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al index (text) Jacksonville, Florida, [Something-Stinks-Here-Dept.] Security scare shuts Kings Bay By Liz Hampton Times-Union correspondent ST. MARYS, Ga. — Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base was locked down for security reasons Friday after two Israelis were detained for questioning. David Irving comments: I HAVE myself driven past this submarine base on occasion, but not been stopped.
It is next to the delightful old English-style coastal town of St Mary, well worth a slight detour from I-95 on your way north or south.
The fact that these two miscreants, citizens of America’s greatest friend and ally, were tossed into FBI custody with such alacrity suggests to my suspicious mind that US military installations have now been warned to be on guard against Israelis, since the previous odd episode involving “Israeli moving men” whose resumés made them seem, ahem, suspiciously over- qualified for such menial tasks.
And what should we make of the Navy’s immediate search of the vehicle for “a bomb”, despite its crew being Israelis? Did ugly memories of the USS Liberty dance in the Navy’s heads? One does not normally find Israelis getting their hands dirty at work (unless it is “dirty work” of course).
I don’t recall seeing a single Israeli next to me in the concrete trench when I worked with John Laing’s concrete gang building the new Physics Block at Imperial College, working my way through college; nor was there one on the furnace stage of the Siemens-Martin furnace III at the Thyssen Works in the Ruhr when I worked there as III. Schmelzer in 1959. I often think the Israelis must be getting a bum rap. They can’t all be bad eggs, surely?
The only Israelis known to be involved in the moving business until recently were those nice folks in Florida. Oh, but it turned out in court later that they had a nasty business habit (aka: “scam”) of estimating one low price, then demanding two or three times as much cash before they would release the furniture at the other end. Strange world we live in. PS: What’s the betting that this submarine base story didn’t make it to your local paper?
A correspondent points out (): “Your commentary inadvertently overlooked the Israelis in New Jersey who were detained for celebrating 9/11. Were they not also in the furniture-moving business? Is this now a universal cover for our Mossad friends?” Base spokesman Ed Buczek said two Israeli men attempted to enter the base about 10:30 a.m. They were hired by a moving-and-storage company to pick up some household goods in base housing, he said.
One occupant of the vehicle was unable to provide base security personnel with proper credentials after arriving at the Franklin Gate entrance, Buczek said. Base personnel then inspected the van. Military dogs trained to detect bombs were called in. “The military dogs were alerted to a scent in the cab of the truck,” Buczek said. “Guards closed access to the base and notified the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.”
St. Marys police closed access to an area one-half mile out surrounding the base, and a bomb squad was called in, Buczek said. A briefcase was removed from the vehicle with a remote control robot, but nothing was found in it. “The dogs were called in again for a second pass of the vehicle, and they didn’t pick up anything,” he said.
The two men, whose names were not released, were detained and later taken into custody by federal immigration officers in Savannah for possible deportation, Buczek said. Times-Union correspondent Liz Hampton can be reached at (904) 359-4171. Website note: we request readers to keep their eyes open for follow-up stories on this incident .