew chief had to order Atta away from one of the planes at one point because he kept trying to climb onto the wing and into the cockpit. Lee said Atta and as many as 12 or 15 other men appearing to be of Middle Eastern descent visited the airfield in groups of two or three on several weekends prior to the attacks, often taking pictures of the aircraft. And, ABCNEWS has confirmed, a manual for a crop-duster was found among the belongings of Zacarias Moussaoui, who has been detained since August and is now under arrest as a material witness. "Things like anthrax are easily transported, easily put into a solution that could be dispensed out of a crop-duster," says author and U.S. Navy Cmdr. Ward Carroll Fearing terrorists planned or may still plan to do just that, federal authorities grounded crop-dusters - which can carry a much as 500 gallons of solution - on Sunday. The nationwide ban on agricultural flights, now in its second day, has been extended through 12:05 a.m. local time on Tuesday. Check back for continuous updates on the hunt for terrorists from ABCNEWS' worldwide investigative team. In other developments: . Police Had Hijacker in Custody ABCNEWS has learned that Atta was in police custody five months before he and 18 other terrorists are believed to have hijacked four airliners, crashing three of them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A fourth crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers apparently tried to subdue the hijackers. Atta was stopped by police in Broward County, Fla., in April for driving without a license. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to appear for court the following month. . Terrorist Cell in N.J.? Investigators now believe the New Jersey city of Paterson, just 25 miles from the World Trade Center, may have been the base for a major terrorist cell. ABCNEWS has learned that during the three months prior to the attack, 11 of the 19 suspected hijackers lived in or near Paterson, which has a large Muslim community. One Paterson apartment building was home to six of the terrorists until just days before the attacks. According to FBI officials, the third-floor apartment had been rented for the last six months by Nawak Al-Hamzi and Hani Hanjour, two of the men believed to have hijacked the plane that slammed into the Pentagon. At least two of the suspected hijackers stayed at a motel in Wayne, N.J., and others rented small planes at nearby airports for flight practice or rented cars for long road trips. FBI agents are also looking at records from three banks near Paterson where the suspected hijackers kept money. Investigators are trying to determine where those funds originated from. . Presenting the Evidence U.S. officials believe the hijackers belonged to al Qaeda, the terrorist network of Osama bin Laden. The government is preparing a report, called a "white paper," that they say will contain evidence of bin Laden's terrorist activities. "For those of you looking for a legal peg, we've already indicted Osama bin Laden - he's under indictment for terrorist activity," President Bush told reporters at the White House this morning, referring to the indictment of the Afghanistan-based Saudi exile by U.S. courts for the 1998 bombings of American two embassies in Africa. "I think his guilt is going to be very obvious to the world," Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday on ABCNEWS' This Week . "We are putting all of the information that we have together - the intelligence information, the information being generated by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies." . Worldwide Manhunt Continues Around the world, the manhunt for suspected terrorists intensified with authorities in Belgium, Germany, France, Britain and the Netherlands making several arrests this weekend. Authorities believe up to 30 attacks may have been planned in the United States and Europe following the Sept. 11 attacks and that at least two planned attacks have been thwarted, including bombings in Belgium and an attack by helicopter on the U.S. Embassy in Paris. U.S. law enforcement officials said there are at least two dozen people still at large who have ties to the suspected terrorists. Petrochemical, nuclear energy and trucking companies have been told by the FBI to be on a high state of alert. ================================================================ Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT FROM THE DESK OF: *Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends ================================================================ <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. 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