New Freedom Tower to be protected by Liberty Forcefield

High-tech shield will protect tower from terrorist threats

Alex Terrieur
La Lune de la presse internationale

LOWER MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

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.