Terrorist attacks could influence Mexican truck debate
Suzanne Gamboa
Associated Press
Nov. 02, 2001 07:35:00
WASHINGTON - President Bush wants to open more U.S. highways to Mexican trucks in January, but that could be a tougher sell now that law enforcement wants to tighten security on the border.
The Teamsters union, which represents American truckers, said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks reinforce the need to ensure vehicles are thoroughly checked at the border and meet U.S. safety requirements.
"We believe that senators and members of Congress and the president will be more in tune with some of the concerns that we've been stating since 1993, and that the tragic events just bring greater attention onto letting trucks cross the border without anybody looking at them," Teamsters spokesman Bret Caldwell said.
Even before Sept. 11, Bush faced opposition on the issue, which Mexican President Vicente Fox has said is key to U.S.-Mexican relations. The House passed an outright ban on Mexican trucks, citing safety concerns, while the Senate in August passed a measure calling for strict safety regulations and more truck inspectors at the border. Bush opposed both bills.
The House and Senate soon will begin work on a compromise. Bush has threatened a veto if the final version delays opening more roads to the trucks.
The 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement among the United States, Mexico and Canada called for allowing Mexican trucks to travel throughout the United States by Jan. 1, 2000, but opposition from unions and safety groups kept that from happening. Currently trucks from Mexico are restricted to a commercial zone along the border.
The Bush administration's plan would permit Mexican companies that say they comply with U.S. safety standards to operate in the country for 18 months while their claims are verified.
"In light of what happened Sept. 11, it seems even more foolhardy to do that," said Jackie Gillan, vice president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.
About 5,000 people die each year in truck accidents, she said, noting the figure is about the same as the number of victims of the terrorist attacks.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., sponsored the Senate bill with Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. Murray said the terrorist attacks have increased Americans' concerns about border safety, and that puts her and her allies in the driver's seat for negotiations.
"Immigration and customs are now conducting more aggressive checks of everyone crossing the border," she said. Tighter restrictions on Mexican "will be a companion to that."
Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, favors Bush's plan. He doesn't believe the terrorist attacks should have any influence on the issue.
"This has nothing to do with security," Gramm said. "Anyone who tries to tie these two together is engaged in piracy, and is profiting from misery."
Government investigators have said for years that Mexican trucks are less safe than American trucks. About 36 percent of Mexican trucks inspected last year were taken out of service, compared to about 25 percent of U.S. trucks.
Those who favor opening more U.S. highways to the trucks say the failure rates are based on vehicles that operate only in the commercial border zone. They say carriers will have to use safer and better trucks for longer trips.
Since the attacks, the federal government has intensified inspections at the Mexican and Canadian borders. Lines are longer and traffic has slowed as inspectors check vehicles more closely.
This happened less than 10 miles from my house. Allah help them if
I had been the guard.
The FBI has been investigating and looking for the boat for several days now. My brother, along with several other eyewitnesses who saw it at different times, saw it and contacted the feds. It was about 20 feet long and painted up like a Coast Guard vessel - but not a perfect job. The lettering was greatly off kilter and the "crew" of about 5 people was wearing generic red jackets which were similar, but not the same as CG wears. The boat was moving at a high rate of speed and it was about 35 degrees at the time, so their wasn't much chance to see if they were "swarthy." No Coast guard hats, which all the Guard guys wear, were evident. They all had dark hair. When my brother saw them they were near a petroleum tank facility in Charleston.
There are also MANY chemical plants in the Kanawha River valley, including Monsanto, Du Pont, Clearon (chlorine), Dow (chlorine), and Aventis (they make MIC- the deadly Bhopal stuff). These plants aren't just potentially the target of bombs, they ARE potential bombs. In fact, the small town next to the power plant is named Nitro, because nitroglycerine was formerly produced there.
My dad used to work in the unit that made MIC here, a component of the pesticide Sevin. Union Carbide owned it back then. A small leak of MIC in Bhopal, India killed thousands. Post-Bhopal, the Kanawha valley is the only place in the world that MIC - methyl isocyanate - is produced now. I know about this stuff; it is extremely dangerous. If something like that happened here it would kill many thousands more because of the valley topography. If the right plant is hit, there could be a HUNDRED THOUSAND deaths due to the MIC gas. If you're not blown up in the explosion, the poison gas will get you. That's why I am taking security here DAMN seriously. We're playing for keeps.
I don't know what the safety backups are, but needless to say, a power plant that provides the primary power for the chemical plants in the area could at the very least cause much confusion at these plants. The move on the power plant could have been a "trigger event" that, if successful, could have signalled the beginning of attacks on the other plants. It's easier to cause trouble in the dark.
Needless to say, I am keeping my guard up here, now fully a target in the "war zone." The war is everywhere, and we are ALL soldiers now.
Let's roll.
Hell we can't watch everything?.. Hell take any give power plant and they usually have one line of power lines running from em.. Take San Ofre(sp?) for instance the nuke plant right off the coast here in So. Cal. Someone could run up in the hills from the plant.. put some C4 or whatever around one of the towers.. bring it down.. no the plants not gone.. but just as effective in shutting down power for quite a bit of time and a whole lot easier... Hell watch someone run around with a chain saw and start cutting down random power and phone lines in any given city.. everyone is looking for the big bang.. when really all it takes is the little things to hurt us bad.
