Problem with that solution...

Post #247,235 by Yendor 3/8/06 3:41:09 PM Reply	Problem with that solution... THE BEST WAY TO SECURE OUR PORTS IS TO EXIT SCREEN AT POINT OF ORIGIN. If the "dirty bomb" makes it to Port of Newark...its to damned late. I agree that if the bomb makes it to Newark, it's too late. However, screening prior to departure would ensure safety only for those who play by the rules. If the captain and crew of one of the ships bound for the US is crooked and intent on getting something into the US, what's to stop them from having a rendezvous en-route? And then, under your proposal, we shouldn't need to scan upon entry, and so then the cargo is free to roam the country. How is this better? -YendorMike "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin, 1759 Historical Review of Pennsylvania
Post #247,260 by bepatient 3/8/06 5:55:49 PM Reply	Couple of things One...you don't just pull up to a containership in midocean...these things are tracked pretty religiously by lots of relevent authorities. Even so, container seal inspection is much simpler than full scan and tamper tags and other such electronics are being developed and deployed by the industries involved. By end of this year, we will have 100% capability of nuke screening internally. Thats just building a sensor grid at the offload dock. Companies that have huge infrastructure requiring container transit (WalMart, Home Depot) already have security on the ground in SE Asia that verify contents and seals of all their cargo pre-shipment. If you push something hard enough, it will fall over. _{Fudd's First Law of Opposition} [link\|mailto:bepatient@aol.com\|BePatient]
Post #247,271 by Another Scott 3/8/06 7:36:26 PM Reply	Does anyone really think it's going to happen that way? 18kB It's gotten a lot of press, and a lot of people are worried about it, but I don't expect any WMD shipment or any attack to be mounted from a standard shipping container that's been compromised. Rather, I expect that it'll be something low-key, if it ever happens. Like a fishing boat, or a pleasure craft. The Coast Guard can't search everything that comes near the US coast. They certainly don't stop all the drugs that reach the US that way. What's to stop someone from FedEx-ing or using the USPS to mail a WMD to the US? (Yes, FedEx does have security, and packages are inspected. But it's not 100% secure either.) Obviously, we need ways to inspect cargo, and suspect cargo should be checked before it reaches a US port facility. But I don't expect a problem to happen via that route. If we dump billions into securing the ports and don't pay attention to less secure routes, we'll be setting ourselves up for a fall. :-( For example, I'd be more worried about an attack on a petroleum tank farm in Newark than security at the Newark ports, myself. [image\|http://www.americanphoto.co.jp/photosearch/Previews/PLX006932.jpg\|0\|Newark Tank Farm\|261\|400] FWIW. Cheers, Scott.

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