It was really close...

"Dave Stadt" wrote in message news:J96he.2087

Is there a precedent for baby buggies flying into the White House lawn
or
into the Pentagon?

They have been used in other countries and in an area that is off limits
to
motor vehicles they would be a very efficient means of delivery.

They should clearly restrict all access to Washington DC then. American
government is more important than tourism.

-c

"W P Dixon" wrote in message news:hV6he.42

Actually you are not being fair, states had secceded, which at that time
was
Constitutional. What Lincoln did was make a war with a new soveriegn
nation.
You can't really call it a rebellion if it is one country against another.
Well, you can if you went to public schools!

LOL. "Seceded." *ahem*

I've been researching and writing the civil war for something like ten years
now. Can't find the part of the Constitution where it says that secession
is legal. Article I, Section 9, of the U.S. Constitution, however, states
"The privilege of the Writ of Habeus Corpus shall not be suspended, unless
when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it."

Personally, let's just say my ancestors came from Mississippi and Louisiana
and served on the side that declared it their legal right to secede. But if
Lincoln determined the impending outbreak of civil war to be a case of
rebellion or invasion, he may have suspended it in the interest of public
safety.

-c

wrote in message

Let's assume the prohibited zone was the old 3-mile ring. Now, a plane
has just breached the outside edge of the ring. In 2 minutes it will be
on top of the Capitol building.

Yep. There are surface to air missiles available in that situation. But
it's a patently bad idea to fire a SAM over a city if, say, F-16s are better
able to assess the target.

Other than the government freakout and the bumbling idiocy of the pilot,
everything worked out just fine.

-c

Recently, Jose posted:

To put it in perspective, suppose all the highways into and out of DC
were blockaded, [...]

Having driven many of those highways just last weekend, I consider them to
sufficiently blockaded now, albeit with "normal" DC traffic... ;-)

and one needed prior authorization to enter or leave
the DC area - perhaps mediated by EZ-Pass and a RFID tag on driver
licenses (actually, not very farfetched at all). Since rental vans
were used for prior attacks, they are allowed to travel freely (so
long as they belong to one of the larger rental companies). However,
every subcompact car is suspect, since it can carry a bomb in the
trunk.

Great analogy. I don't understand why people just don't get the
significantly greater threat that ground-based vehicles pose to our
"security". It's idiotic to be concerned about long-shots such as GA when
there is absolutely nothing done to protect against far greater and more
practical means of doing damage.

Neil

gatt wrote:
American government is more important than tourism.

Apparently, the people in American government agree.

"A handful of members of the congressional leadership complained that,
when they went downstairs, they had to merge with tourists, which made
it harder for them to get out of the building."

-Joe Johns, CNN congressional correspondent on Capitol Hill

"Jose" wrote in message news:fT7he.1712

the airspace is closed, [...] As it should be. There's no particular
reason at this point to let pilots run amok over Washington DC.

Why is this as it should be?

There's a war going on. Precisely why there's no particular reason to let
illegal immigrants run amok into America.

Some of them are hostile.

And what particular reason is there at this point to let pilots run amok
over Chicago? Or anywhere else?

The most powerful government in the world--and the one that Americans
consider most important--is not in Chicago.

-c

W P Dixon wrote:
Andrew,
You raise a very interesting question, and it has a very simple
answer. No
matter what law was passed etc., there would never be "perfect"
internal
security. But we would have alot less problems if our federal Gov.
would
enforce immigration laws and protect our borders. Don't stop
immigration
mind you but enforce rules already in place. How many of the 911
highjackers
would not have even been in this country if the Feds actually went
and got
them and sent them back to from where they came?

I don't recall the precise numbers but I think about half of them were
here legally, mainly via student visa. So better border control would
have saved Trade 1 but not stopped it utterly. Still it's a good idea.
Mind you, if welfare was the great pivot issue Bill Clinton used to
triangulate the GOP in 1996, immigration is the one his wife is getting
ready to deploy. The GOP has moved far to the left of its base on this
issue and is creating a real opportunity for the Dems here. Watch and
learn.

-cwk.

"KayInPA" wrote in message

"A handful of members of the congressional leadership complained that,
when they went downstairs, they had to merge with tourists, which made
it harder for them to get out of the building."

I'm not defending the wholesale screeching panic that seemed to occur...at
least not from the government body. But if you were in a building and were
told simply that an airplane was heading at it, you'd most likely exit the
building as well.

At least, I would.

-c

gatt wrote:
{snipped irrelevant part}
if you were in a building and were told
simply that an airplane was heading at it,
you'd most likely exit the building as well.

At least, I would.

Yes, but hopefully not with an pompous attitude towards others also
trying to exit the building.

In article .com,
wrote:

1. There are terrorist groups that wish to carry out attacks in the
domestic US.
2. Government buildings in DC are likely to be preferred targets of
such attacks.

target, yes. "preferred"? no

3. Light aircraft are a possible means of delivering a weapon of some
kind.

It's "possible" that a meteor might strike the DC area. People need to start
thinking about concepts like acceptable risk, likely or plausible attack methods.
Light aircraft is just about the dumbest way of delivering a "weapon of some
kind."

--
Bob Noel
no one likes an educated mule