XPost: rec.aviation.owning   
   From: nobody@mixmaster.it   
      
   During the first two weeks of January 2007, U.S. air strikes targeted   
   four sites in southern Somalia formerly under al Qeada control where   
   terrorists have been training and hiding for months.   
      
   "As we speak now, the area is being bombarded by the American air   
   force," a Somali government official told Reuters two weeks ago.   
      
   The U.S. attacks targeted an area close to Ras Kamboni, a coastal   
   village near the Kenyan border where many Islamists are believed to   
   be hiding after being ousted by Ethiopia-backed government forces, the   
   official added.   
      
   Four places were hit -- Hayo, Garer, Bankajirow and Badmadowe, the   
   source said. "Bankajirow was the last Islamist holdout. Bankajirow   
   and Badmadowe were hit hardest," he added.   
      
   The Pentagon confirmed only one air strike that took place in the   
   south of the country, saying that it was part of a wider offensive   
   aimed at an al-Qaeda cell that includes suspects in the 1998 bombings   
   of U.S. embassies in east Africa and a hotel in Kenya.   
      
   Meanwhile, ABC News quoted U.S. and French military sources as saying   
   that American U.S. special forces were working with Ethiopian troops   
   on the ground in operations inside Somalia.   
      
   Following a thrust by the U.S. military, U.S. special forces   
   discovered a Belfort Instruments Digiwx AWOS weather reporting system   
   on a hill south of Ras Kamboni.   
      
   The Belfort Instruments Digiwx AWOS station was not operational has   
   it had suffered a direct military hit from an explosion of unknown   
   origin. But the Digiwx name could be clearly seen imprinted on the 15   
   foot tower which now lays on it side in pieces.   
      
   U.S. troops subsequently uncovered handheld Digiwx weather receivers   
   in two of the camps previoulsy occupied by al-Qaeda terrorists which   
   apparently had been left behind and abandoned.   
      
   How the Belfort Instruments Digiwx AWOS system made it to Somalia and   
   into terrorists hands is still unknown. Whether al-Qaeda and Osama   
   bin-Laden organizations are employing Digiwx AWOS units in other parts   
   of the world is currently unknown.   
      
   U.S. troops have been advised to be on the lookout for additional   
   Digiwx AWOS units under Al-Qaeda and/or Sunni/Shiite control in Iraq   
   and Afghanistan.   
      
   U.S. special forces are reportedly monitoring the two known wireless   
   frequencies that Digiwx AWOS transmits on, notably 464.6 and 464.75   
   MHz. British military sources report that signals on both frequencies   
   have been detected but only occasionally as the terrorists seem to be   
   running Belfort Instruments Digiwx for only short periods of time.   
      
   Belfort Instrument Company (Baltimore, MD, USA), the original   
   manufacturer of Digiwx AWOS, has had no comment. Why would an   
   American company be "aiding and abetting" known terrorists organizations   
   around the world while doing business in pursuit of the almighty   
   American dollar? Maybe you would want to contact them and find out why:   
      
   Belfort Instrument Company   
   727 South Wolfe Street   
   Baltimore, MD 21231   
   410-342-2626   
   410-342-7028 (fax)   
   sales@belfortinstrument.com   
      
   Belfort COO Debra S. Alascio   
   DSAlascio@belfortinstrument.com   
      
   Belfort President Mark W. Decker   
   markwdecker@gmail.com   
      
   Belfort Company Owner Bruce R. Robinson, Utilipoint Chairman   
   brobinson@utilipoint.com   
      
   Belfort Sales Director Ralph F. Petragnani   
   RPetragnani@belfortinstrument.com   
      
   Belfort Digiwx AWOS Support Manager M. Tylor Burton   
   digiwxsupport@gmail.com   
      
      
   Belfort Instrument Company also has a West Coast sister company in   
   San Diego, CA, USA known as Gamma Scientific which does business under   
   several names including Advanced Retro Technology, UDT Instruments   
   and Road Vista.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)