Imagine . . .
Suicide terrorists pulling a boat alongside a heavily laden oil tanker in Port Angeles Harbor — and detonating it, the way the USS Cole was attacked a year ago in Yemen.
Or imagine them taking over a cargo ship and slamming it into the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
Or imagine terrorists smuggling bombs into container cars offloaded at the Port of Seattle and hauled to destinations all over America — where they are simultaneously exploded.
Once the purview of Tom Clancey-type novels, these scenarios are on the minds of lawmakers and others who worry that Port Angeles and America’s 360 other deep-water ports may be among the most vulnerable and inviting ways for terrorists to strike at the United States.
Officials of Washington state ports and the U.S. Coast Guard are taking the threat seriously.
This full report appears in the Sunday Peninsula Daily News, on sale throughout Clallam and Jefferson counties. Click on “Subscribe” to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.
