Our Forests vulnerable to terrorism?

“Do you think terrorists could use arson as a tactic? Our natural forests are less vulnerable to massive fires like we've seen in 'managed' forests but they are still vulnerable. The built in protections afforded by biodiversity are evident. However, when conditions are dry and windy the possibilty of serious fire in any forest exists.
I've posted this question on 3 messagebords. I'm getting the impression that maybe people don't see this as a threat. People did'nt see the possibilty that airliners might be used as missiles either.
I realize that Al Qaeda's M.O. has'nt been arson as far as I know but the thought that terrorists could use this tactic scares me. I'm not saying that the current forest fire situation is the work of terrorists, but think of how easy it would be for them to torch our forests. Is this possible?

Toronto Hiking Club”

“The Japanese tried this during WWII. They sent balloons across the Pacific with explosives underneath. The idea was to land them in the forests and damage America's resources. If I remember correctly, a family with kids came upon one of them and one or more people was killed, becoming some of the few North American casualties of the war.”

“Here's a URL:

http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/wwii/jbb.htm”

“If a bomb goes off in the forest and no one is around to hear it, is it still terror?”

“Cool site on the ballon-bomb thing. Strange how the press cooperated with the government back them huh?

Anyone check to see if the locations of the forest fires on a map makes a smiley face or anything?”

“Very interesting about forests and terrorism, as is the Japanese balloon bit. I never thought about forest burnings being used for terrorism. I have mused about "what if I saw suspicous characters in the woods, bushwacking off trail with some curious looking items that were perhaps being hidden." Luckily, my next door neighbor is an FBI agent, he'd be the first to hear about it!”

“You live next door to Ice Tea? Tell him I said hi, would ya?”

“Something like this?

”

“I just read a story in the book Oregon History Trails by Will Sullivan about a Japanese man from WWII. Apparently the forest fire terrorism theme was quite popular and they used yet another method to try to get them going. There was an attach which came from a submarine. They assembled an early version of an Ultralight (NOT ULTRAPacker) airplane atop the sub out in the ocean off the Oregon Coast near Cape Blanco. Then this dude flew it into the Forest of S. Oregon and trying to light it afire. It was so wet that nothing burnt hardly. The guy in the nearest lookout (back when they still used fire lookouts) saw the thin plume of smoke and reported it. They investigated the fire and found it to be nearly out. The dude who flew the plane survives the entire war and then later in the 60's ? the Jaycees from some town near there invite him to visit as a sort of peace thingy. Then in 1992 he came and planted a redwood at the exact point of the one bomb that actually did impact in the forest. Strange story but nice in the finale. ANd, you can hike a trail that commemorates the deed, dude. Details will be submitted upon request. But not until I return. Whopee Day is almost done here. I love it I have a forced VACATION.”

“My wife mentioned this idea to me last night, I poo pooed it. Maybe I was too quick!”

“They wouldn't have the balls to try it because that would set Earth First and the Sierra Club after them. If they thought the US military was bad, they ain't seen nothing yet.”

“I guess there's really no way of defending against a tactic like that other than ensuring our forests contain a diversity of tree species. I mean what can we do, ban Bic lighters?
When we hand out logging contracts they should have clauses in them which force companies to clean up all the slash left behind. They should'nt get any new licences if their sites are left with fire hazard conditions.

T H C ”

“I guess there's really no way of defending against a tactic like that other than ensuring our forests contain a diversity of tree species. I mean what can we do, ban Bic lighters?
When we hand out logging contracts they should have clauses in them which force companies to clean up all the slash left behind. They should'nt get any new licences if their sites are left with fire hazard conditions.

T H C ”

“Actually, the news media should really play this up. We'd keep the terrorists from blowing up buildings. And we'd get rid of the overaccumulation of biomass in our forests. Two positives out of a negative.

And maybe they could do a story about how much I'd hate it if a terrorist painted my house. I'd whistle on by as the guy with the turban snuck up with a can of paint.”

“LMAO, RL!”

“Terrorists seem to be more interested in killing people than killing trees for now, but who knows maybe they would resort to anything that causes mayhem.”

“For sure...let's hope you're wrong.”

“When I heard the fires were intentionally lit, I did wonder. But I also wonder about the media "hyping" all the ponderings of the the government "leaks."”

“Heck..everything's vulnerable to terrorism....water supply, subways, power plants...oops...better stop typing..they could be reading this.”

“What richb said. The terrorists are into immediate gratification(?) and to scare as many people as possible by killing everyday ordinary people and planting the thought that anyone could be next. We are already dealing with the fires in Arizona and Colorado. I don't think the terrorists have a long term plan. Except maybe 'kill the infidels'

Just my .02!”

“Who needs terrorists to set forest fires when we have firefighters that'll do it for them.”

“Well I had a peak into my crystal ball and I didn’t like what I saw. Al Qaeda wants to bomb the hell out of us, no surprise. However, the new security measures in place are making it difficult, if not impossible. They may resort to less risky tactics like torching our forests. (something for their eager operatives to do while they lay in wait) This isn't their preferred M.O. but they are a desperate lot, and will bide their time until we let our defenses down to implement 'plan A', whatever that is in their twisted minds.

In the mean time several 'agents' may pan out across North America waiting for orders to commence this secondary tactic. Some may get caught but that's the price of doing business in their sick minds. The result? Governments of North America may restrict access to National and provincial parks, as well as every hiking trail or access route they can within their resources. After all, these aren’t essential services like the airlines are.

Step by step we lose our freedoms, our patience, and our confidence. That's what terrorism is all about, terrorizing you and me.

At this point I took my crystal ball and smashed it into pieces. Terrorism made me afraid to know the rest of the story.........


Well I had a peak into my crystal ball and I didn’t like what I saw. Al Qaeda wants to bomb the hell out of us, no surprise. However, the new security measures in place are making it difficult, if not impossible. They may resort to less risky tactics like torching our forests. (something for their eager operatives to do while they lay in wait) This isn't their preferred M.O. but they are a desperate lot, and will bide their time until we let our defenses down to implement 'plan A', whatever that is in their twisted minds.

In the mean time several 'agents' may pan out across North America waiting for orders to commence this secondary tactic. Some may get caught but that's the price of doing business in their sick minds. The result? Governments of North America may restrict access to National and provincial parks, as well as every hiking trail or access route they can within their resources. After all, these aren’t essential services like the airlines are.

Step by step we lose our freedoms, our patience, and our confidence. That's what terrorism is all about, terrorizing you and me.

At this point I took my crystal ball and smashed it into pieces. Terrorism made me afraid to know the rest of the story.........


Well I had a peak into my crystal ball and I didn’t like what I saw. Al Qaeda wants to bomb the hell out of us, no surprise. However, the new security measures in place are making it difficult, if not impossible. They may resort to less risky tactics like torching our forests. (something for their eager operatives to do while they lay in wait) This isn't their preferred M.O. but they are a desperate lot, and will bide their time until we let our defenses down to implement 'plan A', whatever that is in their twisted minds.

In the mean time several 'agents' may pan out across North America waiting for orders to commence this secondary tactic. Some may get caught but that's the price of doing business in their sick minds. The result? Governments of North America may restrict access to National and provincial parks, as well as every hiking trail or access route they can within their resources. After all, these aren’t essential services like the airlines are.

Step by step we lose our freedoms, our patience, and our confidence. That's what terrorism is all about, terrorizing you and me.

At this point I took my crystal ball and smashed it into pieces, afraid to know the rest of the story.........


T H C ”

“Dude, that's too much.

To be honest, my life has not changed one bit since Sept. 11 - with the exception of my mutual funds: hehe.

They are not going to hit a rural area with no people. I also think, considering all of the evidence we knew before 9/11, that the terrorists got lucky.”

“Stop being such a lilly-livered, spineless, yellow-bellied worry-wart. Mmm-Kay?”

“The last two reponses are an excellent display of why we need to be more vigilant.
oh yeah, Violin? Blow me!”