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Posted on 01/26/2004 1:30:12 PM PST by Ragtime Cowgirl
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WASHINGTON, January 26, 2004 -- If al Qaeda and other terrorists were given even "half an opening," they would use weapons of mass destructions within the United States, said DoD's official responsible for homeland defense.
"That's a chilling but hard reality," Paul McHale, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense told members of the Reserve Officers Association here today. He said he's personally convinced that "we must be prepared not only to defeat such attacks, but, God forbid, to respond to them."
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Reality, ping!
This mission already is in place, as part of Operation Noble Eagle. It comes under what's known as MSCA - Military Support of Civilian Authorities.
Now, MSCA missions are traditionally the Guard missions you all know: disaster relief, civil disturbance, search-and-rescue, etc. Under ONE, the missions can also include the Homeland Security role in an offensive response: the firepower tasks that AD McHale refers to.
That would happen, ONLY WHEN and NOT BEFORE every legal I and T was dotted and crossed. The Guard/Reserves will not be used lightly, in these incidents.
When my son went into the Navy at the end of the 80s, he was in aviation anti-submarine warfare, and did surveillance in the Persian Gulf area, as well as in parts of the Pacific. After the fall of the Soviet Union, it was decided (well, by the Dems) that it was no longer necessary to watch out for submarines, because after all, the Soviet Union had been the only big problem in that area. So they basically eliminated much of that type of surveillance in the 90s.
Well, of course, the Russians couldn't afford to put the submarines out to sea themselves, but that certainly didn't mean they were going to destroy them. They sold them - to places like Iran, which supposedly has a fair number of some of the more advanced model Russian subs. So the problem, if anything, got worse, but in the meantime, we had eliminated one of our first lines of defense.
I assume this has been or is being rebuilt now, but it's an example of what a short-sighted, naive defense policy can do.
I have no doubt about that. From the wanton destruction and bloodshed of innocents on every continent, it is clear they intend to dominate the world and if that means killing every last one of us infidels that is exactly what they'll do. If they can bring the "Great Satan"" to its knees other countries would be easier to control.
The facts are disturbing. The author recounts episodes in which large tankers-- the large oil ships, or container ships-- were taken over at gunpoint by pirates. Crews have been beaten and robbed. Many smaller tankers have been commandeered entirely. The crews were murdered, and the ships cruise constantly in international waters, on and off-loading cargo under a fake name and bogus registration. Phantom ships.
Most eye-opening were the speculations about terrorist attacks. It would not be difficult to commandeer a large oil tanker, and smash it open in one of the world's major waterways. A collision in the narrow parts of the Moloccan Strait, an explosion in the Suez or Panama canals, or an auto-piloted attack on an American port are all very real threats. An attack of this kind could conceivably hamper international shipping for months, not to mention kill large numbers of people.
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