Category Archives: Historical Figures

Making a Real Killing—Operations, Legal Actions, and Controversies

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This is the second half of my review about the book by Len Ackland. The first half was about the history of homesteading and development of the area that included Rocky Flats by the Church family beginning in 1861 and the selection of part of their land for the construction of a new nuclear weapons production plant. This part of the review will briefly summarize what was written about early years of operation when the plant was more or less considered “invisible” to neighbors and the later years when accidents and incidents led to a precipitous decline in the reputation of the place.  I wrote that I would restrict myself to doing a non-editorializing review, and I succeeded at that in the first half of my review of the book. I disagree with some of what is mentioned in this half, and I intend to post a blog discussing those items. An asterisk indicates that you can read a differing view on the blog site. I suggest reading that blog and my book “An Insider’s View of Rocky Flats, Urban Myths Debunked to get another perspective about Rocky Flats.

The first building constructed on the Rocky Flats site, was named “Building D”, and would eventually be called Building 991. The book calls it “…the atomic bomb assembly building.”* In those early days everyone working at the plant had to have a “Q clearance” issued after background investigations by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). Building 771 was constructed later to allow a multitude of operations including the ability to process solutions containing plutonium, and it would be the location of the first major accident in 1957 resulting in an uncontrolled release of plutonium. A fire breached the filter plenums in the exhaust system until fire fighters brought it under control with water. The workers (there were about 2000 at the time) were concerned that the facility would not be brought back on line, and that their jobs would be lost. However, resources were dedicated to decontamination and repair, and the building was brought back into production. Not surprisingly, the fire created an increase in focus on safety. However, there was little outside attention given to the accident, in part because the official accident report issued by the AEC called it a “serious accident,” but didn’t name Rocky Flats. The accident had occurred within the memory of the harsh Soviet suppression of the 1956 uprising in Hungary, which “…confirmed the regime’s brutality…” “Most Americans, including the managers and employees at Rocky Flats, accepted the notion that the United States had to win the nuclear arms race in order to defeat communism.” Continue reading →

Making a Real Killing, Rocky Flats and the Nuclear West—Early History

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This book by Len Ackland is researched well, and I recommend it as one book to read about the Rocky Flats plant that produced components for nuclear weapons in Colorado. The title gives away the fact that Mr. Ackland’s point of view differs from the views I presented in my book “An Insider’s View of Rocky Flats, Urban Myths debunked.” However, in several instances of where common subjects are discussed, factual information in the two books is often virtually identical. I give Mr. Ackland credit for his extensive discussion of the history of the area and the Church family, which is not included in my book. I intend to restrict myself to doing a non-editorializing review in this first part of the review. The part of the review is about homesteading in the Rocky Flats area by the Church family in 1861, development of the area, and the “taking” of some of the Church land for the construction of a new nuclear weapons production plant. The second half will be about the operation of Rocky Flats, accidents, legal actions, and controversies. I will post a blog after that review discussing some points of disagreement I have with what is in the book.

The history of the Church family is nicely woven into the book, and the first chapter gives a well-written description of when George Henry Church and Sarah (Miller) Church beginning with when they arrived in Colorado in 1861 “…seeking adventure and gold.” Striking it rich with gold didn’t work out, and the couple eventually settled down to farm and raise cattle. Henry built a system of ditches and reservoirs to provide water to the enterprises, and that was a significant contribution to the settlement and development of the entire area. Homesteaders were subsidized by the federal government, “But that reality wouldn’t make the government’s later taking of Rocky Flats land go down any easier for the Churches.” The government offered $18 an acre but paid several times that figure after Marcus Church rejected the first offer and took legal action.

The second chapter details the influence of U.S. Senator Edwin Johnson , or “Big Ed,” of Colorado in the selection of a Colorado location for “Project Apple,” which was the name given to the effort to select a location for the new nuclear weapons plant that would eventually adopted the name “Rocky Flats.” He formed a bipartisan team with Eugene Milliken, and the two of them together were able to influence the location of several military facilities in Colorado. The first was the Rocky Mountain Arsenal followed by the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) and the Air Force Academy. Both senators were on the Congressional Atomic Energy Committee and were strong supporters of anything that would be advantageous to U.S. uranium mining. Johnson was chairman of the Senate’s Military Affairs Committee by the end of World War II. Milliken helped draft the Atomic Energy Act that formed the cornerstone of U.S. nuclear policy. The Atomic Energy Commission was busy in the late 1940s demanding increasing numbers of nuclear weapons. They identified seventy Soviet targets requiring 133 atomic bombs. The military contended that “…scheduled bomb production should be substantially increased and extended,” and that they needed more than 133 nuclear weapons. The military had identified 5,000 to 6,000 “…prospective Soviet nuclear targets…” by the time construction had begun at Rocky Flats. Continue reading →

The Russian Question at the End of the Twentieth Century

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I posted a review of a book titled “Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse on August 24th and this book by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (unavailable on Amazon, but I obtained a book from the local library) gives another view of what caused the collapse.  The two books agree on some of the underlying causes, but Solzhenitsyn adds that a primary cause was that the Soviets put materialism ahead of religion. The book is only 135 pages long, but presents the history of Russia going back several hundred years preceding the Bolshevik revolution that explains the complex nature of the massive country, its diverse peoples, and the events that Solzhenitsyn believed had major influences on the character of the country. He presents the opinion that, “Our history appears to be lost to us today, but with the proper efforts of our will…We will build a moral Russia or none at all.” Return readers of this site will note that quotes are used much more extensively in this review than in previous reviews. The reason is that I believe Solzhenitsyn without question presents his ideas much better than anything I could write in summary.

Solzhenitsyn believes that the end of the USSR came because of Gorbachev’s “hypocritical and irresponsible perestroika.” “There existed several reasonable paths for a gradual, careful way out of the Bolshevik rubble. Gorbachev chose the most insincere and chaotic path. Insincere because he searched for ways to protect Communism…Chaotic because…he put forward the slogan of acceleration, impossible and ruinous in light of the worn-out infrastructure…” Then, with glasnost “…he was flinging the doors wide open for all the nationalists…The Communist Soviet Union was historically doomed, for it was founded on false ideas…It hung on for seventy years by the fetters of an unprecedented dictatorship, but when the inside grows decrepit fetters fall useless.” He makes the ominous prediction that, “In the twenty-first century, the Muslim world, growing rapidly in numbers, will doubtless undertake ambitious tasks.” Continue reading →

Great Turning Points in History

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This book by Louis L. Snyder has short descriptions of twenty-five events that changed the world. The author observes “…a new direction in history can be brought about by a happening, a stage, or set of conditions, and occasionally by the action of a single individual. I was most interested in four of the events described because they give insight into the conflict between the Christian and Muslim religions. I recently completed a multi-part review of “The Looming Tower, Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11,” that includes discussion of the development of militant and terrorist Muslims under the leadership of people such as Osama bin Laden.

Crucifixion of Jesus — This is more about the growth of Christianity in during the years of decline of the Roman Empire than about the singular event of the crucifixion. The author observes, “The selection of the execution itself as a turning point is an arbitrary one—either the birth or resurrection of Jesus could be substituted as the focus of change.” What is important is that Jesus preached of a loving God, feasted with and forgave sinners, healed the sick, and denounced private wealth. His teachings, death, and resurrection resulted in a rapid spread of Christianity “…through the hollow shell of the once magnificent Roman state…” Christianity is a proselytizing religion that declares all other religions inadequate, and it swept through Western Europe, Persia, Armenia, Arabia, and to the Far East. Paganism is said to have been virtually eliminated in major cities by 400 A.D. Christian political organization in the form of bishops, deacons, and of course the hierarchy of the Catholic Church made Christianity the institution considered to control salvation and was also the ultimate political authority.

Flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina — Six hundred years after Jesus the Muslim religion arrived to challenge Christianity for dominance. Muhammad had revelations of voices speaking to him and heard himself being called “Messenger of Allah” by the Angel Gabriel. He began calling on people to worship one God, but had few converts for several years. He mostly only succeeded at infuriating Meccan merchants who wanted to eliminate him. He and Abu Bakr hid in a cave for three days until they could obtain camels and flee to Medina in what was later called the flight (the Hegira or Hija). He attracted an arm of believers in Medina and within eight years had taken Mecca. The Koran (Arabic Qur’an) or recitation, appeared shortly after Muhammad’s death and was compiled by Abu Bakr from communication by the Archangel Gabriel to Muhammad. The Islam religion spread to millions of converts. It rejected the Christian doctrine of the Trinity; Muslims believe Allah is the only God.

Battle of Tours — This battle in 732 A.D. was the first major defeat of the Muslims as they were attempting to march out of Spain and into Gaul. Muhammad had counseled his followers that “…to fight for religion is better than the world and everything in it.” The promise of martyrdom to Muslims if they died in jihad against unbelievers made them ferocious fighters, and they were accustomed to winning. Abu Bakr as caliph (successor) succeeded at bringing Syria, Egypt, Babylonia, Persia, and Spain under the rule of Islam. Vanquished peoples were either allowed to convert, pay tribute, or put to the sword. Many found it advantageous to embrace the faith, and the liberal treatment by the Muslims led many cities to welcome them. The Franks under Charles had a private army and a poorly trained militia. At least 80,000 Muslims, most of them mounted, were arrayed against Charles under Abderraham, but they had the disadvantage that they were burdened with enormous amounts of plunder from their previous victories. The Muslims mounted several cavalry charges against the phalanx formed by Charles, and they failed. Abderraham was killed in the fighting. A rumor spread that Charles had sent forces to steal from their camp, and they broke off the battle to defend their plunder. The Muslim invasion of Western Europe ended, and they retired to Spain to consolidate their already huge empire.

Crusades: The Speech of Urban II — The crusades were a serious of religious campaigns by the Christians of Western Europe from 1096 to 1291. They began after Pope Urban II gave a speech advocating that the Holy Land be recovered from the Muslims. Thousands would strike out with fanatical enthusiasm with little thought of how they would get to the Holy Land or what they would do to combat a powerful enemy once they got there. The most ghastly tragedy was the Children’s Crusade, which involved 50,000 children marching off to be either killed or taken into slavery. On 1291 the last Christian post in the Holy Land was stormed by Sultan Kelaun, and the defenders who weren’t massacred were sold into slavery, thus ending the Crusades. Oddly it is advocated that the Crusades resulted in a positive economic effect. Crusaders who survived to return home brought Oriental goods, and there would be fortunes made in meeting European demand for more goods. Also, feudal lords often freed their serfs before they marched off to often die in the Holy Land. The ones who survived brought back amazing stories of the magnificent cities and progress in art, science, and philosophy in the Muslim lands. Considerable knowledge was transferred to the West. However, the negatives should not be overlooked. Osama bin Laden called the allied soldiers who were in the two invasions of Iraq and the invasion of Afghanistan Crusaders as he taught young Arabs they had a duty of jihad against America.

American Tourists in the Bahamas

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We recently visited the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas with our kids and grandkids, and completely enjoyed the luxury of the accommodations, the extensive Aquaventure Water Park, interacting with dolphins and sea lions, the vast aquariums, amazing meals, and impeccable service (at a high but what I judged to be a fair price). The driver who took us back to the airport in Nassau after our vacation made me reflect on our trip when he told us we had missed out by not taking a trip into the town. He pointed out numerous historical sites of interest, including a statue of Christopher Columbus. I realized I had very little knowledge of the history of the Bahamas or its people. I did a bit of Internet searching, and found what I consider to be some fascinating facts I wish I had known when we were planning the trip.  The Wikipedia article I will extensively quote observes the information should be reviewed by an expert, but I didn’t find discrepancies on the official Bahamas history site.

The first inhabitants of the Bahamas were the Lucayans or the Taino people, who arrived between 500 and 800 A.D. from other Caribbean islands. Recorded history begins with the arrival of Columbus in 1492. Columbus intended to sail to India for spice trade, and when he landed on an island in the Bahamas he called it “Indies.” He then named the Lucayans “Indians,” and the error resulting from him not knowing where he was would be repeated when explorers encountered indigenous peoples throughout the Americas.

The peaceful nature of the Lucayans was exploited by the Spanish, who enslaved them and transported them to Hispaniola (now the Dominican Republic and Haiti). There were 40,000 people enslaved in twenty years. The Spaniards decided to transport the remaining Lucayans to Hispaniola in 1520, and found only eleven people. The islands remained uninhabited for 130 years. An English Puritan group from Bermuda founded a colony in 1649 and struggled with food shortages. The colony was supported with supplies provided by the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

English privateers established themselves in the late 1600s, and Nassau eventually became the “pirate’s republic” with Blackbeard, Calico Jack., Anne Bonny and Mary Read using the islands as their base. A British governor, Woodes Rogers, arrived in 1718 and pardoned pirates willing to surrender and fought those who didn’t. The Bahamas fell to Spanish forces in 1782, but a British-American Loyalist expedition retook the islands without a fight. Most of the current inhabitants are descended from the African slaves brought to work on the Loyalist plantations established from land grants issued by the British. The slaves were freed after the British abolished the slave trade in 1807. The islands were deforested as plantations were built.

The Bahamas prospered during the American Civil War as a base for Confederate blockade runners. Rum running thrived during the American prohibition, and the enormous inflow of revenue ended with the repeal of prohibition.  Drugs eventually replaced rum, and at one time it was estimated that as much as 90 percent of the cocaine destined for the United States passed through the Bahamas.

The Hotel and Steam Ship Service act of 1898 inspired the beginnings of thriving tourism  by providing government support to the construction of hotels and subsidizes to steamship service. The closure of Cuba to Americans gave an additional boost to tourism. The Bahamas achieved self-government in 1964 and full independence on July 10, 1973, and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Learning something about the history of the islands increased my appreciation of the friendly service by every single person we encountered at the Atlantis resort. We and the other thousands of other guests were obviously the source of great jobs for large numbers of Bahamians, and our experience was universally positive. However, I can’t quite escape an uneasy feeling about the divide between the wealth of the visitors and the economics of those providing all that wonderful service. That uneasy feeling was reinforced when my wife asked me to go the movie The Help. We joined about thirty women and watched the story of how black maids raised white children and did all the work in Mississippi households in an atmosphere of ruthless discrimination. I hope those who served us in Atlantis were comfortable that we were polite and appreciative of our interaction with them.

The Looming Tower, Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11–Part IV

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The first two parts of the review of the book by Lawrence Wright were about the origins of al-Qaeda and the role of world Arabs, including bin Laden and al-Zawahiri, in the fighting against the Soviets in Afghanistan and the civil war that continued for years after the retreat of the Soviets. Part III is about the development of al-Qaeda in the years following the defeat of the Russians and how the U.S. and other countries forced bin Laden to go to back to Afghanistan. That country had disintegrated into chaos and violence with the Taliban (the Pashtu word for students), consisting of young men who were often orphans and had been raised mostly without influence from women. The Taliban were able to defeat the Afghan army in a few provinces, but the government held on and fought back in others. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan supported the Taliban, believing they were the best chance for eventual order. The Taliban inquired of Saudi Arabia what they should do with bin Laden when he arrived, and they were told to hold him and keep him quiet. The Taliban eventually succeeded at capturing the Afghan president and brutally tortured him to death.

Bin Laden in the early days was living in Afghanistan close to poverty. A collection had to be taken to find $100 for one of his followers to take an emergency trip. However, it was determined that he had found the money to finance an attack that led to the killing of fifty-eight tourists and four locals at an Egyptian tourist site. Mostly he and al-Qaeda struggled to be recognized by news agencies and to attract contributions. But then the U.S. intelligence services that failed at nearly every opportunity to cooperate with each other and the Saudis began to take him more seriously. The Saudis sent four hundred four wheel-drive pickup trucks and other financial aid to the Taliban as a down payment for the delivery of bin Laden. The Taliban, including Arabs sent by bin Laden, used the trucks to overrun a Shiite city of Hazaras and slaughter many of the inhabitants. Hundreds of captives were locked in shipping containers and left to die. Five to six thousand people were killed, including ten Iranian diplomats. Four hundred women were taken to be concubines.

Al-Qaeda then successfully bombed the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.* Both bombings were done with trucks filled with explosives, and al-Qaeda had learned that gunfire or a grenade detonating prior to the explosion increased casualties because people would come to the windows to see about the commotion and would be shredded with broken glass. Muslims were horrified at the toll on innocent civilians. There were twelve Americans killed in Kenya, 213 total deaths, and 4500 injured, including 150 who were blinded by flying glass. The bombing in Tanzania killed 11 and wounded 85. None were Americans. The FBI and CIA bickered over the investigation, but they did learn an Egyptian member of al-Qaeda had walked into the embassy a year earlier in Nairobi and told the CIA of the plot.

During this time Monica Lewinksky was testifying to the grand jury about the sexual favors she had given President Clinton. Muslims feared retaliation after the bombings would be used to distract from the scandal. “No war for Monica!” was a sign on many Arab streets. President Clinton authorized the firing of thirteen Tomahawk cruise missiles into Khartoum at a chemical plant where a soil sample collected near the plant was found to contain what was thought to be a component of nerve gas. The plant was destroyed and a watchman was killed. It was learned the plant was manufacturing only legitimate pharmaceuticals and veterinary medicines, and had manufactured over half of Sudan’s medicines. Shortly after the factory was destroyed there were cruise missiles headed toward Khost in Afghanistan on a report bin Laden was in a camp there. Bin Laden was on the road, and on a whim decided to go to Kabul instead of Khost. The camp was damaged and several trainees were killed or injured. Bin Laden was able to replenish his treasury with the $10 million the Chinese paid for unexploded missiles. Perhaps even more important is that bin Laden successfully used the attack to convince the jihadist world of his importance. Children were soon wearing bin Laden T-shirts.

I’ve read many times that the Bush allegation of connections between Saddam Hussein and bin Laden were false, but this book gives at least a few instances of contacts as Hussein sought allies to salvage his regime. Hassan al-Turabi arranged a meeting between the Iraqi intelligence service and al-Qaeda “…with the goal of creating a ‘common strategy’ for deposing pro-Western Arab governments.” The Iraqis met with bin Laden, flattered him, and asked that he stop backing anti-Saddam insurgents. Bin Laden agreed and asked for weapons and training camps in Iraq, although there is no evidence anything came of that. Zawahiri traveled to Baghdad and met with Hussein and later traveled to Afghanistan to discuss the possibility of relocating al-Qaeda. Bin Laden declined, not wanting to be indebted to Hussein.

The men who came to Afghanistan to train with al-Qaeda were mostly middle or upper class and college-educated, mostly in natural sciences and engineering. Some spoke five or six languages, and all were Sunnis. They mostly felt displaced from their countries. Their enemies included heretics, Shiites, America, and Israel. They watched Hollywood thrillers for tips, and particularly liked Arnold Schwarzenegger movies.

Germany was extremely tolerant of all views, trying to overcome the sins of the Nazis. As a result, it wasn’t illegal to plan terrorist attacks unless it was against Germany. Four Muslim friends living in Hamburg visited bin Laden and were instructed to return to Germany and apply to flight schools in the United States. In the interim, on October 12, 2000 a fiberglass fishing boat approached the USS Cole in Aden. The two men in the fishing boat stood, waved, saluted, and set off a detonation that nearly sank the Cole, killed seventeen sailors, and wounded thirty-nine. Bin Laden recited a poem in tribute to the bombing of the Cole that ended with, “Awaiting her is a dinghy, bobbing in the waves.” Bin Laden had hoped the Americans would attack Afghanistan to meet the same fate as the Soviets. That didn’t happen, but he was flooded with new recruits and money.

The first plane struck the tower above O’Neill’s office, and he made it to the concourse. Bin Laden told his celebrating men who had heard the report of the plane striking the tower, “Wait, wait.” O’Neill called one of the women in his life to tell her he was going back in. The second plane hit the other tower, and bin Laden wept, prayed, and held up three fingers. The third plane hit the Pentagon, and bin Laden held up four fingers. Bin Laden would release a video bragging about hitting America “…in one of its softest spots.”

John O’Neill left the FBI and took a job in the World Trade Center in late August 2001. The night of September 10 he was telling friends he thought something big was going to happen. “We’re overdue.” Bin Laden released a message quoting a passage from the Quran, which he repeated three times. “Wherever you are, death will find you, even in the looming tower.”

American and British bombers struck Taliban positions October 6. Soon bin Laden and Zawahiri were with about three hundred mujahideen and encouraging them to hold their positions to wait and fight the Americans. American bombers soon hit a cave complex and killed one hundred of them, including eighteen that were identified as al-Qaeda lieutenants. Bin Laden felt betrayed that few Muslims came to join him, and even the Taliban slipped away. He and those who were left escaped to Pakistan. John O’Neill’s body was found in the rubble of the World Trade Center, and his wife and two mistresses met for the first time at his funeral.

The book ends with a description of a man who had seen a wanted poster with Zawahiri’s picture with an offer of $25 million reward for information that led to his capture. There was a telephone number to call, but the man did not have a telephone. Zawahiri and his companions disappeared into the mountains.

*Osama bin Laden had believed the two embassies targeted for bombing were havens for the CIA. He died not knowing that the bombings did kill two CIA agents in Kenya. More information about this is included in the blog posting on this web site published August 2nd.