Coast Guard prepares for terrorist threat
By Michael Fabey
Savannah Morning News
Freighter hijackings and terrorist swimmers are among key concerns of the U.S. Coast Guard as it prepares to secure area waterways for the upcoming G-8 Sea Island Summit, according to agency briefing papers prepared late last week.
The documents provide a list of potential threats after warning: "Terrorist scenarios are receiving attention at all levels."
Feared actions include:
* Executing a USS Cole-type incident, which took place in 2000, when terrorists blew a hole in the hull of a Navy ship in the Middle East;
* Grounding vessels;
* Taking control of a vessel and steering it into a protected zone;
* Swimming across the Savannah River to gain access to the press center and dignitary area;
* Blocking a deep-draft vessel;
* Using divers to plant explosives on a dock or a pier;
* Boarding vessels and draping banners;
* Creating anarchy on the waterfront.
Grounding a vessel or steering it to the security zones would be a classic move by terrorists, according to Steven C. Bronson, a retired Navy boatswain mate chief.
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... tactics and techniques.
They use all of this as a diversion," Bronson said. "They'll ... draw all the attention and fire to one spot, while the real attack will be at another location."
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The Coast Guard briefing papers warn against taking the threats too lightly – as was the case, the agency argues, with the World Trade Organization about five years ago: "One of the major issues with the WTO at Seattle is that they ignored early, consistent intelligence."
And, according to the Coast Guard, the intelligence warrants concern, saying there are "strong indications" for protests in Sea Island and Savannah. Although Coast Guard officials estimate the potential for as many as 1,000 "violent" protesters, other official projections have varied widely.
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http://www.savannahnow.com/stories/051104/LOC_roughseas.shtml They say it's unfair that G-8 activists are often generically portrayed as young, unwashed loud-mouths with a penchant for destruction.
In truth, they say, being loud is about the worst thing they can be accused of.
That's because what they really want is to be heard, especially by the heads of state and lawmakers who seem so adamantly opposed to considering their way of thinking.
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But if you listen closely to them, a common theme you'll hear is that the G-8 nations form a coercive block of power dominated by capitalism and military might.
Q. Are you dismissive of the protesters?
A. No. And it shouldn't be forgotten that there are such things as angry kids ready to do a bit of trashing, or at lot of trashing.
Too many different people are protesting too many different things for too many different reasons -- which themselves make varying amounts of sense.
http://www.savannahnow.com/stories/050804/LOC_g8voices.shtmlTHANKS.
I hope the protests of the G-8 and the follow-on globalist gov folks will become louder.
I don't support mayhem and chaos. But screaming about the looming global gov tyranny is at least fitting, it seems to me.
Will be interesting to see what will happen on the terror threat front. It FEELS like we are increasingly vulnerable and on the edge of SOMETHING.
Maybe it's just my . . . routine 'paranoia.'