The weeks before Christmas brought no hint of terror. But by the afternoon of December 21, 2003, police stood guard in heavy assault gear on the streets of Manhattan. Fighter jets patrolled the skies. When a gift box was left on Fifth Avenue, it was labeled a suspicious package and 5,000 people in the Metropolitan Museum of Art were herded into the cold. It was Code Orange. Americans first heard of it at a Sunday press conference in Washington, D.C. Weekend assignment editors sent their crews up Nebraska Avenue to the new Homeland Security offices, where DHS secretary Tom Ridge announced the terror alert. âThereâs continued discussion,â he told reporters, âthese are from credible sourcesâabout near-term attacks that could either rival or exceed what we experienced on September 11.â The New York Times reported that intelligence sources warned âabout some unspecified but spectacular attack.â The financial markets trembled. By Tuesday the panic had ratcheted up as the Associated Press reported threats to âpower plants, dams and even oil facilities in Alaska.â The feds forced the cancellation of dozens of French, British and Mexican commercial âflights of interestâ and pushed foreign governments to put armed air marshals on certain flights. Air France flight 68 was canceled, as was Air France flight 70. By Christmas the headline in the Los Angeles Times was "Six Flights Canceled as Signs of Terror Plot Point to L.A." Journalists speculated over the basis for these terror alerts. âCredible sources,â Ridge said. âIntelligence chatter,â said CNN. But there were no real intercepts, no new informants, no increase in chatter. And the suspicious package turned out to contain a stuffed snowman. This was, instead, the beginning of a bizarre scam. Behind that terror alert, and a string of contracts and intrigue that continues to this date, there is one unlikely character. The manâs name is Dennis Montgomery, a self-proclaimed scientist who said he could predict terrorist attacks. Operating with a small software development company, he apparently convinced the Bush White House, the CIA, the Air Force and other agencies that Al Jazeeraâthe Qatari-owned TV networkâwas unwittingly transmitting target data to Al Qaeda sleepers. Full story below: http://www.playboy.com/articles/the-man-who-conned-the-pentagon-dennis-montgomery/index.html
Probably. Playboy? At least it's better than the Huff and Puff Post. Of course our current POTUS would light a cigarette and convene a special beer summit.