Ballons would provide an ideal platform for distributing biological or chemical agents. In addition, they would provide an air burst capability for the suitcase nukes that bin Laden reportedly has in his possession.
Even if there is no direct connection related to this calendar, the air ballon threat should be considered by the authorities and just as importantly by air ballon enthusiasts. I am certain there is a "U.S. Association of People Who Air Ballon" or the equivalent who should get the word out to their members to be on the look out for potential terrorists. I base this on the confirmed reports of their interest in crop dusters.
Consider the effectiveness of a ballon to bypass the conventional security measures at a nuclear power plant or any other potential target. At night it would be difficult to detect and would not show up on radar. Low tech and deadly. Like a box cutter.
Actually, a balloon wouldn't be a good vehicle for any kind of weapon. A balloon has no steering, they are at the mercy of the winds.
Balloons as a rule do not fly at night, its tough to land when your only instrument is eyesight. You generally only see balloons in the early morning or 2 to 3 hours before sunset. During the day, thermals can be incredibly dangerous to balloons.
As far as breaching normal security, balloonists know other balloonists. I can tell you that mid-eastern balloonists are extremely scarce. In the heightened alert state we are in now, if someone doesn't know who you are, I bet they wouldn't get off the ground.
Ok, so that pretty much rules out the balloons themselves as a weapon. I would be concerned with what they could do in the New Mexican desert. With a crowd of about 250,000 people a day it could be devastating.
Very true. But none of the hijacked airliners landed.If your mission is to distribute a bio agent over a large city, accuracy is not required. If the winds are out of the north, you launch due north of town. It sounds as though you know a great deal more about the subject and ballonists than I do, but I do think it would be wise for the ballonist community to be aware of the depiction on the calendar, especially if the month with the ballons is not June, the month of the Six Day War.