Fearmongering....

At the time, the 19 terrorists could have legally rented 19 Skyhawks, and crashed them into the targets of their choice. I wonder why they didn't do that?
 
I personally didn't see any fearmongering, just a report on an actual vulnerability in our nation. I used to fly support for KSC shuttle launches, and a GA assault was one of our top identified threats once the crew was buttoned up in the vehicle.
 
wrt using small GA as a terrorist weapon....it's kind of like launching a missile out of a torpedo tube. Sure you could do it, but why would you?

Another way to look at it is: it's better that the terrorist go after small GA, it's about the dumbest, least effective, most expensive method to achieve any objective. Kind of like counterfeiting $1 bills by reprinting $100 bills.
 
Authorities in Texas point to a 2010 crash in Austin where a disgruntled software engineer crashed his plane into the IRS building, killing himself and igniting a massive fireball in the building. Several people were hospitalized in the attack.

Recognizing that loopholes in general aviation exist, Burton says "short of adjusting our intelligence collection capabilities to monitor those kinds of flights, there's very little that you're going to be able to do to prevent that [attacks like the IRS crash]."
Click to expand...


I forget, did the IRS crash cause that much damage? Nobody died, but I don't remember the full extent of the damage.

The several other plane crashing into buidlings that I am aware of did not cause much damage, they simply bounced off. Corey Lidle comes to mind, as does the 150 at the White House.

The largest threat from GA is mostly psychological terror where the media has convinced the general public that GA planes are very, very dangerous weapons.

Look a the McVeigh's Oklahoma bombing. MUCH more damage from a truck loaded with explosives. It is not even comparable. Of course all the agencies like DHS, etc need to invent more threats so they can increase their payrolls and increase their budgets. Another scenario to train for that will most likely never happen. But, they get to keep their jobs! :rolleyes:
 
John Lee Marvo showed well how to terrorize people. Two guys, a van, and a rifle can keep a whole metropolitan area on edge for weeks. Imagine 10 such teams. Loads cheaper and more effective than aircraft. The guys running Al Queda must be dumb as rocks if they haven't figured that out for themselves.
 
Threefingeredjack said:
I personally didn't see any fearmongering, just a report on an actual vulnerability in our nation. I used to fly support for KSC shuttle launches, and a GA assault was one of our top identified threats once the crew was buttoned up in the vehicle.
Click to expand...

I read that entire issue of Inspire, since it mentioned setting wildfires in Montana , it gave a brief one sentence mention of the word Montana and that spured multiple news stories and reactions. They know what they're doing. They basically print up a magazine write some articles then watch DHS employees run in circles for a few months. At this point, I'm not sure they have to do anything other than write an article to get what they want.
 
Bob Noel said:
wrt using small GA as a terrorist weapon....it's kind of like launching a missile out of a torpedo tube. Sure you could do it, but why would you?
Click to expand...

Perhaps for the same reason. Quick surprise attack from an unexpected quarter. SLCMs are standard equipment for just about every attack sub out there.
 
steingar said:
John Lee Marvo showed well how to terrorize people. Two guys, a van, and a rifle can keep a whole metropolitan area on edge for weeks. Imagine 10 such teams. Loads cheaper and more effective than aircraft. The guys running Al Queda must be dumb as rocks if they haven't figured that out for themselves.
Click to expand...

I have always wondered about that. How bloody simple and it has never been replicated. Thank God for small favors. Makes one wonder how serious the terrorist threat actually is.
 
woodstock said:
I have always wondered about that. How bloody simple and it has never been replicated. Thank God for small favors. Makes one wonder how serious the terrorist threat actually is.
Click to expand...

I think the "terrorist threat" is now a boogie man the security and intelligence communities use to more effectively suck off the public teat.
 
steingar said:
I think the "terrorist threat" is now a boogie man the security and intelligence communities use to more effectively suck off the public teat.
Click to expand...

Not busting your balls (actually I totally agree with you) but this should get the Mr. Obvious award for the week...:yesnod:
 
Whatever happened to the big 2009 news... Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (DHS-0IG) that “general aviation presents only limited and mostly hypothetical threats to security.”
 
At least the comments on the article are somewhat sane.
 
Anthony said:
I forget, did the IRS crash cause that much damage? Nobody died, but I don't remember the full extent of the damage.
Click to expand...

Sadly, there was one death.

And there was a lot of smoke that looked good on TV.

But the good news, for the people in the building at least, is that he didn't chose a more effective weapon.
 
Give the GA Pilot a CCW and a firearm and OMG , THINK OF THE CHILDREN
 
If terrorists are still just "eyeing" small planes after all these years because they have yet to figure out how to defeat the the trivial to non-existent mechanisms currently securing those planes, then either they are so incompetent as to be no threat, or the terrorists long ago came to the conclusion that small planes were of no value to their goals. In either case the article is about as useful as one discussing the value of the Maginot Line.
 
Kelvin said:
Not busting your balls (actually I totally agree with you) but this should get the Mr. Obvious award for the week...:yesnod:
Click to expand...

Forgive my argument, but were it that obvious we wouldn't have idiotic articles like the one that started this thread.
 
steingar said:
Forgive my argument, but were it that obvious we wouldn't have idiotic articles like the one that started this thread.
Click to expand...
Yeah, we would. No matter how obvious, no matter how insipid, senseless, incorrect or just plain stupid, some people trying to get paid to write will always write crap, just to get paid.

Hos be hos, bro.
 
Jim Logajan said:
If terrorists are still just "eyeing" small planes after all these years because they have yet to figure out how to defeat the the trivial to non-existent mechanisms currently securing those planes, then either they are so incompetent as to be no threat, or the terrorists long ago came to the conclusion that small planes were of no value to their goals. In either case the article is about as useful as one discussing the value of the Maginot Line.
Click to expand...

I'm still surprised that "the terrorist" haven't adopted a zerg rush tactic. Basically sending a hundreds of their low skilled operatives to hit soft targets with varying effectiveness.
 
steingar said:
I think the "terrorist threat" is now a boogie man the security and intelligence communities use to more effectively suck off the public teat.
Click to expand...

With some qualification I would agree with you. There are some whackos out there no doubt, and we should guard against them, but sadly there has been ENORMOUS mission creep at DHS. The old adage that an "elephant is a mouse built to government specification" holds true here.
 
steingar said:
Forgive my argument, but were it that obvious we wouldn't have idiotic articles like the one that started this thread.
Click to expand...
Forgiven...you are on a "Mr. Obvious" roll today Steingar!!! :rofl:
 
Threefingeredjack said:
With some qualification I would agree with you. There are some whackos out there no doubt, and we should guard against them, but sadly there has been ENORMOUS mission creep at DHS. The old adage that an "elephant is a mouse built to government specification" holds true here.
Click to expand...


Thank you for acknowledging that. The war on terror has become another war on drugs which often only affects the freedoms and privacy of the law abiding.
 
Anthony said:
Thank you for acknowledging that. The war on terror has become another war on drugs which often only affects the freedoms and privacy of the law abiding.
Click to expand...

That is almost an excellent analogy. If you have a clear target, you don't need a shotgun. DHS, (IMHO) was a slapped together political expediency with no clear strategic plan. The war on drugs is a political choice in an attempt to modify social behavior, and hence doomed to failure. The war on terror is an attempt to protect an entire nation not by the efficient gathering of superior intelligence, but by massive infusion of cash. I'm afraid that method too is doomed to failure.
 
Threefingeredjack said:
That is almost an excellent analogy. If you have a clear target, you don't need a shotgun. DHS, (IMHO) was a slapped together political expediency with no clear strategic plan. The war on drugs is a political choice in an attempt to modify social behavior, and hence doomed to failure. The war on terror is an attempt to protect an entire nation not by the efficient gathering of superior intelligence, but by massive infusion of cash. I'm afraid that method too is doomed to failure.
Click to expand...
Well Said.
 
Jim Logajan said:
If terrorists are still just "eyeing" small planes after all these years because they have yet to figure out how to defeat the the trivial to non-existent mechanisms currently securing those planes, then either they are so incompetent as to be no threat, or the terrorists long ago came to the conclusion that small planes were of no value to their goals. In either case the article is about as useful as one discussing the value of the Maginot Line.
Click to expand...

The barefoot bandit was smarter than the most determined terrorists in the world. That or... Could it be...?

Terrorists aren't interested in light aircraft at all as one of the most difficult delivery mechanisms out of many excellent choices to choose from at Ryder, U-Haul, etc.
 
Threefingeredjack said:
Perhaps for the same reason. Quick surprise attack from an unexpected quarter. SLCMs are standard equipment for just about every attack sub out there.
Click to expand...

It was a very very subtle nod to "The Hunt for Red October"

perhaps overly subtle.
 
Bob Noel said:
It was a very very subtle nod to "The Hunt for Red October"

perhaps overly subtle.
Click to expand...

Not a nod to that movie at all. (Which was replete with many inaccuracies), Harpoons,Tomahawks, Exocet, Granit, and the YJ82 are deployed on the subs of their respective countries. My point was that the comment about launching missiles out of tubes seemed nonsensical when it is an accepted practice and widely used.
 
Apparently terrorists are still targeting airliners, per the news today... and the CIA did the stopping, not TSA. :(
 
denverpilot said:
Apparently terrorists are still targeting airliners, per the news today... and the CIA did the stopping, not TSA. :(
Click to expand...


Give the story a few days and the DHS, the main stream media and the Washington machine will spin the whole scenerio to give full credit to TSA and overseas "operatives"......... The DHS is getting REAL good at wagging their own tail..:yesnod::yesnod::(....

Follow the money...:rolleyes2:
 
Forget small aircraft.... just give 'em a book of matches! I've written Congress several times back after 9/11, warning about the dangers of terrorist-caused forest fires. I just felt that, if we were serious about fighting fires (natural or terrorist caused), we needed to get some big-assed airplanes outfitted to dump some serious rain from the sky. Now, I see we've got a 747 doing fire-fighting. I'm thinking three or four C5 Galaxies swooping in could put out just about any starting fire.
 
N801BH said:
Give the story a few days and the DHS, the main stream media and the Washington machine will spin the whole scenerio to give full credit to TSA and overseas "operatives"......... The DHS is getting REAL good at wagging their own tail..:yesnod::yesnod::(....

Follow the money...:rolleyes2:
Click to expand...

Sadly they are all tail and no teeth.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top