New York "Freedom Tower"

High-tech shield will protect tower from terrorist threats

by Alex Terrieur

NEW YORK, AFP. The Freedom Tower, set to replace the twin towers of the
former World Trade Center, will be protected by a state-of-the-art
electro-magnetic shield dubbed the "Liberty Forcefield." Construction on
the new skyscraper has only recently begun, delayed by the pesky victims'
families who want a memorial to commemorate the nearly 3,000 victims of
the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. The project is now underway,
over-budget and behind schedule, but nevertheless set for completion by
2012.

The Port Authority of New York, which has repossessed the site after it
was privatized by Larry Silverstein properties in July, 2001, is
overseeing the construction of the new tower. Although Silverstein
properties had intended on financing the project, his investment was
threatened by insurance companies who found inconsistencies in the policy
that was taken out in July, 2001. They refused to pay the $7 billion
Silverstein claimed as his reimbursement for "two separate attacks" that
occured on Sept 11, therefore doubling his otherwise paltry $3.5 billion
insurance claim.

Problems arose once officials realised that office space on the World
Trade Center site was not necessarily in high demand. Before the
destruction of the three skyscapers in 2001, including 47-story World
Trade Center Building 7, the city had trouble finding tenants for the
towers. Moreover, the towers were considered a liability due to the
asbestos used in their construction, and they were slated to be dismantled
by 2009 at a cost of several billion. Fortunately, the towers were
destroyed by Al Qaeda terrorists and therefore costly cleanup and
management was unnecessary. However the problems of building new office
space and new terrorist threats remained. The replacement for World Trade
Center Building 7 was completed in early 2006, and remains at about 10
percent occupancy.

The new Freedom Tower, which will soar to 1,776 feet above the Manhattan
skyline, and preside auspiciously over the other near-empty skyscrapers
around it, will be protected by a Liberty Forcefield developed jointly by
Lockheed-Martin, Halliburton and Boeing. The ion-plasma energy field will
be projected out of the building by high-capacity generators, thereby
thwarting any wayward aircraft or kamikaze pilots wishing to repeat the
tragedy of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. Other details on the
forcefield remained highly classified for National Security reasons.

Some victims' families have cried foul. "That Liberty Forcefield won't
work, as any common sense can tell you," said the brother of a firefighter
killed in the WTC. "Those buildings didn't fall because of the airplanes.
They were built to withstand aircraft impact."

Larry Silverstein, Mayor Bloomberg and other city officials have scoffed
at the victims' families "outrageous conspiracies," saying they are only
relishing in their relatives' deaths for fame and glory. The forcefield
project, they maintain, will become an integral part of the new Freedom
Tower, despite what some "dispersed, unorganized and somewhat unstable
surviving family members might be saying," said Port Authority employee
Phillip Dapitt. This will ultimately protect the tower, "a new symbol of
America's unfettered and continued freedom and liberty since 2001 under
the courageous policies of the Bush administration," said Dapitt.

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