[CTRL] Fwd: Terror plot said to target Olympics

Aleisha Saba Sat, 26 Aug 2000 07:24:37 -0700

Well the networks want to be sure those ratings will be up, for who
really watches the Olympics?
Will a lot of people stay up late waiting for the big blast? Like New
Years Eve?

So they now say the "boogie man", Osama bin Laden that these men had
connctions to Osama.

Commercialism has destroyed the Olympics and I for one, will never have
another box of Wheaties in my house not even for my dog.

So you see they now promote terror with the Olympics - great sport,
watch the big show and maybe someone will start a war in Iraq and we can
watch scud missiles destroy a civilization?

One would presume there would be security around a nuclear plant - but
then, rating would drop and MSNBC or CNN would lose a bundle?

Saba

Terror plot said to target Olympics� Australian authorities downplay
conspiracy to blow up reactor� According to a New Zealand newspaper
report, the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor near Sydney was the target of
a terrorist plot.
�MSNBC STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
AUCKLAND, Aug. 26 � �Earlier this year, New Zealand police uncovered
a possible plot to blow up a nuclear reactor in Sydney during next
month's Olympic Games, a New Zealand newspaper reported. Authorities
arrested three suspects of Afghan descent and claim the suspects may
have ties to wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden, the paper said.
� �
�
�
�
� 'That material included a map of Sydney highlighting a nuclear
reactor and highlighting entrance and exit routes.'
� BILL BISHOP
New Zealand police official � � � �THE NEWS SET OFF shock waves
in Sydney, but Australian officials said there was currently "no
credible threat" to the small research reactor, which is located on the
outskirts of the country's largest city, and said they had no plans to
shut it down.
� � � �"Relevant Australian authorities have made an assessment
and have advised that the risk is low," federal Science Minister Nick
Minchin's office said in a statement.
� � � �Police in the state of New South Wales, who have overall
control of games security, confirmed that they were following New
Zealand's investigations into the raid.
� � � �"The New South Wales police service is aware of an
investigation conducted by New Zealand police into the activities of an
organized group in New Zealand," said a police spokesman who declined to
be named.
� � � �The threat is being treated seriously, the Sydney-based
spokesman said.
A full section on the Olympics
� � � �New Zealand's National Crime manager, Detective
Superintendent Bill Bishop, said the two countries' forces were working
together on the case, which involved a group of Afghan refugees who had
been found with suspicious material in their possession.
� � � �"That material included a map of Sydney highlighting a
nuclear reactor and highlighting entrance and exit routes," Bishop told
New Zealand Radio.
� � � �Authorities discovered the material during a raid last
March, the New Zealand Herald reported. It included detailed notes about
Australian police tactics and a map of Sydney with routes to the nuclear
plant highlighted.
� � � �The suspects were reportedly linked with
Afghanistan-based terrorist Osama bin Laden. The Herald said the
suspects maintained direct telephone contact with suspected terrorist
organizations in Afghanistan. Associates of bin Laden are also alleged
to have attempted terror attacks on several U.S. locations last New
Year's Eve.
� � � �Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) radio in Sydney
reported that New Zealand police arrested three immigrants last March
and questioned seven others. The three were charged with minor documents
forging violations, while the others were not charged.
��Wanted: Osama bin Laden MSNBC Interactive�Click here for a look
at some of Osama bin Laden's activities around the world
� � � �In Sydney, a New South Wales police spokesman said the
state police force had been briefed by New Zealand on the potential
threat to the Lucas Heights nuclear research reactor in the city's outer
suburbs. Sydney has a population of about 4.5 million, but it could
swell by another million people during the games.
� � � �"The New South Wales police service is aware of an
investigation conducted by New Zealand police into the activities of an
organized group in New Zealand," a state police spokesman said Saturday.
Sydney is in the New South Wales state of Australia.
� � � �However, ABC radio reported that Australian government
officials gave no credibility to New Zealand authorities' threat
assessments. It was unclear whether the New Zealand police actions had
deterred a significant threat.
� � � �
OFFICIALS' PREPARATIONS
Advertisement

� � � �The New South Wales police, which has overall control of
Olympic security, had previously said there was no specific threat of
terrorist attacks during the Sydney games. There were also calls for the
Lucas Heights facility to be shut down during the games as a
precautionary measure.
� � � �The Web site News.com.au quoted local official Genevieve
Rankin as saying the Australian government was risking lives by keeping
the facility open. Rankin, who leads the the reactor task force for the
local Sydney legislature, said the council would ask the government to
close the reactor during the games. Australian national authorities
insisted the reactor would remain open during the games.
� � � �Federal Science Minister Nick Minchin's office said the
Lucas Heights facility would not be closed during the games; a
spokeswoman for Australia's attorney general, Daryl Williams, said
official inquiries had revealed that "there was no credible threat to
Lucas Heights" at this stage.
� � � �Lucas Heights is Australia's only research nuclear
reactor. The government has tentative plans to build a new facility to
replace the 1950s-era reactor but hasn't yet acted on them. The facility
is not used for power generation.
� � � �
SIMILARITY TO 1996 GAMES
� � � �The Lucas Heights reactor is tiny in comparison to an
electricity-generating nuclear reactor. Lucas Heights has 25 fuel
elements containing about 15 1/2 pounds of uranium. It can produce only
10 megawatts of power. By comparison, the Chernobyl reactor that blew up
in 1986 produced 1,000 megawatts.
� � � �However, Georgia Tech shut down a test reactor on its
campus before the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and moved all of its nuclear
fuel because of concerns that terrorists could commandeer the fuel.
� � � �The 30-year-old Atlanta reactor was seen as a major
security issue for Olympic organizers because it was in the middle of
the campus just north of downtown Atlanta and not far from the Olympic
Aquatic Center and near the Olympic Village.
� � � �The United States has also taken a role in monitoring
security issues for the upcoming games. A senior U.S. official told NBC
News the CIA's counterterrorism center has been assisting Australian
intelligence for "nearly a year" on security preparations for the
Olympics, with particular attention being paid to any threats posed by
bin Laden or his associates.
� � � �But the official said that there is no specific evidence
that bin Laden is more likely to strike the Olympics than "a score of
other places," even though there are bin Laden associates who are
"longstanding residents" of Australia.
� � � �
� � � �NBC producer Robert Windrem, MSNBC.com's Jon Bonn� and
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
� � � �
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� � � � � �
�Terror plot said to target Olympics�Clinton begins his mission to
Nigeria�Wildfires could set record for losses�Peru confirms
drugs-for-guns ring�Vicente Fox puts forth his vision�MSNBC Cover
Page
�Judge gives bail to China spy suspect�China frees U.S.
missionaries�Sydney Olympics � Complete Coverage�News in Japanese
from MSN Japan�Australia news from "ninemsn"
�
� � �

A. Saba
Dare To Call It Conspiracy

A. Saba
Dare To Call It Conspiracy

http://www.msnbc.com/news/451362.asp

[CTRL] Fwd: Terror plot said to target Olympics

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