Soccer Moms And SUVs: Bigger Terror Threat Than GA?
(Readers Fred W. Scott, Jr. and Jeff Bertsch rework the CBS
story with a few tongue-in-cheek twists. What's scary is: It makes
more sense than suggesting that general aviation is a threat to
national security. Think about it... ed.)
They are everywhere in
our fast paced, consumer economy, but are they safe?... large Sport
Utility Vehicles driven by small innocent-looking women.
"Every major school building has a paved street right next to
it," says Lisa Tutor, a New Jersey school teacher, whose
responsibilities include welcoming students being driven to school
by their parents. "These streets lead to private garages where all
sorts of evil could be perpetrated behind closed doors"
"There's really no security in regards to driving to soccer
games in America," says Tutor. "That goes for trips to crowded
grocery stores, churches, and crowded sports stadiums, too.
Some of these innocent looking women even have regular access to
most of the US nuclear power stations where they have cleverly
infiltrated posing as secretaries and engineers. Can you
imagine?"
And, as CBS News Correspondent Bob Roar reports, that's the
fear. These huge rolling vehicles are an open invitation for
terrorists.
"I think it's a real concern," says SUV owner Susie Soca. "I
think it's a possibility."
There are millions of Sport Utility Vehicles in the United
States, and most are privately owned. Anyone can buy one. There are
no special screens or security measures applied to the purchasers
or renters of these potential carriers of up to a ton of high
explosives, or weapons of mass destruction. We see their use in
Iraq by terrorists, almost on a daily basis, yet we let them drive
freely into our children's school yards, places of worship, and
other places with lots of assembled people.
Since Sept. 11, 2001,
the government has not ordered any security changes regarding the
purchase or use of these SUVs.
"Would-be owners are not screened", says Ms Soca. "No one checks
their identity at all. They just get in and go. Just think of the
risk that incurs on our society"
"If you have the money, and it doesn't take much, you can own or
rent one of these," says Ms Soca.
Ms Soca says she tries to keep a close watch on her fellow SUV
drivers and their vehicles, but former National Transportation and
Safety Board representative Pat Goebbels says that's not
security.
"Homeland Security has to make soccer moms and their SUVs a
priority," says Goebbels. "They've got to develop a program, and
they're going to have to spend some money on it."
He says terrorists are well aware of the potential for massive
destruction onboard one of these large vehicles.
"They watch TV and they saw Oklahoma," says Goebbels. "We know
the terrorists can drive, it is much, much easier than
flying. They could simply pull one of these big vehicles up
to a school and blow it up. Or perhaps park one near a
downtown mall or sporting event and release hundreds of pounds of
poisonous gas."
"We know that they tried this in the past and they have
destroyed federal buildings, barracks, and embassies."
Most agree that there
is real cause to worry because these vehicles can be packed with
massive quantities of explosives, whereas other vehicles, such as
small planes, would have such limited if any actual impact. Most
are driven by small and attractive women; this clever
illusion makes them appear harmless and actually increases the
available cargo space for bomb material.
"A SUV loaded in a remote area - or in a private garage - is
going to be virtually untraceable and will suddenly appear in a
vulnerable area - into a high population area, and there's going to
be nothing we can do about it," says Goebbels.
"Our borders are a concern too. There is no way we can
perform a detailed inspection of every vehicle crossing the
border. What's more, some SUVs may have legitimate reasons
for carrying very toxic materials... garden sprays, cattle wormers
and vaccines, and toilet cleansers, for example. Our worst
nightmare would be for one of these SUVs carrying toxic gas to be
ruptured in the wrong place - and again, there is nothing the
authorities can do about it," laments Goebbels.
"We need to make it a real concern and deal with it and try as
best we can so that it will never happen," says Ms Soca.
Until then, vulnerability will be the price for our consumer
driven society.