Tue, Jun 01, 2004
Guards Worried About Al Qaeda Air Attack
European GA pilots beware: If you accidentally stray into the
airspace over Normandy, France, this week, you risk being shot out
of the sky.
At least 16 heads of state, including President Bush and
Britain's Queen Elizabeth, will be in Normandy to mark the 60th
anniversary of the D-Day invasion, which eventually led to the
defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. For that reason, security
at the event this week will be twice that of the last major
celebration in 1994. This time, French officials are worried that
Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network will use aircraft to attack the
memorial.
The London Daily Telegraph reports this year's memorial has
sparked the biggest security operation Europe has seen since the
end of World War II. AWACS planes will be in the air, along with
fighters and drones. A huge radar network stretches from between
Deauville and Cherbourg. Anti-aircraft missile batteries have been
put in place near Normandy and two squadrons of French Mirage 2000
fighters are on alert.
The French aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle and the USS George
Washington will patrol the harbor at Normandy. The Telegraph says
there are unconfirmed reports that subs will be silently patrolling
under the carriers and that the area will be swept for mines.
"The dangers are multiple, from a hijacked airliner being
crashed into the stands at the main international ceremony at
Arromanches to a tiny bomb being detonated remotely. But we are
stretching an impenetrable fabric of protection above Normandy,"
said a French security spokesman.
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