Are U.S. planes spraying chemicals?

Some people have respiratory problems. Others have mouth blisters.
Still others are chronically tired. Many people are suffering from a
combination of these illnesses, coupled with weight loss, burning mouths
and noses, hoarseness, dizziness and disorientation. And they say their
symptoms can last for days and even weeks.

Reports say hospital emergency rooms in some areas of the country
have been flooded with such patients, while talk radio programs have
begun to discuss the phenomenon at length. The Internet is abuzz with
theories, counter-theories, and any measure of explanation. But no
matter what aspect of the story is debated, more and more people are
beginning to dismiss the naysayers who insist it is nothing more than an
elaborate hoax. It's real, say the infected and affected -- and it's
getting worse. But what is going on?

Specifically, the focus of this mysterious "sickness" is centered
around the observance of contrails -- trails of gaseous substances --
left in the wake of jet planes flying high above certain areas of the
country. Observers on the ground have discovered, after several
"patterns" of contrails have been produced by numerous planes making
dozens of passes over an area, that a colorless web-like sticky
substance falls from the sky, often generating sickness for many who
come in contact with it. In other areas no such substance is reported,
but scores of people have become ill nonetheless, presumably because the
planes forming the contrail patterns are literally spraying some sort of
chemical in the air.

Sources who have followed the phenomenon for over a year have claimed
that the planes likely belong to the U.S. Air Force because of their
type. Those planes -- KC-135s and KC-10 aerial tankers -- have been
spotted "seeding clouds" -- a term used by the Air Force in ongoing
weather modification research. Officially the Air Force denies it is
involved in anything associated with the sightings, but some residents
who have seen the contrails have reported changes in the weather (such
as heavy rains) after the "seeding" is complete and the planes retire.

No one knows where the planes are coming from or where they land when
they're finished. However, one man says he is certain the phenomenon is
weather-modification related, and is equally sure the Air Force is
behind the testing.

Tommy Farmer, a former engineering technician with Raytheon Missile
Systems, has been studying the jet contrail phenomenon for over a year,
and he recently confirmed the number of reports coming in all over the
country to the Environmental News Service. In a recent article, "Farmer
said he has collected samples of what he calls 'angel hair' sprayed by
the mystery aircraft on six occasions since February 1998. Four samples
have been taken since November 1998."

According to one source, who requested anonymity, one sample taken
supposedly contained elements of JP-8 -- jet fuel -- and Ethel Dibromide
(EDB), a pesticide which was banned years ago because research showed
prolonged exposure caused carcinogenic effects on humans. The source
also said that another reportedly contained non-specific bacterial
groups, but neither of these could be confirmed independently by
WorldNetDaily

Other researchers have speculated that the epicenter of the "sky
seeding" phenomenon is linked to an ongoing research project on
weather-modification techniques funded by the Air Force. The project
focuses on weather modification research and development, and the Air
Force says the military can find ways to "own the weather by the year
2025." According to that report, Air Force researchers said that the
United States military already retained the ability to control weather
patterns "to some degree" with a technique known as "cloud seeding" --
the dissipation of chemical elements into the sky in an effort to
produce a certain weather effect.

Continued research has shown that there may be a link between that
project and the High Altitude Auroral Research Project (HAARP) project
located in Alaska. The HAARP array, according to the Air Force and the
Navy, which is co-developing the project, "is not weather modification,"
but is designed to influence jet streams and air patterns, and
theoretically could be used in conjunction with sky seeding technology
to produce a desired weather effect. According to one published
report, HAARP
"has for the past several years been using phased array antennas to
steer powerful beams of tightly-focused radio waves to 'stimulate,' heat
and steer sections of the upper atmosphere."

Reports have generated from Texas, New Mexico, Washington, Tennessee,
and some other states -- all reporting similar contrail patterns in the
sky and all reporting near-identical symptoms, suffered by a number of
people in the area, accompanied by the sticky web-like residue.

One observer who contacted WorldNetDaily by email wrote, "We have
been bombarded almost everyday with jets leaving contrails grids in the
sky above us. I have never seen the spider web stuff really thick. It is
just really constant; it is always around us. In the sky and all over
the fences and trees."

Observers mostly report that jets make "X" patterns in the sky,
sometimes dozens of them, often causing near zero-visibility in the sky
and, in one case, "massive fog" on the ground. The planes are almost
always described as jets, but one observer said the jets in an area in
Texas were followed by "a smaller, thicker plane with propellers; flying
at a considerably lower altitude."

Debra Mahon spoke with WorldNetDaily by telephone from her home about
35 miles north of Dallas, Texas. She said she became ill earlier this
week with many of the same symptoms reported by others. Though her voice
was hoarse and labored -- effects of the sudden illness -- she said the
contrail phenomenon has been occurring in her area "for quite awhile."

She also reported seeing "thousands" of web-like strands falling from
the sky after each "seeding." She described them as looking like "spider
webs in the spring, but they disintegrate into nothing in your hand.
They're not nearly as strong as real spider webs."

On a recent day, she and a friend were watching planes laying
contrail patterns when suddenly "one plane we were watching just
disappeared. We don't know where it went."

"I asked (my friend) if she had seen it too, and she told me she had
but also couldn't explain it. I was almost afraid to bring it up. It is
just so weird."

She said there was speculation among some who are analyzing these
incidents that perhaps the government is releasing a certain biotoxin
"in the hopes that you can build up an immunity against it, as if
they're expecting it to be spread by some other method -- like a
terrorist attack or something." She freely admitted she had no proof of
"any of this," but said she and many others she has been in contact with
"sure would like some answers."

She is not alone, but the phenomenon -- increasingly called "chemtrails' -- has not been officially
acknowledged by any service branch of the military, or by the U.S.
government. Calls to the Air Force were not returned.