6 Billion proposed to equip airliners with missile defense systems
U.S. officials had once thought there was little chance that terrorists could get their hands on many of the portable surface-to-air missiles that can bring down a commercial jet liner. But now that calculation is out the window, with officials at a recent secret White House meeting reporting that thousands of them have gone missing in Libya.
“Matching up a terrorist with a shoulder-fired missile, that’s our worst nightmare,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D.-California, a member of the Senate’s Commerce, Energy and Transportation Committee. The nightmare has been made real with the discovery in Libya that an estimated 20,000 portable, heat-seeking missiles have gone missing from unguarded Army weapons warehouses.
The missiles, four to six-feet long and Russian-made, can weigh just 55 pounds with launcher. They lock on to the heat generated by the engines of aircraft, can be fired from a vehicle or from a combatant’s shoulder, and are accurate and deadly at a range of more than two miles. Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch first warned about the problem after a trip to Libya six months ago. He took pictures of pickup truckloads of the missiles being carted off during another trip just a few weeks ago.
“I myself could have removed several hundred if I wanted to, and people can literally drive up with pickup trucks or even 18 wheelers and take away whatever they want,” said Bouckaert, HRW’s emergencies director. “Every time I arrive at one of these weapons facilities, the first thing we notice going missing is the surface-to-air missiles.”
Gosh, couldn’t have seen this one coming from a million miles away….was the ATF in charge of this operation?
Q: Now that we have created another terrorist state in the name of Democracy, who shall be held accountable?
A: No one is held accountable for anything anymore.
Thanks Obama. Ron Paul wouldn’t have started a war in Libya if he was President.
#26, don’t forget TWA 800. True John Kerry referred to it as a bombing, but a missile attack is more likely. George Stephanopoulos was less clear and just said attack, as did Dick Morris. The official line is still a mechanical failure of the fuel line, but it is not a coincidence that Al Gore said e wasn’t running for president shortly after Kerry’s Boston Globe printed a story about how Gore was in charge of the aviation security commission after TWA 800. Maybe not shoulder fired missile, but perhaps the Navy shot the plane down trying to shoot down the smaller plane that was on a suicide run?
#34- Shortly after it happened, I spoke with a pilot that had flown that aircraft prior to the incident. He strongly insisted there was no way that the fuel pump caused the explosion. This is one time that the conspiracy theorists are correct. I think the powers that be realized that no possible good could come from revealing the truth behind the incident. How many other times has the CIA produced a video to explain an “accident”?
No point scaring the sheeple, present company included, because the ability to acquire shoulder fired arms has been there for decades.
Rumsfeld sent truckloads of these things to the Taliban during the GOP proxy war with Russia and ass-licking of Bin Laden in Afghanistan.
This story reminds me of the story of the Colt revolver:
One of the first truly modern-style handguns, the Colt revolvers became known as “The Great Equalizer,” because they could be loaded and fired by anyone, where most previous guns required sufficient strength and dexterity. In theory, anyone who had a modern-style revolver was equal to anyone else, regardless of their relative physical abilities. This term came to be used for firearms in general, as awkward weapons like muzzle-loaded muskets became obsolete.
(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt%27s_Manufacturing_Company)
We have this huge military and these stinger-type missiles are the great equalizer. When a missile costing tens of thousands can bring down a plane costing tens of millions, it’s trouble for the big guy.
Osama’s dead but his plan is still working. If one terrorist with one missile shoots down one commercial airliner in America, it will have a HUGE psychological and economic effect on the entire country. Now that’s leverage.
We’re still acting like the ruler of the world even though we obviously are not any more. Used to be we could bomb any third-world country we wanted to with impunity. Now, they’re getting uppity and have stinger missiles.
Seems to me that the looting of these SAMs was inevitable…US assistance or not. Am I wrong?
Also, how old are they? How many of them are probably duds? Just thinking…the failure rate on them could be fairly high…not that it would help.
ANOTHER REASON not to fly !!! Add that to “Homeland InSecurity” and “TSA” (Tittie Squeezing Agency), I won’t be travelling much anymore !!!
This was no accident; when our CIA and Mossad pull another false flag operation, shooting an air liner out of the sky, they’ll have an imaginary someone to blame.
That’s a great big WTF!
#40 Baggins
That was my thinking. Libya was entering a civil war regardless of US or European assistance. The only difference being was the duration of the conflict.
And by raising a big stink over US involvement, I believe Congress succeeded in removing any chance of US Forces securing any of these arm depots to avoid looting. Can’t have any “boots on the ground” now, can we?
Before we forget, this is a good time to congratulate Prez Obama for winning the war in Libya without any American casualties.
That’s another way to create jobs.
Accidentally lose 20,000 shoulder fired SAM and now we have to equip all the domestic airplanes with a missile defense system.
I am sure there are probably more appropriate words to use instead of “accidentally” and “lose”
Look on the bright side!
At least they can stop the TSA inspections since they are pointless now.