Coast Guard's new terror funds

[thedrifter]

FROM JOSEPH FARAH'S G2 BULLETIN
Coast Guard's new terror funds
House approves bill for inspection of ships

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: November 11, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern

Editor's note: Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin is a weekly online, subscription intelligence news service from the creator of WorldNetDaily.com ? a journalist who has been developing sources around the world for the last 25 years.

? 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

WASHINGTON ? In yet another indication U.S. policymakers are taking the threat of terror on the high seas more seriously, the House of Representatives approved a $7.1 billion bill requiring the Coast Guard to review the security plans of foreign ships entering U.S. territorial waters.

The bill was approved by voice vote and now heads for the U.S. Senate where approval is expected. The bill authorizes the hiring of more personnel in the Coast Guard, now an agency of the Department of Homeland Security.

The legislation requires the Coast Guard to report to Congress on the number and types of cargo containers and ships that enter U.S. ports and develop a method to certify so-called classification societies, private groups on which foreign governments often rely for maritime security and safety inspections.

During a June House Transportation subcommittee hearing, Coast Guard Commandant Thomas Collins said his agency had no choice but to accept temporarily reviews done by classification societies because the Coast Guard lacked money to evaluate on its own the security plans of around 10,000 foreign ships.

However, several lawmakers criticized this approach, arguing it ignored a mandate in a 2002 law. The 2002 maritime security measure, designed to counter terrorist threats against the United States and its maritime industry, called on ship owners and operators to develop security plans for approval by the Transportation Department and required the department ? the home of the Coast Guard at the time ? to assess security at high-risk foreign ports and those from which high volumes of U.S.-destined cargo originate.

Since Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin broke the story that al-Qaida had obtained 15 ships whose whereabouts are unknown to international law enforcement authorities, officials in Washington and in other capitals around the world have been taking precautions against terror on the high seas.

Worldwide, there is heightened awareness of the potential for a major maritime terrorist attack. A once-secret, 181-page al-Qaida training manual obtained by G2 Bulletin shows Osama bin Laden's terrorist network has been focused on seaports as top-level targets for more than two years.

Al-Qaida encourages the recruitment of agents who work as "employees at borders, airports and seaports."

Targets listed for "blasting and destroying" include:

"Places of amusement;"
Embassies;
"Vital economic centers";
"Bridges leading into and out of the cities";
"Strategic buildings";
"Important establishments";
"Military bases";
"Important ministries such as those of defense and internal security";
"Airports";
"Seaports";
"Land border points";
Radio and TV stations.
G2 Bulletin sources say there are reports al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations have been practicing high-seas terror attacks by hijacking ships, kidnapping crews and studying diving ? much as the Sept. 11 skyjackers learned to fly airliners.

Al-Qaida's mystery armada is believed to be somewhere in the Indian or Pacific oceans. When the ships left their home ports in the Horn of Africa weeks ago, some were destined for ports in Asia.

G2 Bulletin sources say other potential targets of the al-Qaida armada, besides civilian ports, include oil rigs. Another threat is the ramming of a cruise liner.

A recent Rand Corp. study warns terrorists might use container ships in terror attacks meant to cause massive casualties. The report warns cargo ships or shipping containers could be used to deliver weapons of mass destruction for terror groups such as al-Qaida.

The report, produced in cooperation with the European Commission, said: "The potential threat of terrorists using containers poses a large risk to our economies and to our societies. Ultimately, this means that the marine sector ? and specifically the container transport sector ? remains wide open to the terrorist threat."

Rand says the international community has not become sufficiently aware of al-Qaida's threat at sea, with most counter-insurgency efforts being focused on stopping an attack from the air.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/ar...TICLE_ID=35529

Sempers,

Roger