On Tuesday, September 18, 2001, at 10:59 AM, Declan McCullagh wrote:
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/846113p-905971c.html
Two Saudis detained in Fresno Co.
The Fresno Bee
(Published Monday, September, 17, 2001 4:55AM)
Two Saudi men were detained Sunday by federal and local authorities
for failing to carry proper immigration documentation, the Fresno
County Sheriff's Department reported.
The two men, who were not identified, were seen taking photographs of
the Shaver Lake reservoir and dam Sunday afternoon by a resident in the
mountain community. While driving toward Fresno, the men were stopped
for questioning by sheriff's deputies along Highway 168 near Pine Ridge
just before 7 p.m.
Ironically, I did a piece for a hacker's list last week discussing
hitting dams. As that list frowns on having articles redistributed to
attention drawn to it, I'll xxxxx out some of it:
From: Tim May
Date: Sat Sep 15, 2001 09:37:44 AM US/Pacific
To: xxxxxx
Subject: Soft Targets
On Saturday, September 15, 2001, at 02:27 AM, xxxxxxx wrote:
Date: 14 Sep 2001 23:48:43 +0100
From: xxxxxxxxx
Subject: objective view of future risks
I was asked today roughly:
What did I think were the chances of some other horrific terrorist attack
happening in the near future (1-2 months? 1-6 months? 1 year?) here in
the
SF area.
I can think of lots of things that could happen. I can think of what
might
be attractive targets (the GG bridge, the Transamerica building), etc.
But I couldn't say whether I thought it likely, very likely, possible, or
what.
Any thoughts?
There's been a lot of discussion in the various groups and lists about
the many "soft targets" in the U.S. and Europe.
Leading the list seem to be the various dams. Not the most massive
concrete dams, but the "stressed eggshell" dams. A kamikaze bomber can
easily exceed the design parameters. Several have been listed, which I
won't summarize here. The bang for the buck could be very high, with
major cities lying below some of these dams.
(I saw one detailed analysis of a particular dam...I think it was in
Kentucky...that is of this eggshell design. Several 50-story buildings
are built below this dam, some miles down the river, and would not
likely survive a 100-foot high wall of water.)
After the World Trade Center was targetted in 1993, those who continued
to work there instead of getting out of Dodge paid the price.
Many of these dams are within such a short flight from airports that no
effective scrambling of jets to intercept them is possible. We may see
"no fly" zones around such dams, with SAMs defending the sites.
Sports stadiums are a different kettle of fish. A plane leaving SFO or
Oakland could be on top of one of the crowded stadiums within a minute
or two. No time to scramble interceptors. Again, maybe SAMs with
carefully-programmed intercept orders. Or flights at nearby airports
could be cancelled when the stadiums are filled with 50,000 fans. (This
scenario has been discussed many times. "Black Sunday" is nearly 30
years old. Thomas Harris knew about the hijacked jet scenario but chose
to use the more complicated "rogue dirigible pilot" plot device.)
All the recent hoopla about banning nail files and metal utensils is
closing the barn door after the horses (ridden by the four horsemen)
have left. Commercial jetliners will probably not be used again for this
purpose...but what of cargo jets and privately-owned jets? Anyone with
enough money (Bin Laden, others) can buy or lease their own jets.
It's easy to hack soft targets, given the willingness to die. Quite a
bit harder to get away alive and then survive the aftermath.
xxxxelidedxxxx
Is it hopeless? No, of course not. The New York Stock Exchange was
vastly too centralized...an archaic scheme whereby traders living in
Connecticut and Long Island rode trains for hours each day so they could
gather in one particular building and shout. Though "open outcry" and
"market makers" have some technical advantages (and disadvantages), the
overall scheme is archaic. And it's why the markets have been
paralyzed...and will be for the foreseeable future. Count on lots of
bomb threats emptying the trading floor. We as computer types should be
endorsing further decentralization, further distribution of trading and
computing resources. NASDAQ would not have been shut down...the only
reason they did was out of sympathy with the NYSE, and for
SEC/competitiveness reasons.
And avoiding soft targets is always advisable. Just as living in a beach
house carries risks, so does working in an antheap.
--Tim May
