From: "Geo" 

Yes it's real, in fact they have footage of one of the dolphins waving and
saying "so long and thanks for all the fish".. which really would
have made a good thread title. 

Geo. (it does sound like douglas adams doesn't it?)

"Ellen K."  wrote in message
news:99mfj1h1mhlna344akfqo0k0gs10ikqbum{at}4ax.com...
> Is this for real?  September 25th isn't some British version of April
> Fool's?
>
> On Sun, 25 Sep 2005 20:08:33 -0400, "Rich Gauszka"

> wrote in message :
>
> >Think Flipper will have a wanted poster hung in the Post Office?
> >
> >http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1577753,00.html
> >
> >Armed and dangerous - Flipper the firing dolphin let loose by Katrina
> >
> >by Mark Townsend Houston
> >Sunday September 25, 2005
> >The Observer
> >
> >
> >It may be the oddest tale to emerge from the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina.
> >Armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists and
pinpoint
> >spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of Mexico.
> >Experts who have studied the US navy's cetacean training exercises claim
the
> >36 mammals could be carrying 'toxic dart' guns. Divers and surfers risk
> >attack, they claim, from a species considered to be among the planet's
> >smartest. The US navy admits it has been training dolphins for military
> >purposes, but has refused to confirm that any are missing.
> >
> >Dolphins have been trained in attack-and-kill missions since the Cold
War.
> >The US Atlantic bottlenose dolphins have apparently been taught to shoot
> >terrorists attacking military vessels. Their coastal compound was
breached
> >during the storm, sweeping them out to sea. But those who have studied
the
> >controversial use of dolphins in the US defence programme claim it is
vital
> >they are caught quickly.
> >
> >Leo Sheridan, 72, a respected accident investigator who has worked for
> >government and industry, said he had received intelligence from sources
> >close to the US government's marine fisheries service confirming dolphins
> >had escaped.
> >
> >'My concern is that they have learnt to shoot at divers in wetsuits who
have
> >simulated terrorists in exercises. If divers or windsurfers are mistaken
for
> >a spy or suicide bomber and if equipped with special harnesses carrying
> >toxic darts, they could fire,' he said. 'The darts are designed to put
the
> >target to sleep so they can be interrogated later, but what happens if
the
> >victim is not found for hours?'
> >
> >Usually dolphins were controlled via signals transmitted through a neck
> >harness. 'The question is, were these dolphins made secure before Katrina
> >struck?' said Sheridan.
> >
> >The mystery surfaced when a separate group of dolphins was washed from a
> >commercial oceanarium on the Mississippi coast during Katrina. Eight were
> >found with the navy's help, but the dolphins were not returned until US
navy
> >scientists had examined them.
> >
> >Sheridan is convinced the scientists were keen to ensure the dolphins
were
> >not the navy's, understood to be kept in training ponds in a sound in
> >Louisiana, close to Lake Pontchartrain, whose waters devastated New
Orleans.
> >
> >The navy launched the classified Cetacean Intelligence Mission in San
Diego
> >in 1989, where dolphins, fitted with harnesses and small electrodes
planted
> >under their skin, were taught to patrol and protect Trident submarines in
> >harbour and stationary warships at sea.
> >
> >Criticism from animal rights groups ensured the use of dolphins became
more
> >secretive. But the project gained impetus after the Yemen terror attack
on
> >the USS Cole in 2000. Dolphins have also been used to detect mines near
an
> >Iraqi port.
> >
> >
> >
>

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