[elfman2]

" Why didn't a crew of 6 notice the tug being way off course "

I have a hard time imagining America "terrorized" by hijacked tugboats.

[TomGuy]

I have a hard time imagining America "terrorized" by hijacked tugboats.

This war is a war to destroy the economy and infrastructure. The targets will not be normal military war targets. The targets will be those things that can cause disruption to the economy, cost dollars and lives, etc. [Think outside the box.]

[Abogado]

A boat much smaller than a Ferry did some serious damage to the USS Cole... Consider, who would suspect a Ferry in a populated harbor?

[cgbg]

I have a hard time imagining America "terrorized" by hijacked tugboats

How about if the bad guys drove a small truck with a dirty radioactive bomb in back on to a ferry with a destination of Seattle or San Francisco harbor?

Does that help your imagination?

[Dave S]

I have a hard time imagining America "terrorized" by hijacked tugboats.

But you got to understand some FReepers get their meaning out of life from being "under attack."

[CyberAnt]

Ahhh ... I don't think the tugboat is the target - how about the big military ships which the tugs steer out through the harbor. If you take out a ship that size, you could also plug the channel - such as they did at Pearl Harbor.

The only reason some of our ships survived was because they ran for the open sea BEFORE other ships could close the harbor. I remember reading a book once about one ship whose captain didn't want to leave - he wanted to stay and fight. He was ordered to leave - and fortunately for us, he obeyed his orders, and ended up being spared destruction. I cannot remember the specific ship, but I do remember it was a ship of great importance to the U.S. Navy.