The Friendly Skies
I was watching Meet the Press this morning, and the topic was, of course, the recently thwarted attacks on those planes heading here. Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton were on, and they bemoaned a ``lack of urgency`` on the part of Americans in general to secure our airports and the like. I wholeheartedly agree; Americans are taking this far too casually, but I think the Commissioners can`t see the forest for the trees. (They did fall short of blaming the Iraq war for this failure to secure America.)
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 612 million passengers on U.S. flights in 2003, 9 million departures for the airline industry, there were 357 major use airports and 19000 total, 612,000 pilots with 284,000 privately licensed pilots. These numbers are staggering, and the idea that we can secure our airways is pollyanish, to put it mildly. Airplanes are just too vulnerable to a determined group of terrorists. That is why this idea that we should concentrate on security is so myopic; we simply CANNOT secure this vast industry from a determined enemy.
The only answer is to take this fight to our enemies; we are simply too vulnerable, and we are going to remain vulnerable.
The number of private pilot`s licenses should also be cause for concern; imagine a mid-air collision between a jumbo-jet and a private plane being used as a missile! Also, private planes could be used for chemical and biological attacks, could be flown into oil refineries, dams, etc. This is a serious vulnerability, and one we should be very concerned about.
I had an odd thought this morning, one which definitely puts me in the paranoid tin-foil hat crowd; suppose these planned attacks were a ruse? What if the enemy figured they would fail, and executed them anyway as a means of throwing us off the trail of something nastier? The obsession with attacks on aircraft by terrorists has become old hat, and we`ve come to watch for hijackings and the like. It has become stereotypical terrorist behavior. If I were a terrorist, I would use that to my advantage and set up a fake airline attack to mask something else. Maybe they have something in the works which does NOT involve aircraft?
I know, I know; they`ve put us on high alert, which seems to be a foolish thing to do. Perhaps they had hoped the attacks would be successful, and they figured that we would waste our time and resources chasing down this particular plot while preparations are underway for something completely different? It`s a bit of a crackpot idea, I admit.
Still, there are so many things I can think of that could be done to kill Americans and hurt this country, and I`m not even trying. In a nation of 300 million people, there really is no way to stop a determined attacker.
A personal note; my brother Brian is flying to Oxford to deliver a paper, and I`m worried to death about his being on a plane anywhere near Britain. I wouldn`t object to a few prayers for his safe return...
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 612 million passengers on U.S. flights in 2003, 9 million departures for the airline industry, there were 357 major use airports and 19000 total, 612,000 pilots with 284,000 privately licensed pilots. These numbers are staggering, and the idea that we can secure our airways is pollyanish, to put it mildly. Airplanes are just too vulnerable to a determined group of terrorists. That is why this idea that we should concentrate on security is so myopic; we simply CANNOT secure this vast industry from a determined enemy.
The only answer is to take this fight to our enemies; we are simply too vulnerable, and we are going to remain vulnerable.
The number of private pilot`s licenses should also be cause for concern; imagine a mid-air collision between a jumbo-jet and a private plane being used as a missile! Also, private planes could be used for chemical and biological attacks, could be flown into oil refineries, dams, etc. This is a serious vulnerability, and one we should be very concerned about.
I had an odd thought this morning, one which definitely puts me in the paranoid tin-foil hat crowd; suppose these planned attacks were a ruse? What if the enemy figured they would fail, and executed them anyway as a means of throwing us off the trail of something nastier? The obsession with attacks on aircraft by terrorists has become old hat, and we`ve come to watch for hijackings and the like. It has become stereotypical terrorist behavior. If I were a terrorist, I would use that to my advantage and set up a fake airline attack to mask something else. Maybe they have something in the works which does NOT involve aircraft?
I know, I know; they`ve put us on high alert, which seems to be a foolish thing to do. Perhaps they had hoped the attacks would be successful, and they figured that we would waste our time and resources chasing down this particular plot while preparations are underway for something completely different? It`s a bit of a crackpot idea, I admit.
Still, there are so many things I can think of that could be done to kill Americans and hurt this country, and I`m not even trying. In a nation of 300 million people, there really is no way to stop a determined attacker.
A personal note; my brother Brian is flying to Oxford to deliver a paper, and I`m worried to death about his being on a plane anywhere near Britain. I wouldn`t object to a few prayers for his safe return...
posted by Timothy Birdnow | 8:12 AM
1 Comments:
The problem of the Average American’s ``lack of urgency`` stems from the fact that the MSM, which bemoans this condition, helped to crystallize it to begin with.
Face it. It’s been FIVE years before the first movie about 9/11 was made. FIVE years! When was the last time the MSM broadcasted images--stark--grim-- images from that day?
People in NYC have been saying it’s TOO soon to make films about 9/11. Well, it the job of the MSM and Hollywood to put these images before the public and say, Hey, look at this! This is real!
The President can only say so much before the MSM is culpable for the ignorable of the general public. No one can instantly create a sense of urgency when the last five years has been spent cultivating conspiracy theories about Bush Administration’s complicity.
The MSM must step out of its own dreamland of denial and then they can start bemoaning the American citizen’s ``lack of urgency!``
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