Sparrowhawk
10-16-02, 07:12 AM
NBC: U.S. aircraft joins sniper hunt
Rumsfeld OKs recon aircraft;
police weigh witness account of latest killing
NBC, MSNBC AND NEWS SERVICES
Oct. 15 — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has approved deployment of an Army intelligence plane to aid federal and local law enforcement in the hunt for the Washington-area sniper, who claimed his latest victim — an FBI analyst — as she loaded her car at a Virginia mall Monday night.
NBC’s JIM MIKLASZEWSKI reported that the aircraft is the Airborne Reconnaissance Low, a DeHavilland DHC-7 equipped with advanced electronic and imagery sensors, including infrared.
The aircraft are based at Fort Bliss, Texas, and have been used primarily in the drug war in Latin America.
Without hard evidence about motive, <b>the Bush administration is considering the possibility that foreign or domestic terrorists are behind the sniper slayings.</b>
The plan calls for having military pilots fly reconnaissance, a defense official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. A main objective is to improve communication among investigators.
<b>POSSE COMITATUS COMPLIANCE </b>
Authorities had considered using a Predator unmanned aerial vehicle but decided to use manned aircraft instead, officials said.
The help will be provided in a way meant to comply with the Posse Comitatus Act, an 1878 law that bans the U.S. military from domestic law enforcement. That means the military will relay data to law enforcement officials and not decide on its own what targets to watch, the official said.
The Pentagon’s participation also could involve a system of sensors that could detect flashes of gunfire on the ground, the official said.
What is a Airborne Reconnaissance Low?
http://www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/image103.jpg
http://www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/arl.htm
Rumsfeld OKs recon aircraft;
police weigh witness account of latest killing
NBC, MSNBC AND NEWS SERVICES
Oct. 15 — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has approved deployment of an Army intelligence plane to aid federal and local law enforcement in the hunt for the Washington-area sniper, who claimed his latest victim — an FBI analyst — as she loaded her car at a Virginia mall Monday night.
NBC’s JIM MIKLASZEWSKI reported that the aircraft is the Airborne Reconnaissance Low, a DeHavilland DHC-7 equipped with advanced electronic and imagery sensors, including infrared.
The aircraft are based at Fort Bliss, Texas, and have been used primarily in the drug war in Latin America.
Without hard evidence about motive, <b>the Bush administration is considering the possibility that foreign or domestic terrorists are behind the sniper slayings.</b>
The plan calls for having military pilots fly reconnaissance, a defense official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. A main objective is to improve communication among investigators.
<b>POSSE COMITATUS COMPLIANCE </b>
Authorities had considered using a Predator unmanned aerial vehicle but decided to use manned aircraft instead, officials said.
The help will be provided in a way meant to comply with the Posse Comitatus Act, an 1878 law that bans the U.S. military from domestic law enforcement. That means the military will relay data to law enforcement officials and not decide on its own what targets to watch, the official said.
The Pentagon’s participation also could involve a system of sensors that could detect flashes of gunfire on the ground, the official said.
What is a Airborne Reconnaissance Low?
http://www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/image103.jpg
http://www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/arl.htm