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Katherine Harris says US has thwarted 100+ terrorist attacks
.S. Rep. Katherine Harris said Monday that the United States has "literally defeated 100 (potential) terrorist attacks on this country" in the past three years, some of which could have been as deadly as the 9/11 destruction of the World Trade Center.Speaking Monday night in Venice at a rally in support of President Bush, Harris said the United States is winning the war against terrorism. "His remarkable leadership ⊠has made our country safe," Harris told an overflow crowd of more than 600 at the Holiday Inn. The event was sponsored by the Republican Club of South Sarasota County. In an interview after the speech, Harris said she learned from classified information about the 100 potential attacks that have been thwarted since 9/11. "Actually, it's been more than 100," she said. "It's classified ⊠obviously not classified to me ⊠but things I can't go into detail about." Harris, a first-term Republican congresswoman from Longboat Key, said terrorism remains the No. 1 challenge facing the nation. "And the first line of defense is you," she told the audience. Harris told the audience that while she was in the Midwest recently, the mayor of Carmel, Ind., recounted how a man of Middle Eastern heritage had been arrested. She said hundreds of pounds of explosives were found in his home. "He had plans to blow up the area's entire power grid," she said. Pressed after the speech for details about the arrest, Harris said it had not been made public and she asked a reporter not to name the city she mentioned to the audience. "I probably said too much," Harris said. Contacted Monday night, Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard said a man was arrested two years ago and was sent to the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He said he knew of no explosives or threats to blow up the power grid, however. Carmel Police Chief Michael Fogarty said he had "no knowledge" of an arrest. "I don't know where that information came from," he said. "I certainly haven't heard anything about it." Harris also told the audience that the war in Iraq has been a success. Since the United States toppled Saddam Hussein, 1,700 schools have opened where "students learn the truth, not lies," she said. Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-08-03 |
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