WFB’s Bill Gertz: Obama Administration ‘Trying to Play Down’ Missing Libyan Airliners

Posted on September 3, 2014

By Larry O’Connor:

Washington Free Beacon senior editor Bill Gertz appeared on WMAL radio in Washington, D.C., Wednesday morning to discuss his exclusive story on 11 missing airliners from the Tripoli airport.

“(U.S. Intelligence is) concerned they could be utilized in a 9/11-style attack,” Gertz said of the planes. “If they don’t use them in suicide attacks, they could also be used to transport some of these Islamist groups to expand their reach.”

“It seems like the State Department, the Obama administration, is trying to play down these reports, but the people I talked to were fairly concerned about them,” Gertz said. “Again, they are trying to locate these jets. I don’t think the CIA has a full handle on where all of the aircraft from the airlines were. There are a number of airports in the region that are within close distance to Tripoli International, so they’re obviously looking at these places and trying to get a count of how many aircraft are there.”

When co-host Brian Wilson asked specifics with regard to how Gertz’s sources responded to the reports of the missing jets by saying the “can’t confirm” the reports, Gertz explained that “can’t confirm” in this context was not meant as a denial, but “they’re trying to play down by saying ‘well, we can’t confirm them.’ That’s kind of bureaucrat speak within the United States government.”

“You have to understand the politics of Libya right now,” Gertz said.”You have a congressional inquiry spinning up to look at the 2012 terrorist attack at the diplomatic compound in Benghazi. So that would be my only speculation as to why they’re playing it down.”

Also see:

• Pictured: Libyan Islamist rebels pose with planes seized from Tripoli airport as U.S. officials warn they could be used to carry out terrorist attack on 9/11 anniversary (dailymail.co.uk)
• WATCH: BREITBART’S SEBASTIAN GORKA DISCUSSES MISSING LIBYAN AIRLINERS ON ‘FOX & FRIENDS’ (breitbart.com)
• Gen. McInerney On New 9/11 Threat: ‘Beware America, They Are Coming For Us’ (truthrevolt.org)
• Islamist Militias Seize Nearly a Dozen Libyan Airliners – U.S. officials sound security warning; Kerry expedites shipment of Apaches (truthrevolt.org)

Russian Bombers Ready To Strike US At Moment’s Notice

Shocking: Russian Bombers Are Circling The Skies Above U.S., Ready To Strike At Moment’s Notice

Major Beth Smith, spokeswoman for NORAD, commented about the…

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Russian strategic bombers penetrated US airspace 16 times in the last 10 days, according to US defense officials. The bombers penetrated 16 times into northwestern US air defense identification zones. Meanwhile, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel warned about the heightened possibility of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

US jets scrambled in response to the Russian bombers several times.

Major Beth Smith, spokeswoman for NORAD, commented about the incursions, saying, ” Over the past week, NORAD has visually identified Russian aircraft operating in and around the U.S. air defense identification zones.”

Bill Gertz of the Washington Free Beacon, who broke the story, wrote that the bomber flights are the “latest case of nuclear saber rattling by the Russians.”

Russia also violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987 signed by Reagan and Gorbachev by testing a nuclear cruise missile.

President Barack Obama ridiculed Mitt Romney for saying that Russia was America’s biggest strategic threat in the 2012 election:

A few months ago, when you were asked what’s the biggest geopolitical threat facing America, you said Russia. Not al Qaeda; you said Russia. The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because, you know, the Cold War’s been over for 20 years.

Admiral Cecil Haney, head of US Strategic Command, has spoken about the Russian nuclear threat, saying that Russia conducted several large nuclear war games in May.

He said this recently at a defense industry breakfast:

Additionally, we have seen significant Russian strategic aircraft deployments in the vicinity of places like Japan, Korea, and even our West Coast.

He went on to say:

Russia continues to modernize its strategic capabilities across all legs of its triad, and open source [reporting] has recently cited the sea trials of its latest [missile submarine], testing of its newest air-launched cruise missile and modernization of its intercontinental ballistic force to include its mobile capability in that area.

How concerned should the world be about Russia? Is Russia now a significant threat to American interests? Or was Hillary Clinton’s Russian “reset” successful?

Read more at http://www.westernjournalism.com/nuclear-alert-russian-bombers-penetrate-us-airspace-16-times-last-10-days/#UfvzJuJIe6o0eavE.99