Code Orange terror alert based on
fabricated evidence

By Michel Chossudovsky

Jan. 3— On December 21st, the country was put on High Terror Alert by the Department of Homeland Security.

Based on “credible” intelligence sources, presumed al-Qaida and Taliban terrorists were planning to hijack an Air France plane and “crash it on US soil in a suicide terror strike similar to those carried out on September 11, 2001.”

Air France Christmas flights out of Paris were grounded. F-16 fighters were patrolling the skies.

Following an investigation by French authorities, the al-Qaida terrorists turned out to be a five-year-old boy, an elderly Chinese woman, and a Welsh insurance salesman.

It is now official: the stand down orders on Air France’s Christmas flights from Paris to Los Angeles were based on fabricated information. The latter was used to justify Code Orange Alert during the Christmas holiday. French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin had ordered the cancellation of the Christmas flights following pressures from Washington.

In fact Colin Powell had called up his French counterpart Minister Dominique de Villepin, who then communicated with Prime Minster Jean Pierre Raffarin.

But the whole thing turned out to be a hoax.

According to the official version of events, Washington had identified six members of al-Qaida and the Taliban on the Air France passenger list:

“US counter-terrorism officials said their investigation was focusing on the ‘informed belief’ that about six men on Air France Flight 68, which arrives in Los Angeles daily at 4:05 pm, may have been planning to hijack the jet and crash it near Los Angeles, or along the way. That belief, according to one senior US counter-terrorism official, was based on reliable and corroborated information from several sources. Some of the men had the same names as identified members of al-Qaida and the Taliban, a senior US official said.”

One of the men is a trained pilot with a commercial license, according to a senior US official.

US law-enforcement officials said the flights were canceled in response to the same intelligence that prompted the federal Department of Homeland Security last week to ratchet up the nation’s terror-alert level to orange, the second-highest level.

Other US law-enforcement officials said authorities at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris detained some of the 200 passengers and crew from Flight 68 for questioning. There were conflicting reports about whether any were arrested.

High-ranking US government officials have held near round-the-clock meetings in recent days to sift through intelligence reports that suggest the possibility of terrorist activity in the United States this holiday week. US officials, saying California is the location of highest concern, expressed fears over the use of a range of devices that included biological or chemical weapons, and a radiological or “dirty bomb.” US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said investigators became interested in Flight 68 after intercepted “chatter” among suspected terrorists led US intelligence to believe an attack might be imminent. The chatter included a specific reference to the flight, according to one federal law-enforcement source.

With that information, US authorities contacted French intelligence about the possibility that suspected terrorists might be on the flight. They prevailed upon Air France to cancel Flight 68, as well as others bound for Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), because the original intelligence information warned of more than one flight being commandeered. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Dec. 25, 2003)

Meanwhile, orange code terror alert stories had been fed into the news chain. The Washington Post reported on Christmas day that there “may have been a plot to hijack an Air France plane and crash land it in Vegas.”

Other media confirmed that “the reports gathered by American agencies were ‘very, very precise’” Meanwhile Fox News pointed to the possibility that al-Qaida was “trying to plant disinformation, among other things to cost us money, to throw people into panic and perhaps to probe our defenses to see how we respond?” (Fox News, Dec. 28, 2003). The fact that al-Qaida remains a CIA “intelligence asset”, involved in US sponsored covert operations, is not deemed relevant.

“Mistaken identity”

Needless to say, these fabricated media reports served to create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation during the Christmas holiday. Los Angeles International airport was on “maximum deployment” with counter-terrorism and FBI officials working around the clock. Yet following the French investigation, it turned out that the terror alert was a hoax. The information was not “very, very precise” as claimed by US intelligence.

The six al-Qaida men turned out to be a five year old boy, whose name had been mistaken for an alleged Tunisian terrorist, an elderly Chinese lady who used to run a restaurant in Paris, a Welsh insurance salesman and three French nationals. (Le Monde and RTBF TV, Jan. 2, 2004) On Jan. 2, the French government confirmed that the intelligence communicated by Washington was erroneous. The French authorities declared there “was not a trace of al-Qaida among the passengers.” But in fact these “inconsistencies” regarding US intelligence had already been uncovered on the 23d of December by France’s antiterrorist services, which had politely refuted the so-called “credible sources” emanating out of the US intelligence apparatus.

France’s counter-terrorism experts were extremely “skeptical” of their US counterparts: “we [French police investigators] showed [on Dec. 23] that their arguments simply did not make sense, but despite this the flights were cancelled... The main suspect [a Tunisian hijacker] turned out to be a child.” (quoted in the Le Monde, Jan. 3, 2003). “We really had the feeling of unfriendly treatment [by US officials]. The information was not transmitted through normal channels. It wasn’t the FBI or the CIA which contacted us, everything went through diplomatic channels...” (Ibid) In the words of another French investigator: “how is possible that in such sensitive areas of intelligence, the Americans were mistaken in relation to the identity of a relatively large number of names [of passengers] (quoted in Liberation, Jan. 3, 2003).”

In subsequent developments, British Airways cancelled one of its Jan. 2 flights from London to Washington, based on “credible” US and British intelligence information. This followed the escorting of British Airways Flight BA 223, on New Year’s day into Dulles airport by USAF F16 fighter jets. Flight 223 was seized by the FBI when it landed in Dulles airport. Meanwhile, the office of the Mexican president, issued a communiqué to the effect that “US intelligence that led to the aborting of two of their [AeroMexico] services was ‘unconvincing’.”

Was it incompetence?

The decision to cancel the six Air France flights was taken after 2 days of negotiations between French and American officials. Had the information been “credible”, Air France would have immediately taken the initiative to cancel its flights, without further ado. But that is not what happened.

The flights were canceled on the orders of the French Prime Minister following consultations with Sec. Colin Powell. This decision was taken following the completion of the French investigation, which demonstrated unequivocally that the US information regarding the terror suspects on the passenger lists was inconsistent.

Despite the fact that the information had been refuted, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge insisted on maintaining the stand-down order. If Air France had not complied, it would have been prevented from using US air space, namely banned from flying to the US.

Needless to say, had the flights not been canceled, the Administration’s justification for Orange Code Alert would no longer hold. In other words, Homeland Security needed to sustain the lie over the entire Christmas holiday, despite the fact that “its very, very precise information” had been refuted by French investigators. It was only on January 2nd, that the US authorities admitted that they were in error, claiming that it was an unavoidable case of “mistaken identity.” While tacitly acknowledging their error, Homeland Security insisted that “the cancellations were based on solid information.”

Based on erroneous intelligence, an entire nation had been brought under Orange Code terror alert.

Source: Center For Research on Globalization

Community defeats high rise on Pack Square

By Charlie Thomas

Jan. 6 (AGR) — Faced with weeks of bad publicity and an economic boycott, Grove Park Inn has abandoned its plan to build a ten story condominium on Pack Square. In a stunning reversal, the Inn faxed its decision to news media on New Year’s Eve. In its statement the Inn said that the project was “not financially feasible.”

PARC, People Advocating REAL Conservancy, which opposed the project, said that the decision had nothing to do with financial feasibility and everything to do with community opposition.

City Council voted in March to give the resort hotel six months to study the feasibility of building the high rise. The six month window expired on Sept. 25, giving credence to PARC member Julie Brandt’s statement that “Those studies were completed months ago. They ran into the bedrock of public opposition.”

Brandt and other PARC members said their first job was to let people know that Grove Park wanted to build on Pack Square. The proposal received so little attention in the media that most residents had no idea of the size and location of the building until very recently.

Members of PARC prepared leaflets, signs, displays, and a scale model explaining what Grove Park Inn intended. They set up a web site with a drawing of the building superimposed on a photograph of the site, as well as links to articles and information about the issue.

PARC then formulated a plan to publish ads signed by opponents of the plan in local newspapers, ads that asked the GPI find a vacant lot to build on instead of the park. A link on the web site allowed residents to sign up online. Two such ads were published, one in Asheville Global Report with 1000 names on Nov. 6, and another in the Mountain Xpress with over 1500 names on Nov. 26.

The community was kept informed by e-mails from PARC and updates on the web site. With help from some local columnists, an editorial in the Mountain Xpress, and a barrage of letters to the editor, a plan that had been hidden from public view became widely known. A plan that had been a “done deal” soon became utterly untenable.

The turning point came on Nov. 21 when a League of Women Voters forum attracted an overflow crowd of 400 people who confronted Craig Madison, President of the Grove Park Inn, and told him in no uncertain terms that their park was not for sale. From that point on, Madison spoke more about “financial feasibility,” and “the City Council’s restrictions” on the project, and less about “Asheville’s premier address, with condos starting at $650,000.”

Following the forum, PARC met with Madison and suggested he end the project immediately, before the community proceeded with its boycott of Grove Park Inn. Madison talked about suing those who opposed his high rise, advised PARC that they needed an attorney, and questioned the legality of a boycott and of the group’s raising money to oppose him. He flatly refused to call the project off.

PARC called for boycott at their press conference on December 11, and by then the press had to pay attention. Too many citizens were involved for them to ignore it.

Request for yard signs poured in, and soon “No High Rise in Our Park, BOYCOTT Grove Park Inn” signs were popping up in neighborhoods all over Asheville.

Even before Dec. 31, when Madison made his announcement, the outcome was no longer in doubt. Although his statement focused exclusively on the “financial feasibility” of the project, and he subsequently stated that the boycott had no effect whatever, no impartial observer could doubt that community opposition had defeated the developers.

PARC’s response was to announce a Victory Party, which was held three days later at Gypsy Moon Sofa Bar in downtown Asheville. A good time was had by all.

Pack Square Conservancy moves to exempt entire park from Private development

On Jan. 7 the Pack Square Conservancy Board of Trustees voted unanimously to “...remove from consideration any proposal, now or in the future, for construction of a high rise building on site A, which was formerly under consideration by the Grove Park Inn.”

They also voted to ask that the entire park be exempt from development.This position is the exact opposite of their previous position. Board President Carol King had previously stated, “That site has always been, is now, and will always be a development site.”

PARC member Julie Brandt said that the permanent protection of the entire park was to have been her group’s next effort, saying “This represents complete victory for the community in the effort to protect their park.”

Public broadcasting under siege
$800,000 buys two seats on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s board

Dec. 23— The Bush Administration has rewarded two major Republican donors with seats on the nine-member board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Cheryl Halpern and Gay Hart Gaines and their respective families have contributed more than $816,000 to Republican causes over the past 14 years.

“But even more troubling,” said Common Cause President Chellie Pingree, “are the agendas they bring with them to the CPB board.” Both Halpern, who was confirmed by the Senate on Dec. 9, and Hart Gaines, whose nomination is pending, have stated views or espoused causes that call into question their qualifications to serve on a board whose mission is to promote and fund public television and radio programming.

During her confirmation hearing in November, Halpern indicated that she would welcome giving CPB board members the authority to intervene in program content when they felt a program was biased. Gaines was an ardent supporter of Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-GA), who as House Speaker in 1994 proposed cutting all federal assistance to public TV. While it is not unusual for presidents to appoint supporters to the CPB board, Pingree stressed that public television’s mission demands that board members are committed to preserving public broadcasting’s independence.

“Public broadcasting serves as a source of information that millions of citizens rely on for diverse viewpoints, stimulating discussion and hard-hitting investigative journalism,” Pingree said. “At a time when commercial broadcasting often serves up larger and larger doses of ‘infotainment,’ public broadcasting’s longstanding tradition of serious news and public affairs reporting and its freedom to report the news without interference must be preserved and strengthened.”

The President appoints CPB board members to six-year terms. No more than five members may be from the same political party, but it is possible for members of one party to dominate the board if there are vacancies. According to its 2002 annual report, CBP is a private nonprofit corporation established by Congress in 1967, which receives an annual appropriation from Congress, representing about 15 percent of public broadcasting’s revenues. CPB provides financial support to more than 1,000 public TV and radio stations throughout the country.

CPB’s primary goals, according to its mission statement, are “to encourage the development of programming that involves creative risks and that addresses the needs of unserved and underserved audiences, particularly children and minorities.” The board is also supposed to serve “as a catalyst for innovation in the public broadcasting industry.”

Together, Halpern and members of her family have given more than $324,000 to Republican candidates and national party committee since 1989. Halpern has served on the CPB board since August 2002, when she won a temporary appointment by President Bush. On Dec. 9, however, Halpern was formally confirmed by the Senate, and will serve on the CPB board until 2008.

Halpern stirred controversy in the public TV community for comments at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee on Nov. 4. When Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) criticized Bill Moyers, the host of public television’s “Now,” as “the most partisan and nonobjective person I know in media of any kind,” Halpern agreed.

She left the impression, according to the trade publication Current, that the CPB needs greater authority to intervene when public television programs show bias. “There has to be recognition that an objective, balanced code of journalistic ethics has got to prevail across the board, and there needs to be accountability,” Halpern told the Committee. Current noted that Halpern seemed to suggest that biased reporting ought to be punished.

Halpern is a longtime Republican activist and chaired the Republican Jewish Coalition (formerly the National Jewish Coalition) for eight years. She was a $100,000 donor to the Republican National Committee in the late 1980s and a member of George Herbert Walker Bush’s “Team 100.” Halpern previously served on the board overseeing the Voice of America, Radio and TV Marti, and Radio Free Europe.

Bush nominated Gaines to the CPB board on Nov. 17. Her appointment, which would expire in 2010, is pending before the Senate. Gaines and members of her family have given nearly $492,000 to Republican federal candidates and national party committees since 1989. Gaines, an interior designer, raised money for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), and chaired Gingrich’s political committee, GOPAC, whose goal was to win the House for Republicans.

According to published accounts, Gaines, named GOPAC chairman in 1994, traveled around the country, recruiting charter members who donated $10,000 each to join the group. At the same time that Gaines was raising money for Gingrich’s GOPAC, Gingrich was pushing Congress to cut all federal funds to public TV, reportedly telling his supporters that public TV represented Americans “paying taxes involuntarily to subsidize something which told them how they should think.”

Gaines also is a trustee emeriti of the conservative Hudson Institute. Before working for GOPAC in the 1990s, Gaines chaired the board of the conservative commentator William Buckley’s National Review Institute, dedicated to promoting conservative causes.

“I’m thrilled about the nomination,” Gaines told the Palm Beach Daily News. “I never wanted to be an ambassador and have to leave the country. I always wanted to stay in America and work for this country. So this opportunity is perfect for me.”

Source: Common Cause