Norway massacre: Special elite police unit concluded training for near identical scenario just minutes before Breivik’s bomb attack

Police emergency squad trained at Utøya scenario 22 July

Editor’s Note: The following is a rough Google translation of an article by Aftenposten in Norway

Only 26 minutes after training for emergency squad was closed, went car bomb in the government quarter.

Only hours before Anders Behring Breivik began shooting children on Utøya, concluded the police emergency squad an exercise where they practiced an almost identical situation.

aftenposten.no | Aug 29, 2011

by ANDREAS GROUND FOSS

The four days in advance, and also the same Friday that the attack was carried out, trained police special unit on an ongoing terror campaign that was approximately equal to the situation that hours later, met the 22 police officers in the emergency squad on Utøya.

Aftenposten is confirmed from key sources in the management of the Oslo police that exercise was terminated at 15 that same Friday.

All officers from the emergency squad that participated in the government quarter after car bomb and later came ashore on Utøya and arrested Anders Behring Breivik, had earlier that same day and in the days ahead participated in training on a very similar scenario.

So did the police so far to stop the exercise until they had trained on the reality.

Related

• Norwegian Police Confirm Drill Identical to Breivik’s Attack
• Norwegian Police Conducted Drill For A “Practically Identical Scenario” Right Before The Utoya Attack

The training shall thereafter Aftenposten know, have gone straight into the met police in Tyrifjorden the same day: a mobile terrorist attack in which one or more perpetrators only goal is to shoot as many people as possible and then shoot the police when they arrive.

– It was very close to the answer key. Chance would have it that way, says a key police source, who declined to quoted by name.

Massacre

The police should not have trained in a scenario with as many victims as they met on Utøya.

Police special unit trains continuously. But every quarter, the “blocks” where they train to different types of scenarios.

These are different scenarios police envisions might occur where the emergency squad must be inserted. There may be actions indoors, in cities or out in other environments.

According to police, this is a scenario they train on several times a year and has trained for several years, especially after some events in other countries.

26 minutes

Only 26 minutes after training for emergency squad was closed, went car bomb in the government quarter. Emergency Squad was early room.

At 17.30 was the staff of the Oslo police told a shooting at Utøya. They attached so much trust in the message that the emergency squad sat in the cars they already had in its ministries and cars that came from the police station at Grønland in Oslo.

On the way they struggled to reach the North Buskerud Police District, but at 18.02, six minutes before they arrived, they contact and agreed to meet at Storøya.

There were seven people from the emergency squad and three officers from Nordre Buskerud Police District into a 4.9 meter long rubber dinghy. This was so heavily loaded that it began taking in water. The police were assisted by a civilian boat and drove towards Utøya.
Full Coverage on the Norway Massacre

Doctors raise money for new David Kelly inquest against cover-up of his killing

Dr Kelly had spoken of “dark actors” and feared he would be “found dead in the woods”

Doctors unleash legal challenge over inquest Dr David Kelly never had

Daily Mail | Aug 28, 2011

By Miles Goslett

Doctors are preparing to challenge the Government’s decision not to hold an inquest into the death of Dr David Kelly.

In June, Attorney General Dominic Grieve ruled one out after telling Parliament evidence that the weapons inspector killed himself was ‘overwhelmingly strong’.

He was responding to legal papers sent to his office by the doctors.

But now they have told the Daily Mail that they still believe it vital that a coroner consider the case and are seeking a judicial review of Mr Grieve’s decision.

The doctors said they had spent ‘a considerable amount of time reflecting on the situation’ and had read Mr Grieve’s recent response ‘extremely carefully’.

But they concluded that there were matters which he did not address satisfactorily and they felt ‘a duty’ to carry on with their campaign.

This month the doctors were given a 33-page legal opinion by Aidan O’Neill QC, a colleague of Cherie Blair at Matrix chambers in London, indicating that Mr Grieve’s decision could be judicially reviewed, paving the way for an inquest. They are now set to proceed, managed by solicitors Withers LLP.

Following a meeting with John Cooper QC last week in which they discussed how the case would be taken forward they have now asked to be represented by him during the judicial review.

The doctors are acting because they believe there are unanswered questions about Dr Kelly’s death.

Speaking on behalf of the other three doctors involved in the case, Dr David Halpin said: ‘We need to raise about £50,000 to cover stage one legal fees to take this to the High Court but we believe this must be done. Britain has great potential for good but many people know it is now mired in mendacity. They must help the doctors get light into the dark corner of the Dr Kelly cover-up. Truth must out.’

The lawyers must be formally instructed by August 30 so that proceedings can begin by September 8, the legal deadline by which the judicial review must be under way.

The doctors’ decision is likely to cause significant unease within Whitehall.  No full explanation has been supplied for closing down the inquest into Dr Kelly’s death, which began as a matter of routine immediately after his body was found. It was replaced with a public inquiry chaired by Lord Hutton, who did not hear witness evidence under oath.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one former MP told the Mail that Dr Kelly’s death ‘almost certainly encompassed highly sensitive matters of national security which is why there was no inquest’.

Dr Kelly, a world-renowned weapons inspector, allegedly killed himself after being named as the prime source of a BBC report accusing Tony Blair’s government of lying to take Britain into the Iraq war.

His body was found in woods close to his home in Oxfordshire on July 18 2003. He had booked a return plane ticket to Baghdad, where he worked, on the morning he disappeared.

The Hutton Inquiry found that he killed himself after slashing his wrist with a blunt pruning knife and overdosing on painkillers.

Mr Grieve was presented with fresh evidence by the doctors and others questioning the official finding and highlighting irregularities.

This included the fact that there were no fingerprints on five items found with Dr Kelly’s body: the knife he allegedly used to kill himself, a watch, his mobile phone, an open water bottle and two blister packs of pills he supposedly swallowed.

Despite the police knowing about the lack of fingerprints at the time this was never raised at the Hutton Inquiry and was only established years later using the Freedom of Information Act.

There is also photographic evidence suggesting Dr Kelly’s body was moved after it was found.

Last year it emerged that in 2004 all medical and scientific reports relating to his death – including photographs of his body – were secretly classified for 70 years.

Much of the material affected by this highly unusual gagging order has still not been released and no legal explanation for it has ever been made.

Mr Halpin added: ‘Coroners,  not politicians, should determine how, where and when someone has died. That is our law in our country. There is an element of David and Goliath here.’

If you would like to donate, visit The Dr. David Kelly Inquest Fund

‘Swarm technology’ could allow UAVs to work together like insects

The ScanEagle system recently took part in the successful test of a Boeing-developed narrowband communications relay.

theengineer.co.uk | Aug 22, 2011

Autonomous aircraft could one day work together like swarming insects to complete missions, thanks to technology tested by Boeing last month.

The US-based aerospace company used swarm technology, developed by the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL), to allow different types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to communicate and operate as a group.

The technology allowed two ScanEagle aircraft manufactured by Boeing subsidiary Insitu and one Procerus Unicorn from JHU/APL to complete a mission in eastern Oregon on 7–10 July, the company revealed last week.

The UAVs worked together to search a test area, mapping the terrain and creating their own flight path, while simultaneously sending information to teams on the ground. A broader demonstration is planned for the end of September.

‘This is a milestone in UAV flight,’ said Gabriel Santander, Boeing Advanced Autonomous Networks programme director and team leader.

‘The test team proved that these unmanned aircraft can collect and use data while communicating with each other to support a unified mission.

‘This swarm technology may one day be used for search-and-rescue missions or identifying enemy threats ahead of ground patrols.’

JHU/APL principal investigator Dave Scheidt said: ‘The decentralised autonomous vehicles we demonstrated show the potential for improved response time and reduced manning requirements when compared with current systems.’

The ScanEagle system also recently took part in the successful test of a Boeing-developed narrowband communications relay that was used to link handheld radios in the mountains of California.

Libyan rebels using Canadian urban surveillance drones

An Aeryon scout UAV drone is pictured in an undated grab from a promotional video. Aeryon

defence | Aug 25, 2011

Libyan rebels are using the Aeryon Scout micro unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in their fight against pro-Gaddafi forces, after receiving one of the aircraft from Canadian manufacturer Aeryon Labs.

While numerous UAVs operate over Libya (such as the Predator, Fire Scout and ScanEagle), these are all NATO assets, leaving rebels without their own platform. However, Aeryon Labs earlier this week revealed that rebels have been using its Scout to acquire intelligence on enemy positions and to coordinate resistance efforts.

The company said that representatives from the Transitional National Council (TNC) were looking for an imagery solution to provide to the troops on the ground and chose the Scout after evaluating a series of micro UAVs.

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In cooperation with the private security company Zariba Security Corporation and the Libyan Transitional National Council, Libyan troops were trained in-country on the use of the Scout UAV. Docking in the besieged city of Misrata, after an 18-hour boat ride from Malta, a representative from Zariba Security delivered and conducted Scout UAV training, which began at the Misrata Airport.

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How high-tech Canadian drones gave Libyan rebels a boost

“After only one demonstration flight, the TNC soldiers operated the following flight,” said Charles Barlow of Zariba. “I was amazed how easy it was to train people with no previous UAV or aircraft experience, especially given the language barrier. Soldiers need tough, intuitive equipment – and the Scout delivered brilliantly.”

With only a day and a half of training flights and a few familiarization flights, Aeryon Labs said the rebels put the Scout into service on the frontline and have so far operated it without any incident.

The Scout, developed from 2007–2009, is a small vertical takeoff and landing UAV that weighs only 1.5 kg (3 lbs) and can be packed into a suitcase or a backpack. Instead of using joysticks, the Scout uses a map-based, touch-screen interface that allows new users to pilot the system in just minutes. The Scout essentially flies itself, allowing the operator to focus on acquiring imagery, Aeryon Labs said.

The Scout has four rotors, each powered by a brushless DC electric motor, ensuring nearly silent operation. The vehicle can operate up to 3 km from the user, with a designed operational altitude above ground level of 300–500 feet at flying speeds of up to 50 km/h. It can tolerate winds of up to 80 km/h.

Libyan rebels are using the Scout’s day and night-time cameras. The day camera allows them to gather detailed images and video, while the night-time camera is a thermal imager, gathering heat images of equipment and people on the ground. Each image is embedded with date and time stamps and latitude and longitude information for every target.

Aeryon said other countries in the Middle East are in the process of buying the UAV. It is currently being used by police in Canada and a company called Geo-Rhea is flying it to collect environmental data, including, for example, the size of coal piles. And BP used several Scouts to monitor the oil spill during its clean-up efforts in the Gulf.