Resource Terrorism Risk
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This could be any bridge, over any highway in the world.  Imagine a van straddling the centerline, slowly coming to a stop under this bridge.  Traffic would be screaming.  Rush hour piles up even as cars partially use the shoulders to crawl around while producing an expressive finger.  The rear doors of the van open, and two men with AK47's begin spraying the cars trapped in this bottleneck.  Cars moving through the shoulders are not ignored.  They find themselves rolling into the grassy median and are once again trapped by guardrails and residential chain-link fencing or concrete sound barriers. It takes only one minute to completely shutdown this highway with another crew disabling cars on the other side of the divide.  Now, the northbound van rolls forward while the rear gunners move to the armored driver side wall and begin shredding the cars backing up on the southbound lanes.  The south bound van does the same, going to work on the northbound traffic jam.  A single tracer round at the end of each clip signals the other gunner to pick up where they left off, while they reload. How do you defend this?  This particular spot of highway is an ideal location because there are no exits or entry ramps.  The people are trapped.  Police, when called, cannot follow, or are greatly delayed.  They wont be able to trap the terrorists at the exits one mile north or south of this location.  That means six additional miles of rush hour traffic in both directions, before the next exchange, remain as sitting ducks in this twisted carnival shooting game. A stretch of multilane, divided highway, maybe over ten miles in length, now fills with first responders; ambulance, police, fire and concerned citizens.  They flood the line giving the terrorists yet another golden opportunity.  The sound of a stolen crop-duster, flying fifty feet above the divide, lays down a carpet of toxin.  It billows out of the slow moving craft like a bridal train engulfing both roadways. Does the government unleash the TSA on the American roads, stripping down cars, radiating its people?  The government acted stupidly in reaction to 9-11.  They treated it as a money and power grabbing opportunity under the guise of public safety.  This situation haunts me and should be included in every discussion on gun-control.  Disarming the public is not the answer. The process is expensive for the terrorists but very successful.  All materials are readily available regardless of law.  It takes six to eight people per site, plus one or two in the air.  Highways represent a resource-terrorism target, and can cripple the nation if threatened.

Copyright © 2011 by John Gregorek

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