2. Radioactive Dirt Bombs: Washington, DC, 8 February 2003 (Three days after Colin Powell's Presentation to the UN Security Council)
In the immediate aftermath of Secr. Colin Powell's presentation to the UN Security Council regarding Iraq's alleged Weapons of Mass Destruction, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) declared a code orange terror alert, pointing to insidious links between Al Qaeda and Sadaam Hussein:
"Top intelligence officials gave Congress a sobering warning Tuesday of the al-Qaeda terrorist network's interest in using missiles and poisons to inflict mass casualties in the United States, adding grim new detail to previous accounts of looming terror attacks. The warning came as a broadcast statement believed to have come from al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden pledged the terrorist group's support for Iraqis and called on followers to defeat a US-led invasion. ... Taken together, the statements from U.S. officials and the shadowy terrorist organization sharpened the sense that the United States faces its greatest threat of terrorist assault since the Sept. 11 attacks." (US Today, 12 February 2006, emphasis added)
The announcement served to turn realities upside down. Sadaam and Osama had joined hands. America rather than Iraq was under attack. The terror alert also contributed served to diverting public attention from the divisions within the Security Council and the accusations directed against Colin Powell for having misled the UN's highest body.
A fabricated story on so-called ‘radioactive dirty bombs’ had been planted in the news chain. A few days following his address to the UN, Sec. Powell warned that:
"it would be easy for terrorists to cook up radioactive ‘dirty’ bombs to explode inside the U.S. … ‘How likely it is, I can't say... But I think it is wise for us to at least let the American people know of this possibility.’" (Statement by Colin Powell, ABC This Week quoted in Daily News (New York), 10 Feb. 2003).
Musab Abu Al Zarqawi was identified as the number one suspect. Meanwhile, network TV had warned that:
"American hotels, shopping malls or apartment buildings could be al Qaeda's targets as soon as next week…".
Following the announcement, tens of thousands of Americans rushed to purchase duct tape, plastic sheets and gas-masks.
It later transpired, that the terrorist alert was " fabricated" by the CIA:
"According to officials, the FBI and the CIA are pointing fingers at each other. An FBI spokesperson told ABCNEWS today he was 'not familiar with the scenario', but did not think it was accurate."
(ABC News, 13 Feb. 2003, See also
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CRG302A.html)
In another related report on ABC TV:
PETER JENNINGS
(Off Camera) ABC's Brian Ross begins our reporting. Brian, last night we were wondering whether the intelligence agencies were operating on good information. What do we know today?
BRIAN ROSS, ABC NEWS
(Off Camera) Well, Peter, today, two senior officials tell ABC News that a key piece of the information leading to the recent terror alerts was, in fact, fabricated.
BRIAN ROSS
(Voice Over) In particular, a claim by a captured al Qaeda member that Washington, New York, or Florida would be hit by a dirty bomb sometime this week, by a secret al Qaeda cell operating in Virginia or Detroit.
VINCE CANNISTRARO,
FORMER CIA COUNTERTERRORISM OFFICIAL
This piece of that puzzle turns out to be fabricated. And therefore, and the reason for a lot of the alarm, particularly in Washington this week, has been dissipated, after they found out that this, this information was not true.
(ABC News, 13 February 2003)
Both the FBI and the CIA in contradictory statements subsequently clarified that the intelligence had not fabricated. But rather, it was the "suspected terrorist in custody [who had deliberately] fabricated information about potential attacks. The detainee's remarks were one factor in raising the threat advisory to code orange" (Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb 2006)
While tacitly acknowledging that the alert was a fake, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge decided to maintain the ‘Orange Code’ alert:
"Despite the fabricated report, there are no plans to change the threat level. Officials said other intelligence has been validated and that the high level of precautions is fully warranted." ( ABC News, 13 Feb. 2003 ).
A few days later, in another failed propaganda initiative, a mysterious Osama bin Laden audio tape was presented by Sec. Colin Powell to the US Congress as ‘evidence’ that the Islamic terrorists "are making common cause with a brutal dictator". (US official quoted in The Toronto Star, 12 Feb. 2003). Curiously, the audio tape was in Colin Powell's possession prior to its broadcast by the Al Jazeera TV Network. (Ibid.)