Is it Safe to Drink the Water? Mass. Terrorism Alert Issued – Middle Eastern Students Caught Trespassing At Boston & Western Mass Major Water Supply - FBI Investigating

Update: From the Boston Globe The water has been tested, and is fine to drink. This is common procedure after any incident involving public safety.

CBS Boston: Massachusetts State Police are stepping up patrols around public water supplies after a group of seven recent college graduates, suggesting they were chemical engineers, were found at midnight at the Quabbin Reservoir in Belchertown, Massachusetts. The men and women are from Amherst, Cambridge and New York City, with countries of origin: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Singapore. Local Western Massachusetts Springfield Republican’s, MassLive is reporting that the individuals were released, and will be summoned to Hampshire District Court on trespassing charges.

State Police spokesman David Procopio said there is no evidence that the group of seven who were stopped at the reservoir near the middle entrance were engaged in terrorism or any crime beyond the trespassing charge.

Still, he said, state police have alerted officials with the FBI office in Springfield and theCommonwealth Fusion Center, which is the state’s centralized hub for collecting and analyzing data related to possible terrorism and threats to public safety.

Procopio said the state police would also be increasing patrols at Quabbin and at other water supplies around the state. The Quabbin is the major water supplier for the eastern part of the state, but also supplies water to Chicopee, Wilbraham and part of South Hadley. When full, the Quabbin holds 412 billion gallons of water.

“Further investigation is being undertaken because of the late hour when they were observed, their curious explanation for why they wanted to see the reservoir and the fact that they were in an area marked no trespassing,” Procopio said.

There is good reason for increased security after missed opportunities to prevent the Boston Marathon terrorist attack: “The Boston Regional Intelligence Center and the Commonwealth Fusion Center in Maynard, where information about potential security threats are analyzed, were both unaware that the FBI had interviewed Tsarnaev during its three month investigation triggered by warnings from the Russian government about his radical Islamic ties.

David Procopio, the spokesman for the Massachusetts State Police, which oversees the Fusion Center, told the Globe the FBI didn’t share the information with the anti-terror centers.

“We were not privy to the tip,” he said.(The Blaze)

Although no-one in Massachusetts wants to be accused of being xenophobic, a public notice might be in order, here - given the fact that the lack of data on these foreign students and their potential proclivity to kill American’s is yet to be determined. Frankly, since there has been no indication yet, from any news source that the water supply has been tested for chemical contamination (or biological), those Western Massachusetts and Boston residents waking to this news, might be better served by hearing an “all clear” to make coffee, tea, etc. with tap water. To be clear, Singapore, one of the nations listed as home for one or more of the students, is known having an intolerant breed of Islam”, something that is not a “given “when thinking of nations that export extremists (New Age Islam). Add to that the other individuals were of Saudi Arabian and Pakistani origins, were here post-graduation, noted they were at a major water supply, in the middle of the night, as part of their career interests as chemical engineers, makes one more than a bit concerned about public safety in the Bay State.

Syria - U.S. Intel Suggests Sarin (Mustard Gas) Loaded On Bombs Readied at Airfield – WMD’s to target citizens – The Timeline and the Threat the Opinion.

Political Map of the Middle East - image Ezilon.com

The Relationships in brief: Syria, Iran, Russia and China are friendly to one another. The Iranians aid Syria and Hezbollah allowing for attacks on Israel and Turkey. The U.S. strongest ally in the Middle East is Israel. There are conflicts in Egypt and ongoing problems in Lebanon. Al Queda and other terrorists groups operate throughout the Middle East. In short – the Middle East is a mess and the U.S. is “The West”, along with Europe.

On December 4, 2012 Voice of America reported that the U.S. had growing concerns that there was “movement” around Syria’s chemical weapons sites, and that the Assad Regime might use them against the Syrian people (VOA). This was followed by a suggestion from Russia that “The West is aware that its’ claims about the threat from the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons does not stand up to scrutiny, the Russian government has said.

Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov declared that there had been an exaggeration of the threat faced by Turkey to justify Nato’s deployment of Patriot missile batteries and the move will end up adding to the tension in the region; “any such deployment is creating the risk that these arms will be used” he maintained.(Belfast Telegraph)

However, an article from Foreign Policy suggests that the Obama Administration has had concerns regarding the Syrian use of Sarin, in general, since August of 2012 when it movement was detected around Syrian chemical weapons sites”

On the 5th of December the world is watching, including the Israeli’s who share a border with Syria. (APA News) NATO moved Patriot Missiles to Turkey to protect its airspace as there has been more than saber rattling between the two nations (WA Today).

On the 6th: According to the Saudi Gazette, Turkey knows where all of the Syrian Chemical Weapons are stored. Further: ““Assad has about 700 missiles... Now we know the exact location of all of them, how they are stored and who holds them,” Davutoglu was quoted as saying by the Sabah newspaper.

The comments emerged the day after NATO ministers approved Turkey’s request for deployment of Patriot missiles along its volatile border with Syria, a move that has angered Damascus and its allies.

Davutoglu said the international community feared possible attacks from Damascus against countries such as Turkey which were pushing for the toppling of the regime, if it felt the end was near.”>.(Saudi Gazette)

The U.S., including President Obama and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton hadalong with NATO, warned Syria against using these chemical weapons.(New York Times)

It was then reported by NBC News that the Syrians had loaded these chemical weapons onto bombs.

Now, the Washington Post is reporting that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be meeting with the Russian envoy today.

Within days the Russian’s went from the “West exaggerating” to a hurried meeting, suggesting that the situation has become more unstable and the time for hubris is past.

The fact that Syria, long an aggressor with its ally Iran against Israel and it’s neighbors, has a regime with its back to the wall fighting a war with its own people which has been widely condemned,, and an ongoing conflict with Turkey to its north, the desperation may trigger the use of these chemical weapons against its own people. There should also be concern over the fact that this nation has an immense stockpile of chemical weapons, and that the danger may exist that the regime might also strike at its neighbors as well (Israel, Turkey).

What is telling is the speed in which the U.S. Administration has addressed the issue once there was confirmation through Intel that the weapons were loaded onto bombs. The U.S. has, since World War II, taken a larger role on the world stage when it comes to the protection of the innocent and the protection of key allies. Today, with the emphasis on the “West” and the threat of terrorism against the U.S. and it’s allies very real, there appears to be a continued need for the U.S. to continue in that particular role. Historically, the U.S. did not involve itself with other nations – the First President, George Washington, suggested that the United States stay out of conflicts outside its borders as the nation was in a stage of growth and had neither the finances nor the manpower to involve itself.

A side note: there are those who are starting to draw comparisons between President Obama and George W. Bush re: Weapons of Mass Destruction as a means to begin a war. In both cases, one might suggest that regardless of the fact the Intel is not necessarily perfect, that to do nothing might not only be immoral in the broadest sense, but also present a threat to the very basement from which those detractors of the aforementioned Presidents reside. It is not that any President seeks a war, the cost in human capital and to the taxpayer is too great a burden to do so recklessly. Therefore, to those who are drawing comparisons (as well as to those who railed against George W. Bush as if it were the Viet Nam War revisited) might be better served reading up on the use of said weapons since World War I. It is clearly unacceptable. Time to put partisanship aside, review the reports (there is little one can do to determine fact from fiction and that includes the Administration.) and pray that Assad seeks asylum outside Syria and that the stockpile of weapons is then destroyed by a willing and able coalition.