Submitted by dudelookslikeachimp, Feb 14, 2008 03:43

Worrying about this? What about stolen chemicals? What about "simpler" threats? Can you really significantly lower risk by licensing common chemicals?

How common are gasoline tankers in the city? How about those home oxygen tank deliveries? OK steal some oxygen tanks and hijack a tanker with a touch of subtly (15 minutes until reported). Be smart and remove the GPS and place it in a dumpster or on another vehicle. Use duplicated plates from a vehicle not hijacked. Another words assume the Terrorist has half a brain. Put a small remote explosive with the oxygen tanks in the gasoline.
Now how much warning time is there when the tanker suddenly turns onto a school street or toward a movie theater or other high density building? Enough to stop it from ramming and exploding?

Hmmm... what happens when you blow up pressurized oxygen tanks inside a container of liquid gasoline? How fast do you think that spreads? Hmmm...how close to the conditions for a daisy cutter bomb will it get?

I think you'll find that terrorists are not quite as bloodthirsty as portrayed. Whatever their twisted logic they are being selective in terms of time, people, and places. I am not sure that anything we do can change that sort of granting them what they ask. That of course doesn't mean they will be successful. But it is more a case of general alertness than quick specific solutions.

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