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Valdez Takes Terrot Threat Seriously

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posted on Dec, 24 2003 @ 07:23 PM
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Alaska is on edge and ready- I found this and the last post of mine to be of interest.
The weather here has been tough, lot of snow- if there are any unknowns in the area they are probaly snowed in.
Good time for weather modification- I might add. As there is 5 feet of snow in a recent days, and all this was unpredicted, and today another big storm possibility was released.


Valdez takes possible terrorist threat seriously

By RACHEL D'ORO, Associated Press Writer

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (December 23, 4:10 p.m. AST) - Isolated and sparsely populated Alaska seemed far removed from terrorist threats until Tuesday, when U.S. officials said al-Qaida operatives could target remote sites such as oil facilities in the state.
Officials in Washington cautioned they have not corroborated a report about an al-Qaida threat against the oil terminus in Valdez, where tankers load Prudhoe Bay oil destined for the Lower 48. But they said they were treating the information seriously and have increased security at the Port of Valdez, where armed Coast Guard patrols were more visible.

Some Valdez residents were on edge as word spread through the Prince William Sound community of almost 4,200 people.

"You have this almost false sense of security because 'I'm in Alaska, I'm safe,'" said Stacey Nease, 39, a cashier at Cap'n Joes Tesoro gas station. "You think 'Who's going to target us?' Your heart starts beating fast, you're kind of in a panic mode. It's scary."

Federal and state officials said they were not at liberty to discuss specifics. But Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, said national security officials told him that only general threats have made.

"The bulk of evidence about al-Qaida points more and more to areas that have significant infrastructure dealing with the national economy - and we have two in Alaska, the Port of Valdez and the airport in Anchorage," Stevens said. "That's two among hundreds in the nation."

However remote the possibility of a terror attack, the unsettling report prompted Valdez officials to review the town's emergency plan and Mayor Bert Cottle to prepare a late-afternoon statement for local broadcast stations, explaining the elevation in the nation's terror threat level. Cottle said an "influx of state and federal resources" would arrive in the next few days in response to the elevated security level.

"The city of Valdez has no specific threat information other than general mention and information currently available nationwide," Cottle said. "There is no reason to change travel plans or alter your holiday activities as a result of these recent events."

After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Alaska disaster officials identified the pipeline, which carries 17 percent of the nation's domestic oil supply - as the only real terrorist target that could have national implications.

There are 18 storage tanks in Valdez with a capacity to hold 9.1 million barrels of oil.

In a November 2001 confidential report obtained by The Associated Press, then-Adjutant General Phillip Oates noted the Valdez oil terminal, the Port of Anchorage and Nikiski Terminals in Cook Inlet could also be potential international targets.

The 26-year-old pipeline follows an 800-mile route from the Arctic's Prudhoe Bay on the Beaufort Sea south to Valdez, 305 road miles east of Anchorage. More than half of the steel pipeline lies above ground along remote but easily accessible terrain.

The report, citing a 2001 incident in which an intoxicated Livengood man firing a rifle punctured the pipeline, found that a "single individual, let alone an organized effort, could cause great harm and potentially stop production and delivery of oil to the terminus in Valdez."

Not everyone was worried about the vulnerability of Valdez. Kathy Reddick, 57, owner of the Hairport Day Spa, said she feels much safer since Sept. 11. Now there are more patrols by the Coast Guard, along with better-trained police and oil facility security crews.

"We are surrounded by people in the know, so to speak," Reddick said. "We've had all kinds of emergency drills around here. There are people around who in just a few hours can take care of things."



 
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