a training exercise just happens to occur at the same time, no one happens to mention to related agencies that a military training exercise is taking place? Either this is yet another staged event, such as the flyover, or this is an exercise to get Americans accustomed to a greater military presence, or, Washington, D.C. is filled with complete morons. Who is running the show here? On 9/11 one of the worst problems was the lack of coordination between related official agencies, and yet today, the same problem occurred. Official Washington, at best, is completely incompetent and unable to protect anyone. The several agencies do not even inform each accurately about their respective activities. In the meantime, Americans have to wait for the official word from government agencies who do not know what is happening any way. I can think of few scenarios that would be as bad for the ordinary, average citizen who would like to be informed. We need to know if this is an actual threat or a drill. The government seems more likely to be just making things up as they go along. This could be a tactic to keep people in the dark and unable to make sound decisions based on accurate information. It is the perfect opportunity for the Federal government to take advantage of people. The media does a abysmal job of reporting and finding out factual information. The free press is supposed to be able to discern fact from fiction but they can not be relied on as well.
The time line:
CNN reported that the Coast Guard has fired on a boat on the Potomac River.
10:10 a.m. ET: The report of some activity on the river comes only minutes after Obama concluded 9/11 memorial ceremonies at the Pentagon not far away.
10:12 a.m. ET: CNN says the Coast Guard fired 10 rounds at the boat.
10:14 a.m. ET: CNN broadcasts what it says is audio of the Coast Guard apparently speaking to a suspicious boat. The Coast Guard speaker is heard saying; "Slow down or you will be fired on."
10:27 a.m. ET: The AP quotes the Coast Guard as saying training was being conducted in Potomac River moments before Obama motorcade crossed.
10:32 a.m. ET: Fox News quotes Coast Guard Chief Keith Moore as saying no shots were fired as part of the exercise.
10:33 a.m. ET: Reuters quotes an FBI spokeswoman as saying the agency was told by the Coast Guard that no shots were fired at a boat in the Potomac.
10:41 a.m. ET: NBC's Pete Williams, quoting a "senior Coast Guard official," says the incident was just an exercise to "challenge response times." Or, perhaps to test a military response crosses my mind.
10:53 a.m. ET: USA TODAY's Kevin Johnson reports that the Coast Guard is preparing a statement for release in a few moments.
12:01 p.m. ET: Note the time; I believe this is key. The statement stretches out from a "few moments" to more than a hour later. I wonder what was really going on here.
Here is a statement on the incident from the Coast Guard:
The U.S. Coast Guard reported on Friday that reports in the media were based on overheard radio calls made over a training frequency and that no shots were fired during the exercise. The exercise was planned in advance and was being conducted on a marine radio frequency reserved for Coast Guard training and operations. No recreational boaters were involved in this training exercise. We are still gathering information of how this training event might have been misconstrued as an actual incident. We will conduct a thorough review of this incident.
Reports were based on, and once I heard them, what sounded like actual reporting of shots fired by the Guard. Then, the Guard states no shots were fired. No one had said anything about recreational boats yet the Guard statement includes this idea. Why? We do not know. If this was a planned exercise do they notify anyone? Does each agency operate separately? Isn't there any coordination?
The statement continues:
Coast Guard boats were operating in the vicinity of 14th Street and Memorial Bridges this morning. Whether or not these were the same boats using the marine radio frequency used for training purposes has not yet been confirmed.
The Guard does not know where their own boats are?
The best way that we in the Coast Guard can remember Sept. 11 and our security obligations to the nation is to be always ready and this requires constant training and exercise. To ensure the appropriate readiness posture we conduct training scenarios across the nation on a daily basis.
How and when this exercised was conducted will be reviewed.
The statement ends with a rhetorical flourish seeking to re-assure people we know what we are doing; and, of course it also connects their exercise with 9/11 as a ploy for sympathy for their actions.
12:07 p.m. ET: Vice Adm. John Currier, Coast Guard chief of staff, tells reporters that the incident was a "low profile, normal training exercise" that, he says, is done everyday.
Perhaps this is but has anyone in the news media been able to confirm his point? Does this happen everyday? Has anyone in D.C. noted this or not? Where is the media every day?
Currier says the normal procedure is to announce "This is a drill" before and after such exercises, and that while he has not heard the tapes of this particular incident, he has a "high degree of confidence" that normal protocols were followed.
But the spokesperson does not know if normal protocols were followed or not. Shouldn't someone know?
Currier says other agencies were not notified because of the low-profile and routine nature of the event.
This should be obvious to anyone in the media; does this happen daily or not?
Asked why some police units were seen around the Potomac area after the incident, he replied: "What you see here is a loop between what actually happened, press reports, and the uncertainty that was generated by that because of the high profile of the press reports. Other agencies due to that uncertainty reacted as they normally would, they dispatched units."
Who dispatched them? Why? How would the police know what CNN, on TV, was reporting? If something is uncertain no one is dispatched. Is someone checking the police response time?
He also confirmed that the FAA briefly grounded flights out of nearby Reagan National Airport as a response to the media coverage.
Who ordered this? Is the confusion because there is some one who wants to have people question the reporting?
"Radio intercepts generated intense media coverage, and, justifiably so, but what you saw is this spiral up," Currier say. He says one area they will examine is "press engagement" and that they may ask the media for input.
Yes, and this is a terrific way to control the media. Next time they may not report anything because they have been told not to report anything.
12:39 p.m. ET: CNN's Jeanne Meserve, who covered the breaking story, says CNN contacted the Guard Guard before airing their first report to ask what was happening, based on the radio intercepts and activity in the river. She said, "They couldn't tell us. They didn't know what was happening."
So who do you believe? CNN or the Guard? They can not both be correct.
CNN also broadcast excerpts of the audio of what turned out to be an exercise in which one person is heard shouting "slow down ... or you will be fired on." She also says that in other excerpts a person is saying "10 shots have been extended, we are going to assess the situation." Meserve says there was no indication that this was a drill."
From what I could hear the tapes sound authentic as if it had actually happened.
No one will make the connection publicly but in general outline this is similar to the Mumbai scenario which was a sophisticated attack launched by boat. If this exercise was legitimate training for such a possibility it would be reasonable but there are too many loose ends. Even the simplest and easiest to answer, whether this training routine is a daily exercise no one seems able to answer. No one can tell us?
Oddly enough, the organizers of tomorrow's TEA rally that will largely to protest Obama and the gang in Washington, received a bomb threat. The FreedomWorks staffer who spoke with ABC News said that the organization has received multiple threats but that for "some reason, the DC Metro police thought that this one was credible enough to evacuate the building." I did not realize that the police fielded calls and determined, unknown to anyone, which bomb threats are credible and which ones are not. Imagine the egg on their face if an organization received a bomb threat that proved to be real and the building was not evacuated. This was one a real threat though. The stories and spins get to be so outlandish that they are more bizarre and strange all the time.
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