WASHINGTON, April 28, 2008
U.S. Wary Of Small Boat Terrorism
Administration Wants To Enlist Recreational Boaters To Reduce Chances Of Waterway Attacks
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There are about 18 million small boats in the country, contributing to a $39.5 billion industry, according to a 2006 estimate from the National Marine Manufacturers Association. (iStockphoto)
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According to an April 23 intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press, "The use of a small boat as a weapon is likely to remain al Qaeda's weapon of choice in the maritime environment, given its ease in arming and deploying, low cost, and record of success."
While the United States has so far been spared this type of strike in its own waters, terrorists have used small boats to attack in other countries.
The millions of humble dinghies, fishing boats and smaller cargo ships that ply America's waterways are not nationally regulated as they buzz around ports, oil tankers, power plants and other potential terrorist targets.
This could allow terrorists in small boats to carry out an attack similar to the USS Cole bombing, says Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen. That 2000 attack killed 17 American sailors in Yemen when terrorists rammed a dinghy packed with explosives into the destroyer. "There is no intelligence right now that there's a credible risk" of this type of attack, Allen says. "But the vulnerability is there."
To reduce the potential for such an attack in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security has developed a new strategy intended to increase security by enhancing safety standards. The Coast Guard is part of the department.
On Monday officials will announce the plan, which asks states to develop and enforce safety standards for recreational boaters and asks them to look for and report suspicious behavior on the water - much like a neighborhood watch program. The government will also look to develop technology that will help detect dangerous materials and other potential warning signs.
The United States has spent billions of dollars constructing elaborate defenses against the monster cargo ships that could be used by terrorists, including strict regulations for containers and shipping.
"When that oil tanker is coming from the Middle East, we know everything about it before it gets here," said John Fetterman, deputy chief of Maine's marine patrol. But when it comes to small boats, he said, "nobody knows a lot about them."
Initially the government considered creating a federal license for recreational boat operators, but that informal proposal was immediately shot down by boating organizations. Coast Guard and homeland security officials have toured the country in the past year to sound out the boating industry and its enthusiasts. While the government insists there will be no federal license, the strategy suggests that the government consider registering and regulating recreational boats.
There are about 18 million small boats in the country, contributing to a $39.5 billion industry, according to a 2006 estimate from the National Marine Manufacturers Association.
Fetterman and his officers regularly get intelligence reports about unknown or unrecognized boaters taking pictures of a bridge or measurements of a dam. But he says there just aren't enough officers on the water to address every report.
The only way to police the waterfront, says maritime security expert Stephen Flynn, "is to get as many of the participants who are part of that community to be essentially on your side." Flynn, a fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations, says treating boaters as allies rather than as a threat will go a long way.
The government has taken tentative first steps to secure the waterways, but at a much slower pace than the effort aimed at large container ships.
Small boats are not the top terrorist threat facing the United States, officials say. But the nation shouldn't wait to be attacked, said Vayl Oxford, the head of homeland security's Domestic Nuclear Detection Office. "We just cannot allow ourselves to get to the point where we're managing consequences," he said.
Oxford's office is leading two pilot programs that train and arm harbor patrols with portable radiological and nuclear detection equipment, starting with Seattle's Puget Sound. A similar program for San Diego is in the planning stages.
Many local departments across the country have been concerned with the small boat threat. The New York Police Department has scuba teams and marine units equipped with radiation detection that patrol New York waters. But few departments across the country have similar resources.
That is why the strategy is intended to create a layered defense that would create a national federal standard to operate a boat, Allen says.
The Coast Guard will work with states to establish minimum safety standards and ways to enforce the new rules. That may include requiring boat operators to have a copy of the safety certification on board with them and a piece of identification that links them to the certificate. That's important, security officials say, because currently there is no uniform requirement for pleasure boaters to have identification on board with them on the water.
The government defines small boats as any vessel less than 300 tons.
The new strategy will not only create more awareness on the water, but additional state safety requirements could have other benefits: keeping boats shipshape and having their inspections up to date; more lifesaving equipment on board; and possibly fewer drunken people operating boats, said California's homeland security adviser Matthew Bettenhausen.
In 2006, there were 710 boating deaths, more than 3,400 injuries and close to $44 million worth of property damage, according to the latest statistics from the Coast Guard. Of the 710 deaths, 70 percent occurred on boats operated by someone who did not have boating safety instruction.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
I expect the government''s next move will be to declare that citizens cannot use the locks. Perhaps this story is the beginning of that end. That still won''t keep the barge full of explosives out of the lock.
In the meantime we have spent millions of dollars on laughable "security" at our locks. It would be interesting to know who got the contracts for that security but half an hour''s searching on the web yields nothing.
We live on the Mississippi River. We go boating a lot, through locks up and down the river.
You used to be able to visit the locks and walk right up to the edge of them. Schools brought children to demonstrate to them how locks work. Locals made locks a regular stop on their tours of the area. Lockmasters and their staffs were usually pleased to answer any questions.
After 9/11 the Department of Homeland Security decided those locks were in danger of a terrorist attack. To fix this problem they put up security fences all around the locks, confining visitors to small observation areas. No longer could you ask a question of a lock employee because you never saw them any more. But you couldn''t drive your van of explosives up to the lock and detonate it because it was now fenced off.
Posted by creeper00 at 11:02 AM : Apr 28, 2008
I''m not sure why you have a problem with this. The locks are essentially a place of business, not a national park. Why should you be able to stroll up and expect the lockmasters to stop their work to entertain you any more than you should expect access to the interworkings of a military base, government courthouse, or any other place of business? I know it is a sad change since 9/11, but it is done for the security of the infrastructure and the workers who are there.
Public general aviation airports have gone through the same restrictions. No longer can just anyone enter the flight line. Now you have to show reason to enter the flight line, either as a passenger or crew member. We are all paying a price for greater security.
"Live free or die" has become "Make us safe at any cost, including our freedom." Americans have become pathetic cowards, easily manipulated by politicians who use fear to retain and expand government powers while retaining their offices.
-Another tax to be levied by the repukons'' government? Because of such creepy and bullying attitude by our government, they are now figuring out every vehicule as a potential terrorist vector on which we need to pay taxes, without being able to remove the danger of real terrorist attacks by those same boats... sharks attak! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws!
Jaws! Jaws! Jaws!
-WOW! Bright. And we have to wet our pants...
Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws!
more Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! Jaws! everywhere Jaws!
Usually these kind of regulation end up being awkwardly written, with little thought of how they will be implemented for TRULY small boats, like a canoe, sailing dinghy, rowboat, or kayak. Does this mean that a kid in a rowboat will have to carry registration on board just to splash about in the local bay? How long do you think that piece of paper would last? Badly written and implemented regulations make people less likely to work in harmony with law eforcement out of simple fear of inadvertantly falling afoul of some unexpected restriction. When people are trying to avoid law enforcement we become more vulnerable, not more safe.
Another thought:
The last paragraph quotes the Coast Guard figures of 710 boating deaths in 2006, with 70% involving people without boating safety instruction. This is unfortunate, but let''s have some perspective: The AAA reported 42,642 deaths from car crashes in 2006, with many attributed to excessive speed, drunk driving, and failure to wear a seat belt. By comparison, boating looks pretty safe!
Now, I think it would be good if more boaters had some safety instruction, and took safety seriously. I think the same would be good for many drivers. Just don''t pretend that either of these has anything to do with anti-terrorism!
Posted by UnderMyBoot
I couldn''t agree more. The terrorists are just laughing it up in one of their safe palaces on the gulf. They don''t need to do anything more. They just sit there watching the western world tie itself up in knots. New regulations, bankrupting themselves with new Government Agencies, spying on their own people, destroying the fabric of life and freedom we all hold so dear. All in the name of "safety" when 280,000 people have been killed in car wrecks and 175,000 have been killed by guns since 3,000 extremely unfortunate people were killed by terrorists. I find the whole thing somewhat ridiculous.
And the fact that every one was drinking beer.
Shoot first ask questions later?
I can tell you as a recreational boater that there''s simply no way that recreational boats on the water can head off suspicious activity without on-the-water patrols from the Coast Guard available in the vicinity. And harassing us and treating us as the enemy, then deputizing us to do your job, is not the way to encourage cooperation. Stop obsessing about theoretical attacks to the point where Americans aren''t able to enjoy our freedoms amy more; nuclear or gas attacks by boat were far more likely during the cold war than they are today, yet no special measures were taken back then and no attacks happened...
Gonna buy me a boat incog-nito and gonna give th government a "patrol" bill for a few trillion dollars--oh wait, I don''t have enough money for gas for the *** thing!
Hey Rumsfield--you go to war with the army you''ve got--put your uniform on Uncle Sam needs YOU!!
Swift Boaters for McCain!
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by prinzowhales
April 29, 2008 10:19 AM PDT
- al-Qaeda is putting snakes in your toilet!! Don''t go! Submit to government regulation of your bowels or die!
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