Potomac security threat merely an exercise, police say

[onehandle]

Source: CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A security incident Friday on the Potomac River was prompted by a training exercise, two sources in the Washington police department said the Coast Guard told them.

A source in the FBI also told CNN it was a training exercise. The Coast Guard told CNN it was looking into the matter.

The U.S. Coast Guard appeared to be trying to prevent a boat from entering a security zone on the Potomac River not far from the Pentagon, where President Obama had been at an event commemorating the September 11 attacks.

Police scanner traffic said the Coast Guard vessel had fired shots.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/09/11/potomac.boat/index.html

---

Good day for a security exercise, braniacs.

Just after Obama's motorcade passed, according to British radio.

[maddezmom]

1. Sept. 11 training exercise sparks confusion in DC

Sept. 11 training exercise sparks confusion in DC
By EILEEN SULLIVAN
Associated Press Writer

Posted: 19 minutes ago
Updated: 7 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — The Coast Guard conducted a training exercise in the Potomac River near the Pentagon amid Sept. 11 commemorations Friday, sparking confusion that scrambled FBI agents and led the nearest airport to briefly ground flights.

Coast Guard Chief Keith Moore said Friday no shots were fired as part of the exercise in the river. Media reports suggested shots had been fired in the river and showed vessels circling in the water, near the bridge where President Barack Obama's motorcade passed as he traveled to a Sept. 11 memorial at the Pentagon Friday morning.

Departures from Reagan National Airport were halted as a precaution at 10:08 a.m., then resumed at 10:30 a.m., Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Diane Spitaliere said. The airport borders the Potomac.

A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said federal agents scrambled to the river scene after the initial reports, because the local FBI office had not been told ahead of time about the exercise. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the incident.

Coast Guard spokesman John Edwards said references to shots fired were picked up in radio chatter. As part of its exercise Friday, the Coast Guard aired simulated instructions to participants to fire 10 rounds. But Edwards said there were no shots actually fired and there were no suspicious boats.

more:http://www.wral.com/news/political/story/5980780/

[Brickbat]

2. Never report from the scanner. Bad idea, CNN.

[ShortnFiery]

36. And consider not taking the events seriously when the CG guys shout "Bang! Bang! Bang!" ...

into the scanner? :eyes:

The CNN correspondent assigned this was a MORON and the clueless on-air reporters served their roles as quintessential "useful idiots."

Stenography, not critical thinking was ongoing in the CNN Newsroom this morning. :crazy:

[valerief]

3. More assassination encouragement from the U.S. media. nt

[zeemike]

4. That is my interpitation too.

Why else would they schedule a training exercise at the same time that they were trying to provide security?
It is just another warning to Obama.

[FGW711]

55. Exactly nothing more then a conspiracy.

Exactly nothing more then a conspiracy to bring this president down and I have my ideal who is behind it with there spies station in the white house can you guest who that is, he was the VP DC.

[zeemike]

56. Spy's are used for intelligence gathering.

But it is the foot soldier that fights the war.
You would probably find that this decision was probably made or influenced by someone in government job somewhere in an office building far from the white house. And that person probably owes the Dick for his job and benefits.
And welcome to DU

[Joanne98]

5. I wonder if there are any "oathkeepers" in this exercise?

The Secret Service needs to do background checks on the participants. Maybe they thought threatening the President with their GUNS was funny.

[Kip Humphrey]

6. CNN gets caught with their pants down - didn't verify before broadcasting.... Then, CNN blames

the Coast Guard for CNN's own incompetence. BTW, the Coast Guard conducts these same training exercises 4 tines per week!

[still_one]

7. Coast Guard Fires on boat on Potomac River

Source: CNN story on top

Coast Guard Fires 10 rounds at boat

They failed to heed warnings and violated a restricted zone

Story in progress details will follow

Read more: cnn.com

[steve2470]

8. update from UK source...

The U.S. Coast Guard has fired on a suspicious boat in Washington DC's Potomac River, CNN has reported.

The incident came as Americans mourned the eighth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center in New York today.

The Coast Guard tried to contact boat, believed to be a recreational boat. However there was no radio response.

The decision was then made to fire on the boat. It is believed that ten rounds were fired on the boat.

The Potomac River flows past many of Washington's greatest attractions, including the Kennedy Center and the Washington Monument.

More to come...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1212792/U-S-Coast-Guard-fires-suspicious-boat-Washington-DCs-Potomac-River.html

[still_one]

9. It is at the top of CNN home page, and CNN is covering it live now /nt

[cbdo2007]

10. CNN on tv saying it may be a training exercise

they still don't know anything but it says "two police sources: possible coast guard training exercise"

[RaleighNCDUer]

23. Gawd save us from 'training excercises'.

There were what? THREE training exercises going on on 9/11?

[Renew Deal]

11. It might be a drill

CNN is reporting that the Coast Guard has fired 10 rounds at a "suspicious vessel" in the Potomac River.

D.C. Harbor Patrol, however, said that the incident may be a training exercise.

A temporary restricted zone had been set up on the river due to the Pentagon 9/11 ceremony, according to CNN.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local-beat/Coast-Guard-Fires-at-Boat-in-Potomac-Report-59014672.html

[zeemike]

13. Sense when do you conduct training during an event?

Does not sound plausible to me.

[Renew Deal]

19. You don't.

And if this is just training, someone's going to be peeling potatos in Alaska very soon.

[ShortnFiery]

41. The Event had conclude an hour earlier and President Obama had already been transported

back to the D.C. White House. An entirely different area. All appropriate agencies inside the Pentagon were notified.

[defendandprotect]

51. Not quite . . .

The incident began shortly before 10 a.m., when CNN journalists monitoring video from a Washington TV station saw Coast Guard vessels apparently trying to keep another vessel from passing.

The Coast Guard vessels were moving rapidly in the water as the president's motorcade drove on the nearby Memorial Bridge, after a September 11 commemoration event at the Pentagon.

[Tippy]

12. It was a training exercise.....

[Barack_America]

14. Somebody is getting fired. nt

[FailureToCommunicate]

20. OR... "It was a drill" could be a CYA explaination...

[Barack_America]

25. Possibly.

My first thought when I heard the "training exercise" excuse? That somebody in the Coast Guard went nuts and had to be dealt with.

[Renew Deal]

28. It might be CNN's fault

CNN says it got the info from a scanner. The coast guard said no shots were fired. Oops!

[earcandle]

15. that is what they thought was happening on 9/11 too!

[MindPilot]

16. A live fire training exercise on the Potomac on the morning of September 11th

What genius thought that was a good idea?

[slackmaster]

17. I'm picturing Daffy Duck in the Captain's chair

:crazy:

[Renew Deal]

18. A live fire training excercise in any city is a bad idea.

Especially Washington DC

[Tippy]

24. Coast Guard Commendant we need answers.....

From this joker....who ordered this for one...

[2Design]

21. Recreation boat probably doesn't have a radio - this is over reaction n/t

[Tippy]

26. I don't believe it is over reaction.......

Whoever ordered this knew the date.....they had to know there would be reactions....

[maddezmom]

22. Coast Guard conducts training exercise on Potomac

Coast Guard conducts training exercise on Potomac

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The Coast Guard was conducting a training exercise in the Potomac River moments before President Barack Obama crossed a nearby bridge for a Sept. 11 commemoration.

Coast Guard Chief Keith Moore said Friday no shots were fired as part of the exercise, although media reports suggested shots had been fired in the river. News stations showed video of Coast Guard vessels in the water.

Departures from Reagan National Airport were halted shortly after 10 a.m. as a precaution, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Diane Spitaliere said. The airport borders the Potomac River near where shots were reported fired.

http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/nation/washington/cabinet/20090911_ap_coastguardconductstrainingexerciseonpotomac.html

[bushisanidiot]

27. Was the Commander In Chief informed that this would be happening

so near an event he was attending? I sure the FUCK hope so!

[Tippy]

31. Thr way I understand....Obama was in the air flying over this area...SS saw what was

going on contacted the Pentagon and was told it was a training exercise...My question ..who ordered this and what political party does he belong to....?

[Renew Deal]

34. But is the military the problem or CNN?

:shrug:

[ShortnFiery]

47. CNN, the Coast Guard contacted all the key players. The SS was already in transit

with the President. If they informed the SS about every damn thing they'd be snowed.

Further, these training exercises, especially on this small scale magnitude must be kept on "a need to know" basis.

We now know that we should never inform the whores in the M$M in advance because they can't keep a secret. If the "terrorists" know about a small scale training exercise in advance, they'd plan to be on scene "taking notes" or they just may act out with violence.

CNN - The most amateur "journalists" in news.

Even entry level journalists KNOW that you must validate "scanner chatter" before you go reporting it to your seniors much less on national television. :thumbsdown:

[Tippy]

29. Stupid stunt ...who is going to have to pay for this....

[Connie_Corleone]

30. The media got it wrong.

There were no shots fired. No vessel. Apparently, the training was done over the radio. Someone listening on a ham radio was hearing the exercise and got alarmed, called the news agencies.

Media screwup.

[Brickbat]

32. Yup. NEVER report from the scanner. TV does it all the time, and gets burned. It takes 30 seconds

to make a phone call to check on something. You never, ever, EVER report from the scanner.

[zeemike]

33. It still does not answer the question of why

They were conducting a training exercise while trying to provide security.
when doing there job they should not be involved with training for reasons that should be obvious.

[ShortnFiery]

46. The ceremony was over. You have to TRAIN lest you get stale and complacent. eom

[defendandprotect]

52. President's motorcade was still driving on the nearby Memorial Bridge . . .

The Coast Guard vessels were moving rapidly in the water as the president's motorcade drove on the nearby Memorial Bridge, after a September 11 commemoration event at the Pentagon.

[defendandprotect]

53. Obviously the "terrarist" idea has to be propelled often . . .

but I agree with your observations.

[Tippy]

48. Media got it wrong but.......One would think everyone knows what

day this is....who ever ordered this drill on this day should be dressed down for being so dam stupid...Remember flights were grounded...all I am saying is if anyone is out any money I don't think the taxpayers should NOT foot the bill

[Lagomorph]

57. Having boats on the water

"training" on the date when Al-Qaeda annually promises a big operation in the US is the height of preparedness.

I heard no shots were actually fired. The drill was not announced outside of government circles to deny any attackers the opportunity to shift their target. Those boats just happened to be on the Potomac near where The President was in transit.

All the Coast Guard needs to do is encrypt their radios to discourage snooping.

The Coast Guard knew, the Secret Service knew and that's all the people who needed to know.

[defendandprotect]

35. "Exercises" and "fly overs" wouldn't have anything to do with keeping the public frightened?

[ShortnFiery]

37. This has been reported to occur over a month ago and shouting "Bang! Bang!" into the scanner

couldn't fool your average 6th Grader, it shouldn't STUMP an well trained/educated CNN Journalist. :eyes:

[defendandprotect]

50. Doesn't seem a little "coincidental" to you, given date and location...?

[damntexdem]

38. Hey, got to be prepared for the nutcases tomorrow.

[jus_the_facts]

39. Military Psych-Ops: The Old and Unimproved Version 2.0....

[ShortnFiery]

42. No, CNN going off half-cocked and reporting on National Television "Scanner Radio Chatter."

CNN created this controversy as the events at the Pentagon were over an hour earlier and the President had already been escorted back to the WH. All appropriate agencies within the Pentagon were notified.

Those within CNN are the dumb-asses who created this phony controversy. Their new organization should apologize for reporting "Scanner Chatter" on national TV. :thumbsdown:

[jus_the_facts]

43. Ooooo the media strikes again..... who would ever believe that could happen....

:eyes:

[ShortnFiery]

40. Now Mrs. Greenspan on MSNBC is trying to stir up some muck claiming that ...

the Secret Service wasn't notified. Hello?!? Andrea? The Secret Service had ALREADY (an hour earlier) escorted President Obama and other dignitaries back to the WH. Yes, THAT's a different area, therefore, the Secret Service has No Need To Know because it doesn't effect President Obama's safety.

The arrogant M$M believes that everyone should be informed - but we all know that is a mistake because it INVITES real terrorists to either scope-out the training exercise and/or do something violent. The Pentagon and other affected agencies were notified in advance. :thumbsup:

It should not be too much to ask our MAJOR NEWS ORGANIZATIONS to WAIT to confirm "scanner chatter" before they go off half cocked on national cable television.

CNN (and later their buds MSNBC and FOX piggybacking on the piss poor reporting) CREATED this story and they are the ones who should apologize, NOT the Coast Guard nor Homeland Security.

[zeemike]

49. Oh yes blame the messenger.

The HLS and CG did noting wrong when they held a training session at the place and time of the POTUS was travailing over that bridge and kept it secret....
And I guess flying Air Force one low over NYC without telling anyone was the medias fault for reporting it....they should have check with the Pentagon and they would have learned that it was just a photo op.
Face it people this is an attempt to intimidate Obama by showing him how they can fuck things up if he does not tow the line.

[defendandprotect]

54. You have to keep catapulting the "terrarism" . . . ???

Now Mrs. Greenspan on MSNBC is trying to stir up some muck claiming that ...
the Secret Service wasn't notified. Hello?!? Andrea? The Secret Service had ALREADY (an hour earlier) escorted President Obama and other dignitaries back to the WH. Yes, THAT's a different area, therefore, the Secret Service has No Need To Know because it doesn't effect President Obama's safety.

NOT QUITE . . .

The Coast Guard vessels were moving rapidly in the water as the president's motorcade drove on the nearby Memorial Bridge, after a September 11 commemoration event at the Pentagon.

And . . .

The arrogant M$M believes that everyone should be informed - but we all know that is a mistake because it INVITES real terrorists to either scope-out the training exercise and/or do something violent. The Pentagon and other affected agencies were notified in advance.

Yeah -- maybe the Russians would have attacked on 9/11/01 -- !!!

But, evidently, only the 19 "Hijackers" knew about our 4 simultaneously running military training

programs!!! And NORAD being AWOL . . .!!

So you're saying that the Pentagon -- which couldn't defend itself on 9/11/01, will protect us all?

We spend $900 billion a year on protecting the nation -- the Pentagon is one of the most heavily

guarded buildings anywhere -- yet no anti-ballistic batteries -- and their air defense didn't show up?

:evilgrin:

Also . . .

It should not be too much to ask our MAJOR NEWS ORGANIZATIONS to WAIT to confirm "scanner chatter" before they go off half cocked on national cable television.

CNN (and later their buds MSNBC and FOX piggybacking on the piss poor reporting) CREATED this story

and they are the ones who should apologize, NOT the Coast Guard nor Homeland Security.



I'm guessing that you may be more right about that than you know--!!!

[marshall]

44. An odd day to choose an exercise of this sort in DC

But it could have been worse--they could have been low flying planes over the Capitol.

[ShortnFiery]

45. The CG Commandant says that they train every day.

This particular exercise has been reported to be "in the works" for over a year. :shrug:

[rocktivity]

58. If it was a training exercise, should it have BEEN on a police scanner?

Doesn't the military have their own communications channel? Not even drills should be privy to being overheard by civilians.


rocktivity

[send2meez]

59. THIS IS NOT A DRILL

I live in Erie PA and from what I have seen the CG does NOT PLAY. Quite likely some drunk with a death wish decided to try the CG. 7.62 Full Metal Jacket projectiles hurt and make holes in your boat.