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Old January 14th 04, 05:56 PM
Jim
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Takeing off on your thoughts I sent the following to CBS.

General Aviation Security Story
I just don't get it.

The media's inaccurate reporting and constant craving for hype and
sensational stories strikes again, this time the media's paranoid and
delusional spotlight has focused on the supposed lack of security and the
invisible threat that general aviation has on the American public. While
security levels vary at airports used primarily for general aviation, so do
the security levels at harbors, train stations, freight yards, beaches,
stadiums, and your neighborhood mall, or god forbid your neighborhood
school. Just because a group of terrorists chose commercial airliners as
their weapons of choice, it does not mean that the next logical step is for
them to continue to exploit aviation as a means of terror. What if they
would have used a semi-tanker full of fuel? Would that mean that every
freight yard in the country must implement new security measures? What if
they would have used a ship or a boat and destroyed a harbor? Harbors
haven't been put in your spot light. What if they would have chosen to
de-rail several of the nations passenger and freight trains? Should we now
put fences along all railroad tracks across the entire nation? Do you
honestly think that public parking garages or stadium parking lots monitor
the contents of every vehicle as well as do identity checks on their
drivers??? Why not? What if they would have rented a white truck and
parked it outside a mall, school, packed stadium, in a basement parking
garage, or even a federal building then blew it up? Hey! didn't that happen
the first time the WTC was bombed and then it happened in Oklahoma city?
Hmm... people still rent white trucks!!! And weren't they initially looking
for a white van in the sniper case?? Clearly white vehicles should be
banned, they are always being used by terrorists. Aren't your news vans
white? Now I have proof that news crews drive around in terrorist vehicles!
I'm just useing your own logic. Have you people forgotten what country we
live in and what rights and privileges the law abiding public is supposed to
have?

I'd really like to know just what type of security you think should be in
place at general aviation airports. First you must convince me that you
believe a threat actually exists, what that threat is, and what historic
events lead you to believe that the threat will occur again. Simply saying
something is possible and somebody "might" be able to do this or that isn't
enough. It equates to saying "because guns exist, we're all in danger of
being shot" or "because cars exist and they've been known to crash, every
passenger is at risk of crashing and being killed". Raising fear in the
public's eyes is not doing justice to their intelligence nor providing a
public service.

Jim Burns III