...and any other blue state big city that comes to mind. Salla's argument is compelling and I can't find anything to dispute in your sets of points in your various posts here. The 9/14 stand-down is particularly interesting in light of the 9/11/01 NORAD "exercise."
But I think your timing's off a bit. I'm betting on October 15 because of this (from a press release from USNORTHCOM describing Vigilant Shield 08):
North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command along with U.S. Pacific Command, the Department of Homeland Security as well as local, state and other federal responders will exercise their response abilities against a variety of potential threats during Exercise Vigilant Shield ‘08, a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff-designated, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM)-sponsored, and U.S. Joint Forces Command-supported Department of Defense exercise for homeland defense and defense support of civil authorities missions.
VS-08 will be conducted concurrent with Top Officials 4 (TOPOFF 4), the nation’s premier exercise of terrorism preparedness sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security, and several other linked exercises as part of the National Level Exercise 1-08. These linked exercises will take place October 15-20 and are being conducted throughout the United States and in conjunction with several partner nations including Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, as well as the Territory of Guam.
VS-08 and National Level Exercise 1-08 will provide local, state, tribal, interagency, Department of Defense, and non-governmental organizations and agencies involved in homeland security and homeland defense the opportunity to participate in a full range of exercise scenarios that will better prepare participants to prevent and respond to national crises. The participating organizations will conduct a multi-layered, civilian-led response to a national crisis...
Full article here:
http://www.blacklistednews.com/view.asp?ID=4185 What first got my attention was a so called disaster scenario training exercise dubbed Operation Noble Resolve that the feds ran in Portland and about six other places (including Guam) the week of Aug. 20. This created quite a stir in Portland Indymedia and elsewhere, with of course nary a discouraging word in the paper of record, the Whoregonian. The Oregon Truth Alliance sent Congressman Peter DeFazio an open letter asking him to look into Noble Resolve and TopOFF, and asking specific questions, such as:
* what will be the precipitating event?
* will there be enhanced police presence?
* will the National Guard be involved?
* will there be contractors involved (e.g., Blackwater)?
* and will either or both drills involve rehearsals of local and federal response to a “catastrophic emergency,” as defined under NSPD 51, up to and including the declaration of martial law?
DeFazio, of course, hasn't replied.
So...We've already had a training exercise to prepare for the really big training exercise; we've got Chertoff's gut rumbling about a terraist attack, along with several highly placed GOPers and their media mouthpieces openly wishing for another 9/11 to save what's left of the party; we've got sabers rattling over Iran; we're out of troops, so an attack on Iran has to be from the air; we've been told their nukulur facilities are underground or attack-hardened and therefore we may need to use tactical nukes to take them out; now we've got five hijacked nukes ticketed (maybe) for the Gulf and an extra one for home use; we've got Vigilant Shield/TopOFF coming up in about a month; we've got NSPD 51 and HSPD 20; we've got the asset seizure executive order; we've got the Military Commissions Act, which killed due process and voided the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act so federal troops can legally engage in law enforcement on US soil; we've got two incidents of phony exercises suddenly going "live" -- 9/11/01 and the 7/7/05 London train bombings (and probably the 2004 Madrid train bombings as well); and we've got sociopaths running the executive branch. Sound like a bit of a problem to anyone?
wp
And some good links:
Re the Military Commissions Act:
http://tinyurl.com/ynaedjRe Noble Resolve in Portland:
http://tinyurl.com/2ubp46Re TopOFF in October:
http://tinyurl.com/382zyeRe NSPD 51 & HSPD 20:
http://progressive.org/mag_wx051807Re asset seizure exec order:
http://www.inteldaily.com/?c=172&a=2839