Trapped Inside the Box of Commonplace Misperceptions

Bob Newman

Whereas I am dead-set against the idea of the government of the United Arab Emirates running terminal operations at any American commercial ports, it is also important to understand just how painfully little the average American, average American politician and average American bureaucrat knows about the conduct of terrorist operations, especially the reconnaissance and attack phases of an operation.



Since the U.A.E. – U.S. port scandal blew up just over a week ago (in large part because of a total communications and leadership failure in government), seemingly innumerable talking heads have been commenting on the vulnerability of shipping containers, which might hold a nuclear or radiological (“dirty”) bomb. It is true that terrorists have examined this possibility and one terrorist has been caught smuggling himself inside a container, and it is accurate to say that we have a long way to go when it comes to achieving the level of container security we must achieve before it is too late, but the annoying truth is that there are a variety of means terrorists can exploit security shortcomings at American ports. Some of these methods will be discussed here and you can rest assured that all are known to and have been explored by terrorists for quite a few years, so don’t email me screaming that I just gave the bad guys an idea. We know the terrorists know about these techniques because they have already used them or intelligence tells us they are fully aware of them.



Detonating a Floating Bomb



As a terrorism analyst and counterterrorism instructor, I assure you that one need not place a bomb in a shipping container to create a massive explosion. In fact, a ship need not have any shipping containers per se to reek staggering destruction, by which I mean tens of thousands dead under the right circumstances.



Most Americans have never seen a liquefied natural gas carrier. Many terrorists have. These large vessels are extraordinarily well marked for safety reasons, sometimes with the letters “LNG” on the massive, roughly spherical containers on or built into the deck holding the gas. Frankly, you can’t miss them or the ship.



Hitting one of these vessels while fully loaded in such a way that one (all you need is one because one will blow the rest) of the containers blows is far from impossible. In fact, it could be almost easy with some basic planning and training.



For example, a small private jet (Bombardier Learjet 40, Gulfstream G100, Cessna Citation X, etc.) stolen from a general aviation airport (a comparatively easy task for a trained terrorist team) and flown into a full LNG container amid several such containers on a ship in or coming into port, would produce an explosion the likes of which few humans have ever seen or would want to see again.



So how have terrorists already considered attacking such vessels and others carrying highly volatile cargoes?



A tried and true method is the small-boat attack, which was used effectively against the USS Cole and supertanker Limburg. There are safeguards in place used by the Coast Guard to hopefully prevent a small craft from detonating a charge alongside an LNG carrier, but the tactical fact of the matter is that a powerful, properly rigged speedboat slowly motoring past an LNG carrier just outside the Coast Guard stand-off perimeter could easily go to full speed and suddenly veer through the Coast Guard vessels to strike the LNG carrier.



Al Qaeda-linked terror groups have interested in scuba for some time. I broke the story of such a group and scenario in the Philippines. But this method posses some operational challenges that, while not insurmountable, are demanding. With the right equipment (especially closed-circuit rigs, which when used correctly do not release bubbles to the surface, thus possibly giving away a diver’s presence) and training, divers could sink or detonate an LNG carrier.



You can ask the Israelis about how imaginative terrorists can be. For example, very few Americans are aware of how motorized hang gliders of sorts called ultralights have been used by terrorists to attack into Israel from southern Lebanon. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command began trying this technique in the 1980s. One attack resulted in the deaths of half a dozen Israeli soldiers who were caught off guard when a PFLP-GC terrorist suddenly arrived at their position flying an ultralight. This tactic is truly thinking outside of the proverbial box. A two-man ultralight with one of the terrorists operating a .50-caliber rifle with armor-piercing incendiary rounds could fly over an LNG tanker and open fire with impressive results.



That same rifle could be used against an LNG carrier from shore or a boat. Engaging the vessel at night could give the shooter(s) substantial more time before they are counterattacked.



Most ports have rail spurs and trains pose unique threats when it comes to infiltration and attack. Terrorists secreted away on a train entering a port, especially at night, could cause unspeakable damage to ships carrying explosive cargoes.



And with a bogus identification card and some training, a terrorist driving a freshly stolen semi cab into a port appearing to be just another driver coming to collect a shipping container could find himself alongside ships carrying God knows what.



So we see that detonating a nuclear weapon or dirty bomb smuggled into the United States in a shipping container is just one means of attack. Why our self-proclaimed oracles of counterterrorism wisdom in the Congress only focus on shipping containers indicates they are true knaves when it comes to the intricacies of preventing terrorist attacks on our maritime assets.

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Bob Newman, a decorated, retired US Marine, is host of the “Gunny Bob Show” on Newsradio 850 KOA in Denver, and host of “Anger-Management Hour” on 630 KHOW, also in Denver. A ground-combat veteran, he is the director of international security & counterterrorism services for The GeoScope Group and is the military science & terrorism columnist for The Denver Daily News. He can be reached at bobnewman@clearchannel.com.

bobnewman@clearchannel.com