Florida Warns 1 Million to Flee Hurricane
My Way News

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Officials warned about a million residents and tourists Thursday to get out of the way of Hurricane Charley, saying parts of Tampa's downtown and nearby areas could be submerged by the massive storm surge likely when the hurricane strikes Florida's central gulf coast on Friday.

"It does have the potential of devastating impact. ... This is a scary, scary thing," Gov. Jeb Bush said.

The evacuation zone stretched along Florida's west coast from Key West to north of Tampa.

Charlie was expected to pass west of the Keys at Florida's tip early Friday before hitting the Tampa Bay area in the afternoon with winds up to 110 mph, heavy rain, sporadic tornadoes and the dangerous storm surge, said Hugh Cobb, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. With winds that high, it would be a powerful Category 3 hurricane.

Residents of the Tampa Bay area, where the eye is projected to hit, south to the Naples area were told to expect a storm surge of 10-13 feet. State meteorologist Ben Nelson said the surge could reach 16 feet in the Tampa area if Charley hits at 120 mph.

The bulk of the evacuations were in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, which include Tampa and St. Petersburg, a city that sits on a peninsula.

All residents of MacDill Air Force Base, on another peninsula in Tampa Bay, were ordered out, with only essential personnel remaining. MacDill is home to U.S. Central Command, the nerve center of the war in Iraq.

A Look Back : Call it the worst case scenario
St. Petersburg Times

It's the worst-case scenario: a powerful storm on a northeast track heading straight for Tampa Bay.

What would happen?

That's the question emergency planners posed to the National Hurricane Center. The computer-generated image you're looking at is one answer.

It shows the potential flooding from a storm about the size of Hurricane Floyd, which ravaged the North Carolina coast in September 1999, killing 57 people. It was bigger, deadlier and almost as fierce as Hurricane Andrew, but not as costly.

It follows the same track as the unnamed hurricane that hit Tarpon Springs in 1921, the last time Tampa Bay took a direct hit from a hurricane.

Under this scenario, high winds create a storm surge causing massive flooding, particularly in Hillsborough County, where nearly the entire Interbay Peninsula would be underwater.

A Look Back : Drill - Hurricane Used as Cover for Terror Attack?
DefenseLink.Mil

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo., Feb. 20, 2004 -- A major hurricane, a nuclear accident and a nuclear detonation -- all simulated, and all occurring in Texas -- are among the challenges facing U.S. Northern Command forces during exercise Unified Defense '04.

Simulated events also include aircraft hijackings, threats from a fictitious country testing its strategic capabilities, and attacks on maritime and port security by domestic terrorists in Alaska.

Though the attacks are all simulated, the responses are "real-world," said Army Lt. Col. Tim Croft, a NORTHCOM exercise planner. He said some 50 different local, state and federal agencies in Texas, Alaska, Virginia, Colorado, and Washington, D.C., are participating in the Feb. 19-25 exercise. The exercise is testing homeland defense and homeland security efforts, along with NORTHCOM's ability to provide military assistance to civil authorities, he said.

North American Aerospace Defense Command also is participating in a scenario that poses aerospace defense challenges, said Air Force Lt. Col. Rob Peterson, a NORAD exercise planner.

In announcing the exercise Feb. 17, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said he hopes and prays that his state never faces a real disaster like the ones simulated. "But if these kinds of catastrophic events do occur, officials need to be prepared to respond," said Perry.

Although exercise participants were briefed in advance about the scenarios, they were not told every detail. For example, participants must determine if the nuclear incidents in Texas are the result of terrorist attacks or an accident, Croft said. The simulated hurricane is providing cover and diversion for a terrorist attack.

Osama prefers donkeys to mobiles
Times of India

The US government believes plans for a terror attack are being directed at the most senior levels of the al-Qaida leadership, including bin Laden, a US intelligence official said in July.

How much input the top men have is open to question, but a Pakistani government official said that several captured al-Qaida men have told authorities they received instructions from bin Laden.

"Probably he is alive, and some al-Qaida suspects captured in Pakistan have talked about receiving verbal messages from him through different channels," he said of bin Laden.

The American and Pakistani officials spoke on condition of anonymity. There has been no firm intelligence on bin Laden and al-Zawahri's whereabouts since they slipped away during a US Afghan assault on their mountain hideouts in Tora Bora in late 2001, but they are believed to be hiding in the mountainous no man's land between Pakistan and Afghanistan, protected by deeply conservative tribesmen who share their beliefs.

With the exception of about a half-dozen audio taped messages that the CIA has authenticated as being his voice, there has been virtually no sign of bin Laden since shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

That silence has lent him almost a mythic quality, especially among his followers, but officials say he is still very real, and very dangerous.

New Tapes, New Possible Terror, Las Vegas Connection
KTNV-TV Action News

The announcement came just a few hours ago Thursday from the FBI, Metro, and the governor. The tapes were found last month during the arrest of a Pakistani man named Kamryn Akhtar Shaik. He was arrested in Charlotte, North Carolina just a couple weeks ago after he was seen videotaping sky scrapers there. The feds raided his New York apartment, they found videos of Las Vegas.

They look like another video found in a prior case from Detroit that shows video of various casinos on the Strip. So far investigators have only scrolled through these new tapes. They are now in the process of translating them and analyzing them for threats. The feds said they were made in 2003 and 2004 and one tape is entirely Las Vegas.

The FBI said there remains no credible threat made specifically to our Valley. Although there were other people are seen in these videos with Akhtar Sheik; their wherabouts and identities right now remain unknown.

Charlotte Muslims Concerned With Reaction To Videotaping Arrest
wsoctv.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Charlotte-area Muslims are concerned that the arrest of a Pakistani native seen videotaping the city's skyscrapers -- and how officials reacted -- could turn all Muslims into suspects.

"Everything we hear makes our community cringe," said Mohammad Ismail, a Charlotte architect and Palestinian-American. "This is our community also, and we don't like to be perceived as targets of people to be on the lookout against us. I think our (city) leadership did not really pay attention to the possibility of a backlash."

Some Muslims said they worry that Mayor Pat McCrory's warning to residents to watch out for people wearing layers of clothing in hot weather could target those in traditional Islamic clothing. About 8,000 Muslims live in the Charlotte area.

Kamran Akhtar, 35, was arrested on immigration charges after a Charlotte police officer saw him videotaping uptown buildings. He was found to have videotapes of other buildings and transportation centers in Atlanta, New Orleans, Dallas, Houston and Austin, Texas. Akhtar has not been charged with terrorist activity.

McCrory said he never intended to single out Muslims. He said he wanted to alert residents to people wearing bulky gear, like winter coats, that could cloak weapons.

Charlotte's mayor also told people to be watchful of vehicles parked for periods in no parking zones and unattended packages. The city did not overplay Akhtar's arrest, he said.

Al-Qaeda to Hit Athens, Bulgarian Cell Alert - Report
Sofia News Agency

Islamic radical organizations are ready to attack Athens during the Olympic Games, according to reports.

They wait for activation order of the Al-Qaeda leadership in Iran to conduct the attacks, US newspaper "Defense & Foreign Affairs" said.

The paper added that the attacks would be led by the Kosovo's Albanians.

Defense & Foreign Affairs newspaper claims that people from Syria have stored large quantity of explosive and weapons in Bosnia, which was transported by tracks on the Macedonian-Greek border.

The terrorist group is comprised of Albanians, Syrians, including well-trained terrorists from other nationalities.

There is a well-developed terror network in Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia-Montenegro, Italy and Germany, the US paper said.

al Sadr Wounded in Najaf
Sky News

Iraqi cleric Moqtada al Sadr has been wounded in fighting in Najaf, according to reports.

Earlier it was reported American forces stormed the home of the radical Shi'ite cleric.

The move came after US warplanes pounded positions close to his home and troops took control of the centre of the Iraqi holy city.

Troops reportedly moved in on Sadr's house as part of an attempt to defeat a week-long uprising by insurgents.

American troops have said they will not enter the building and risk a backlash from the Iraqi community.