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Link to 9/16/2002 Rumsfeld Press Conf: http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2002/t09162002_t0916sd.html "Rumsfeld: Furthermore, the -- September 11th suggested lots of ways to deliver lethal damage to the United States. In addition, countries have placed ballistic missiles in ships -- cargo ships, commercial ships, dime a dozen -- all over the world. Any given time, there's any number off our coast, coming, going, on transporter-erector-launchers, and they simply erect it, fire off a ballistic missile, put it down, cover it up. Their radar signature's not any different than other 50 others in close proximity. So your comment that they don't have the ability to deliver a ballistic missile to this country is flat wrong."

Link to 9/16/2002 Rumsfeld Press Conf: http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2002/t09162002_t0916sd.html "Rumsfeld: Furthermore, the -- September 11th suggested lots of ways to deliver lethal damage to the United States. In addition, countries have placed ballistic missiles in ships -- cargo ships, commercial ships, dime a dozen -- all over the world. Any given time, there's any number off our coast, coming, going, on transporter-erector-launchers, and they simply erect it, fire off a ballistic missile, put it down, cover it up. Their radar signature's not any different than other 50 others in close proximity. So your comment that they don't have the ability to deliver a ballistic missile to this country is flat wrong."

Can't happen

Were you the poster warning us that Arabs might us airplanes as bombs five years ago?

Got to stop with this conspiracy nonsense :>)

Thanks for the link for the Rumsfeld Press Conference of Sept. 16, 2002 at http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2002/t09162002_t0916sd.html .

The Claremont Institute takes this vulnerability very seriously at its Missle Threat study group, and has a nice set of illustrations to emphasize this hazard:

The Independent Work Group on Missile Defense also takes it quite seriously.

What was interesting to me is that we still, almost six years later don't seem to be taking that most easily-implemented of all threats very seriously. I know Rumsfeld has only just authorized the initiation of program studies to protect the mainland from seaborne threats...by the year 2012 or so...

Ironically, the standard of being actively prepared, rather than waiting for surprise, was enunciated in a speech made by President Bush pertaining to the general subject, without getting terribly specific:

“And, as a matter of common sense and self-defense, America will act against such emerging threats before they are fully formed. We cannot defend America and our friends by hoping for the best. So we must be prepared to defeat our enemies’ plans, using the best intelligence and proceeding with deliberation. History will judge harshly those who saw this coming danger but failed to act. In the new world we have entered, the only path to peace and security is the path of action.”
- President George W. Bush The National Security Strategy of the United States of America September 17, 2002

Rumsfeld's Warning:

"In addition, countries have placed ballistic missiles in ships -- cargo ships, commercial ships, dime a dozen -- all over the world. Any given time, there's any number off our coast, coming, going, on transporter-erector-launchers, and they simply erect it, fire off a ballistic missile, put it down, cover it up. Their radar signature's not any different than other 50 others in close proximity. So your comment that they don't have the ability to deliver a ballistic missile to this country is flat wrong."
Here is the animation of that scenario with an attack on Hollywood...note AirForce One is also wiped out in the attack the video depicts...Click here