DID
YOU SAY "PIPELINE"?
The breaking news over the weekend
of a terrorist plot foiled, reminds us once again of the new world order in
which we live. A small group of disenfranchised thugs, one of them a retired
cargo work at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, were the
culprits. I'm not sure whether to be happy or sad that it wasn't Al Queda,
but it doesn't really matter anyway. This new brand of terrorist, like the
ones caught a few weeks ago conspiring to invade Fort Dix, are just splinter
groups with the rote list of complaints about America the Evil. Someone
ought to develop a form letter at this point, maybe something like this:
Terrorist Name:
Brief Description of Evil Plot:
Estimated Number of Casualties:
Reasons You Hate America:
The problem is, these mongrel groups are every bit as deadly as the bunch
that orchestrated 9/11. The JFK story drives home, once again, how
vulnerable we are, and will always be, in a free society. The explosion of
information and communication provided by the internet, coupled with a
virtual dating service for fruitcakes of all kinds, lends itself perfectly
to these ghosts among us. Remember Timothy McVeigh and Oklahoma City? A
handful of guys just smart enough to be dangerous, squeezed over time to the
periphery of society, and finally beyond. Bomb-making instructions easily
acquired via your personal computer with ingredients available at feed
stores...enough to blow to smithereens a substantial building and cause
hundreds of deaths. And while the recent attempts that have been foiled are
cause for a sigh of relief, it gives one pause at the same time...how long
before we see the one that got away.
The JFK plan was, depending on which account you read, alternately childish
or brilliant. One report said that schematic information was outdated.
Another said the plan was doable, and very close to being enacted. They had
not yet acquired explosives, as far as we know, but that is actually the
smallest hurdle in any terrorist plan. Most of what one may need is readily
available on-line. Oddly, what jumped out at me about this story, had
nothing to do with terrorism.
Am I the only one who was shocked to learn that there is a vast network of
underground pipelines that carry JetAA to JFK, Newark and LaGuardia
Airports?
JetAA is Jet Fuel. Kerosene, in essence, and I never knew that this stuff
was transported underground, pumped like water through, and probably near,
water mains. The company that manages this network of underground pipes
carrying explosive fuel is called Buckeye and is based out of Pennsylvania.
There is a huge tank farm in Linden, New Jersey, among other places, where
jet fuel is dispersed to the three major airports. Maybe I just don't get
out much, but this must have been the world's best-kept secret, and I can
understand why, This network of pipelines was an intrinsic part of the JFK
terrorist plot and it lends credence to the claims being made by authorities
that this could have been a disaster even more grave than 9/11. To me, it is
unsettling in and of itself that massive amounts of fuel are being moved
this way and it makes you wonder about a host of issues. Leaks? Earthquakes?
Vulnerability?
I guess I shouldn't be surprised. They managed to hide an extensive golf
driving range in one of the ventilation buildings for the Big Dig Tunnel in
Boston. It's already been there several years and the public just found out
about it. And a driving range is not going to be of any use to terrorists,
but hundreds of miles of underground pipes loaded with jet fuel...kind of
like a big bomb, already made and laid under the very city you would like to
disintegrate...well, that sounds like just what someone was looking for.