Post & Courier Runs Hit Piece On Nuke Drill Story, mangles nuke-drill facts

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Tue, 16 Aug 2005 11:09:04 -0700 (PDT)

Post & Courier Runs Hit Piece On Nuke Drill Story, mangles

nuke-drill facts

 

 

 

Charleston Post & Courier Runs Hit Piece On Nuclear Drill Story

 

Prison Planet | August 16 2005

 

 

 

The Charleston Post and Courier ran a sardonic hit piece on the

nuclear drills set to take place this month which simulate a nuclear

weapon which is smuggled from a boat off the port of Charleston, South

Carolina.

 

The article is a childish attempt to make questions about the current

nuclear terror drills appear comical.

 

This website nor any other that reported on the nuclear terror drills

said that 'Charleston will blow up' - all we were doing was asking

questions about the poorly explained dismissal of four star general

Kevin P. Byrnes, and highlighting other sources who claimed that the

dismissal was due to Byrnes finding out that the terror drill was set

to go live.

 

 

 

Alex Jones appeared on Coast to Coast AM to discuss this story and he

made it clear that we were simply reporting on issues that others had

raised, we were not the source of the story and our aim was twofold.

One, to ascertain how accurate the story was and two to head off any

possibility of this drill becoming live, by simply giving the story

attention we had already achieved the second aim.

 

An excellent rebuttal by another website that has been covering this,

posted here, makes all the same points that we would.

 

The paper says the drill is taking place in Fort Monroe in Virginia,

not Charleston South Carolina.

 

 

 

This is true but the article then states that Charleston was mentioned

a rumor mentioned " on a lark. " Northcom's own press release which you

can read here states that the exercise is based around an incident in

Charleston South Carolina, this is not a rumor.

 

Also, can the Charleston Post and Courier please explain to us why

FEMA Region IV would be invited to take place in the drill if the

Charleston link was " on a lark " ? FEMA Region IV encompasses South

Carolina, it does not encompass Virginia.

 

 

 

The 'facts seem to get in the way' of most of this report as it also

says part of the 'conspiracy theories' speculate that Iran would be

behind the attack piggy-backed on the drill. Not one website that has

covered this story ever claimed Iran would be behind the attack. We

said that if there was an attack it would be an inside job and that

Iran WOULD BE BLAMED for the attack. There is a huge difference.

 

At no point did we run to the hills shouting that Charleston was about

to be vaporized. If anyone is to be accused of fearmongering about a

nuclear attack then it is the government, who keep telling us that

it's not a matter of if but when.

 

 

 

All this is now moot. The attention the stoy has garnered ensures

THERE WILL BE NO ATTACK, and this was our intention all along, bring

the story out in the light and make sure everybody is aware of it, so

in this sense the hit piece has helped our cause. We thank Brian Hicks

and the Charleston Post and Courier for their contribution.

 

 

 

Related: Charleston Post and Courier mangles nuke-drill facts

 

Related: Final push to stop the nukes of August

 

Related: New nuke-terror general was point man in Abu Gharib cover-up

 

 

 

FLASHBACK: Four Star General Fired For Organizing Coup Against Neo-Cons?

 

A drill? An attack? Rumor mill names Charleston as the setting

 

Brian Hicks/Charleston Post & Courier | August 16 2005

 

 

 

Run for your lives -- Charleston will blow up this week.

 

This is only a test. Or an Internet rumor. It's not exactly clear which.

 

For the past week, conspiracy theorists have been spinning an

elaborate tale of how the U.S. government will turn a terrorism drill

in Charleston into a nuclear attack.

 

Why? To give the country a reason to invade Iran, of course.

 

 

 

If this makes no apparent sense, then your other car isn't a black

helicopter, and you've never mistaken Crab Bank at low tide for a

grassy knoll.

 

Still, this chatter has stirred up folks all over the Lowcountry,

worried that nuclear fallout could seriously ruin their weekend.

Officials with Charleston County, the state's emergency management

personnel and even the Department of Defense have gotten worried calls

from folks scanning the skies for mushroom clouds over Fort Sumter.

 

Trouble is, as with most conspiracy theories, the facts often get in

the way.

 

 

 

Locals officials say no drills are planned this week, and the state

Ports Authority says no plans have been made to detonate any nuclear

weapons in the harbor.

 

" We're not aware of that, " Port spokesman Byron Miller said.

 

The rumors began with a Northern Command press release about a

terrorism training exercise that began: " Here's the scenario ... A

seafaring vessel transporting a 10-kiloton nuclear warhead makes its

way into a port off the coast of Charleston, S.C. Terrorists aboard

the ship attempt to smuggle the warhead off and detonate it. "

 

 

 

If this sounds familiar, perhaps you remember " Special Bulletin, " a

1983 movie with roughly the same plot and set in Charleston. Perhaps

the terrorists don't have a manual, just cable television.

 

One Web site says the idea is that the exercise was intended to " go

live " and be used for cover for a real attack. For proof, they say

terrorism drills were planned in the United States on 9/11 and in

London on 7/7.

 

Problem is, the terrorism drill, which will focus on bad guys getting

nukes, will take place this week at Fort Monroe in Hampton Roads, Va.

-- about 400 miles up the coast. Charleston was apparently mentioned

on a lark. The organization charged with homeland defense has no plans

to stage a drill in the Lowcountry.

 

 

 

" We have no planned exercises in Charleston, " said Lt. Jody Vazquez

with the Northern Command.

 

Of course, those who think the New World Order is more than a boy band

say that is exactly what they would say.

 

As is often the case in the world of conspiracy theories, nothing is

ever simple. The story, as reported on Internet sites such as

prisonplanet.com and total911.info, says that the recent firing of a

four-star general, ostensibly for sexual misconduct, was actually an

attempt to thwart a military uprising against " neo-con hawks in an

attempt to prevent further global conflict. "

 

 

 

The general, Kevin P. Byrnes, was head of Fort Monroe's Training and

Doctrine Command. And, according to these Internet sites, Byrnes was

leading an insurgency bent on stopping the United States from

escalating global conflict.

 

Other details, such as why Iran would blow up Charleston, are not

explained in these theories. Perhaps they hate us for our freedom --

or our sweetgrass baskets and Spanish moss.

 

Fueling the speculation locally is the fact that there actually was a

sort of terrorism drill here on Aug. 5. More than 100 state, local and

federal officials gathered at the Passenger Terminal to discuss a

weapons of mass destruction attack. But it was all just talk.

 

 

 

" It was a tabletop exercise, there weren't police out running around

all over the place, " said Joe Farmer, spokesman for the state's

Emergency Management Division.

 

So, the bottom line is that Charleston probably isn't really going to

blow up this week.

 

The only explosion you are likely to hear will come from the

Convention and Visitors Bureau, which can't be very happy that people

are online posting sentiments such as " I guess it would be a good idea

to not be in Charleston, S.C., for the foreseeable future. "

 

 

 

Charleston Post and Courier mangles nuke-drill facts

 

Total Information Analysis | August 16 2005

http://prisonplanet.com/articles/august2005/160805manglesfacts.htm

 

 

 

An interesting item was posted today on Charleston.net, the associated

website of the major daily paper Charleston Post-Courier. If you

haven't read it yet, check out this site's Key General fired as nuke

terror drill set for Aug 17 for background. Here's some of the

pertinent excerpts and attendant analysis of the Post-Courier's online

item:

 

 

 

Still, this chatter has stirred up folks all over the Lowcountry,

worried that nuclear fallout could seriously ruin their weekend.

Officials with Charleston County, the state's emergency management

personnel and even the Department of Defense have gotten worried calls

from folks scanning the skies for mushroom clouds over Fort Sumter.

 

Trouble is, as with most conspiracy theories, the facts often get

in the way.

 

Locals officials say no drills are planned this week, and the

state Ports Authority says no plans have been made to detonate any

nuclear weapons in the harbor.

 

 

 

Hmm. Local officials don't know of any drills, but the state Port

Authority just says they haven't been told a nuke is going to go off.

No, really?!!

 

" We're not aware of that, " Port spokesman Byron Miller said.

 

The rumors began with a Northern Command press release about a

terrorism training exercise that began: " Here's the scenario ... A

seafaring vessel transporting a 10-kiloton nuclear warhead makes its

way into a port off the coast of Charleston, S.C. Terrorists aboard

the ship attempt to smuggle the warhead off and detonate it. "

 

 

 

If this sounds familiar, perhaps you remember " Special Bulletin, "

a 1983 movie with roughly the same plot and set in Charleston. Perhaps

the terrorists don't have a manual, just cable television.

 

One Web site says the idea is that the exercise was intended to

" go live " and be used for cover for a real attack. For proof, they say

terrorism drills were planned in the United States on 9/11 and in

London on 7/7.

 

 

 

" They say " ?! First off, this isn't just something " they say. " This can

be easily verified after a few minutes on google. The reporter doesn't

say which website he's referring to -- most sites have just said there

is a great danger that the attack could, or could have been intended

to, go live.

 

Problem is, the terrorism drill, which will focus on bad guys

getting nukes, will take place this week at Fort Monroe in Hampton

Roads, Va. -- about 400 miles up the coast. Charleston was apparently

mentioned on a lark.

 

 

 

If Charleston was chosen as " a lark, " why did the NORTHCOMM press

release say that Federal Emergency Management Authority (FEMA) Region

IV would be invited to participate in the drill? Region IV pointedly

does not encompass Virginia, where Ft. Monroe is, but does include

South Carolina (along with Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, and Tennessee).

 

The organization charged with homeland defense has no plans to

stage a drill in the Lowcountry.

 

 

 

Did the Post-Courier check with FEMA about any planned exercises?

NORTHCOMM also announced they'd be inviting South Carolina Emergency

Management Division to play as well. There are no denials from those

folks in this piece, either.

 

" We have no planned exercises in Charleston, " said Lt. Jody

Vazquez with the Northern Command.

 

 

 

What about exercises " off the port of Charleston " ? That's what the

NORTHCOMM release said the drill was about. Not " in Charleston. "

 

[...]As is often the case in the world of conspiracy theories,

nothing is ever simple. The story, as reported on Internet sites such

as prisonplanet.com and total911.info, says that the recent firing of

a four-star general, ostensibly for sexual misconduct, was actually an

attempt to thwart a military uprising against " neo-con hawks in an

attempt to prevent further global conflict. " The general, Kevin P.

Byrnes, was head of Fort Monroe's Training and Doctrine Command. And,

according to these Internet sites, Byrnes was leading an insurgency

bent on stopping the United States from escalating global conflict.

 

 

 

This is rather odd that www.total911.info has not reported on Gen.

Byrnes at all, but sister site www.total411.info has. Both sites ran

an early story about the NORTHCOMM drill on July 27, though. That

piece urged folks to call Ft. Monroe and ask questions. Byrnes was

fired from his position 14 days later. Perhaps the reporter is a fan

of both sites and got confused?

 

[...]Other details, such as why Iran would blow up Charleston, are

not explained in these theories.

 

 

 

Wha-huh? Clearly, every site that has discussed this issue has said

that the danger is factions inside the U.S. government blowing

something up, not Iran.

 

Can the reporter really be this semi-literate? Perhaps not, and an

editor insisted or insinuated that the story had to be this juvenile

(some elided passages are even worse) or else it wouldn't be run at all.

 

Regardless, hopefully enough noise has been made about this that

anything sinister planned will not have a chance to go down.