Fergie's Tech Blog

Terror Risk: Crash Shows Cities Vulnerable if Tankers Used as Weapons

Anna Badkhen writes in The San Francisco Chronicle:

The day after a fiery gasoline truck accident destroyed key ramps in the MacArthur Maze interchange, security analysts and truck drivers weighed the scope of damage a deliberate terrorist attack using tankers could cause U.S. metropolises and highways.

Security experts said the crash -- and the costly repairs -- demonstrated how easy it would be for terrorists to disrupt normal life in major U.S. cities.

"It's very difficult now to purchase explosives ... but it's not that hard to steal a truck full of gasoline, and you can do quite a bit of damage," said Christopher Falkenberg, a former Secret Service agent who is now the president of Insite Security, a consulting firm in New York. "You don't need access to sophisticated explosives to have a big impact."

Mayor Gavin Newsom has called the accident a giant wake-up call, saying it highlighted how vulnerable San Francisco is to a potential terrorist attack.

posted by Fergie @ 5/01/2007 12:10:00 AM