While he wishes to protect Iraq from falling down into the black abyss, one wonders if by leaving us open here at home, we stand a chance of finding ourselves facing this abyss. One wonders if we too can windup in our own cauldron of chaos.
One only has to look at the cauldron of chaos that ensued after Hurricane Katrina hit our shores to see how unprepared they were for this natural disaster. What about future natural disasters and un-natural ones? What about another terrorist attack?
On November 20, 2005 Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson (former Chief of Staff to the former Secretary of State Colin Powell) appeared on CNN's 'Late Edition' and opined this, “If something comes along that is truly serious, truly serious. Something like a nuclear weapon going off in a major city or a pandemic, you are going to see the ineptitude of this government in a way that will take you back to the Declaration of Independence.” I want you to sit with that a bit.
In President Bush’s stubbornness, complete arrogance and thumbing his nose at the electorate; is he saying to all of us that he cares more for Iraq than the United States? It certainly seems that way.
While we have not suffered a terrorist attack on our shores since September 11th, 2001 (just go with me here, folks if you believe the opposite happened that day), terrorists do not follow our time clock and one should never feel a sense of ease because they have not. Since then London, Madrid and Bali, Indonesia have suffered similar attacks by Al Qaeda.
He cited that Al Qaeda has set up shop in Iraq and one must ask; what drew them there to begin with? It was our invasion of that country. In fact that is a prime example of a blow-back affect. Oh good going, President Bush. Al Qaeda set up a new campaign headquarters with your help. Most likely it has a picture of Bush on it saying, “Because of him, we need you”
In last week’s Democratic debates, Senator Hillary Clinton stated of our national security, “You know, we haven't secured our borders, our ports, our mass transit systems. You can go across this country and see so much that has not been done. The resources haven't gotten to the front lines where decisions are made in local government the way that they need to, and I think that this administration has consistently tried to hype the fear without delivering on the promise of making America safer.”
With recent cuts to Long Island hospitals by the federal government to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, while some have opined it will have a devastating affect to patient care, there is something else to think about. What happens if another attack occurs which is far worse than that one? What happens if the casualty rate is higher and far reaching? We will need these area hospitals to be fully capable of handling higher casualty rates. When Senator Clinton spoke of ports, New York City does have them. Are they being adequately secured at this point?
Long Island is an island and we have miles and miles of beaches and I do wonder if they are adequately protected as well. Call me an alarmist, but I do wonder. During World War Two Nazi subs sank four allied vessels off the coast of Montauk.
After Senator Clinton raised her concerns for our security, call it a light-bulb moment, but it made me think of a terrifying news article that appeared in a local Long Island newspaper, Suffolk Life as it spoke of the dangers of a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal called Broadwater.
Senator Clinton has long opposed this Broadwater terminal for environmental reasons. But, it got me thinking of what if scenarios should this terminal and others like it be placed within the Long Island Sound.
Suffolk County Legislator Wayne Horsley (D-Lindenhurst) raised the potentiality of "terrorist attacks" of not only this terminal but perhaps others being planned.
Horsley also cited that "the gas vapors could travel as far as 1.25 miles. In its gaseous state, he said it could mix in with a fog or low-level cloud cover, and reach the shoreline." But, it was this point that alarmed me when he said, "Once there's a cell phone or an electrostatic charge ... the cloud would [catch] on fire and spread back to the barge," he said, adding that the heat from the conflagration would be "hotter than the average house fire. It's a frightening scenario."
Should other LNG terminals and even this Broadwater terminal come to fruition, we will be in a cauldron of chaos here on Long Island should terrorists see them as a target. During the September 11th attacks, all access to Long Island was cut off at the bridges. The only way off Long Island was our ferries that operate out of Port Jefferson and Orient Point. These ferries cross the Long Island Sound.
Whoever proposed putting any LNG terminal in the Sound especially after September 11th, I want to shake their hand. That is meant to be sarcastic.
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