Penetrating The Maze (3)
Roger J. Burke
April 17, 2010
"The only thing better than an original gun is to have an original gun fired regularly." (as quoted by an observer at a Civil War celebration in Connecticut)
When it comes to guns, the United States of America is right up there with the best of the arms merchants, like it or not.
I´m not about to point fingers or rant about the gun culture in the country, however. Enough citizens have done that already, and will no doubt continue to do so. A blistering editorial in the NY Times of April 15, 2010 is an appropriate example. Hence, it´s nothing new to say that guns of all types are commonplace throughout American cities, towns, exhibitions, museums, celebrations, hunting parties, camping trips, military tattoos, schools, colleges, suburban houses and so on, ad infinitum.
And I´d hazard a guess that, in all probability, there is not one city, town or suburb that doesn´t have any guns.
So criminals of all types, including extremists, have almost unrestrained access to a large variety of guns, all across U.S.A. Extremists of the al-Qaeda type however, bent on constructing a nuclear bomb, need a special type of gun: a big one – in fact, a good-sized cannon .
Do you know of any suitable cannons in your neighborhood? In my immediate area of north Brisbane, I´ve seen a few near memorials, at beaches and graveyards. There is a military base at Enogerra which, when viewed in Google Earth, doesn´t appear to have any (probably in storage). On the south side of the Brisbane River, however, at a place called Fort Lytton National Park, there´s an old naval fort – now a museum, sort of – where there are quite a few pieces of old ordnance lying around, some of them quite large and un-spiked.
When I visited that site in 2003, the place was wide open, with no visible security. Viewed through Google Earth now, nothing much appears to have changed. Here are the Google Earth coordinates: 27 degrees 24 minutes 43.67seconds S; 153 degrees 09 minutes 02.10 seconds E.
Old ordnance gathering rust and dust in Australia isn´t much of a worry, however. Although, left as is, we never know for sure, do we?
So who knows how many useable cannons there are in the U.S.A? Search the Internet and you´ll find many sites devoted to artillery of all types, and in many towns, across the country. And, as you´ll see below, there are those who trade in cannons, buying and selling.
Extremists, however, require a cannon of the appropriate material and dimensions: steel, iron, or bronze that must be about twelve feet long and with a bore diameter big enough to house two sub-critical ´slugs´ of HEU-235, one at each end. Little Boy, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, was slightly less than twelve feet in length; it was essentially a cannon contained in a very special bomb housing. In fact, a working U.S. military cannon was cut down to the appropriate size for the job. And, it was such a simple design, it was "considered almost certain to work" and thus not tested prior to dropping on that unhappy Japanese city. The rest, as you know, is... horrific.
Now, the U.S. military had already built mobile nuclear cannons during the Cold War; they´re probably stored somewhere on a military base or bases in U.S.A. or elsewhere. I very much doubt that any miscreants will ever get their illegal hands on those, however. Stealing one or buying one on the international arms market (even if available, which I also doubt) would – or should – certainly raise red flags in certain quarters, never mind the horrendous logistics of trying to secretly transport one.
Mind you, as an aside, I recall a 1974 Hollywood movie called Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, in which a pair of bank robbers actually attack a bank vault with a medium-sized, mobile cannon. At that time, I did wonder how a couple of not-too-bright bank robbers could get their hands on such a large gun... Such is fiction, yes?
But, no – a serious attack group, as we know, must work stealthily, quietly and unobtrusively. And, considering extremists´ penchant for waging asymmetric warfare, they will generally try to use the country´s own resources and culture against it – as those attack teams did, on 9/11, when they used large passenger aircraft.
So... what about the local scene across the U.S.A., where there are who-knows-how-many old and not-so-old cannons from a half-dozen wars, dotted about in parks and town squares, at old forts, in local museums, in front of libraries, and so on? Would any of those suffice? Could the bad guys buy one? How many are un-spiked? Who would miss one – or more – if it disappeared one night?
Well, searching the Internet recently has provided some interesting stories from across U.S.A.:
Think of it from the extremists´ point of view: after going to all the trouble of getting sufficient nuclear material, then successfully smuggling it through U.S. Customs, an extremist group, coming in from some foreign country, must then search for a suitable delivery device i.e. an operational cannon of the right size before it can execute an attack? Perish the thought: it´s so improbable as to be beyond worry.
What is of concern, however, is this: an agent, a landed immigrant, even a natural-born citizen, in league with the foreign group, touring around the country, keeping tabs on a few suitable cannons found ahead of time, perhaps over some years, knowing where they are, and able to act when needed. Or, even stealing one, way ahead of time, and hiding it until D-Day, so to speak. That´s not only possible, but it has a distinctly higher probability than coming in to start a cold search from scratch.
However, I broadened my effort globally and found even more interesting stories that should generate a buzz, if not alarm bells:
The point I´m making is this: I think it´s safer for an attack group to find a suitable cannon outside of the U.S.A. and then ship it to an appropriate U.S. port of entry. That sounds decidedly problematic, I know. But given the reality and celebration of such a pervasive gun culture throughout the country, such a shipment is likely to be treated with care and deference, rather than doubt and suspicion.
Of course, the essence of the requirements is a metal tube at least twelve feet long. So, you might think that extremists could simply use a length of heavy gauge stainless steel, for example. Why they wouldn't has a lot to do with the physics of nuclear dis-assembly - a euphemism for nuclear detonation - coupled with the need for a suitable neutron reflector. For those reasons, a really heavy cannon - iron would suffice - would be the "tube" of choice, in my opinion.
Hence, in certain situations, there´s nothing quite like hiding in plain sight. Those attackers who learnt how to fly large passenger planes in Florida, and elsewhere in U.S.A., proved that conclusively.
We´ll get to the heart of the maze, coming up next.
Copyright © Roger J. Burke, 2010. All rights reserved.
When it comes to guns, the United States of America is right up there with the best of the arms merchants, like it or not.
I´m not about to point fingers or rant about the gun culture in the country, however. Enough citizens have done that already, and will no doubt continue to do so. A blistering editorial in the NY Times of April 15, 2010 is an appropriate example. Hence, it´s nothing new to say that guns of all types are commonplace throughout American cities, towns, exhibitions, museums, celebrations, hunting parties, camping trips, military tattoos, schools, colleges, suburban houses and so on, ad infinitum.
And I´d hazard a guess that, in all probability, there is not one city, town or suburb that doesn´t have any guns.
So criminals of all types, including extremists, have almost unrestrained access to a large variety of guns, all across U.S.A. Extremists of the al-Qaeda type however, bent on constructing a nuclear bomb, need a special type of gun: a big one – in fact, a good-sized cannon .
Do you know of any suitable cannons in your neighborhood? In my immediate area of north Brisbane, I´ve seen a few near memorials, at beaches and graveyards. There is a military base at Enogerra which, when viewed in Google Earth, doesn´t appear to have any (probably in storage). On the south side of the Brisbane River, however, at a place called Fort Lytton National Park, there´s an old naval fort – now a museum, sort of – where there are quite a few pieces of old ordnance lying around, some of them quite large and un-spiked.
When I visited that site in 2003, the place was wide open, with no visible security. Viewed through Google Earth now, nothing much appears to have changed. Here are the Google Earth coordinates: 27 degrees 24 minutes 43.67seconds S; 153 degrees 09 minutes 02.10 seconds E.
Old ordnance gathering rust and dust in Australia isn´t much of a worry, however. Although, left as is, we never know for sure, do we?
So who knows how many useable cannons there are in the U.S.A? Search the Internet and you´ll find many sites devoted to artillery of all types, and in many towns, across the country. And, as you´ll see below, there are those who trade in cannons, buying and selling.
Extremists, however, require a cannon of the appropriate material and dimensions: steel, iron, or bronze that must be about twelve feet long and with a bore diameter big enough to house two sub-critical ´slugs´ of HEU-235, one at each end. Little Boy, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, was slightly less than twelve feet in length; it was essentially a cannon contained in a very special bomb housing. In fact, a working U.S. military cannon was cut down to the appropriate size for the job. And, it was such a simple design, it was "considered almost certain to work" and thus not tested prior to dropping on that unhappy Japanese city. The rest, as you know, is... horrific.
Now, the U.S. military had already built mobile nuclear cannons during the Cold War; they´re probably stored somewhere on a military base or bases in U.S.A. or elsewhere. I very much doubt that any miscreants will ever get their illegal hands on those, however. Stealing one or buying one on the international arms market (even if available, which I also doubt) would – or should – certainly raise red flags in certain quarters, never mind the horrendous logistics of trying to secretly transport one.
Mind you, as an aside, I recall a 1974 Hollywood movie called Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, in which a pair of bank robbers actually attack a bank vault with a medium-sized, mobile cannon. At that time, I did wonder how a couple of not-too-bright bank robbers could get their hands on such a large gun... Such is fiction, yes?
But, no – a serious attack group, as we know, must work stealthily, quietly and unobtrusively. And, considering extremists´ penchant for waging asymmetric warfare, they will generally try to use the country´s own resources and culture against it – as those attack teams did, on 9/11, when they used large passenger aircraft.
So... what about the local scene across the U.S.A., where there are who-knows-how-many old and not-so-old cannons from a half-dozen wars, dotted about in parks and town squares, at old forts, in local museums, in front of libraries, and so on? Would any of those suffice? Could the bad guys buy one? How many are un-spiked? Who would miss one – or more – if it disappeared one night?
Well, searching the Internet recently has provided some interesting stories from across U.S.A.:
- Old cannons still form the center piece in many celebrations: for example, in Vermont, where lawmakers were trying to decide "whether a 150-year-old cannon should be put on display in a museum or should continue to be fired in Civil War re-enactments."; in Connecticut, where "The only thing better than an original gun is to have an original gun fired regularly."; and again in Vermont where a debate raged about the safe firing of cannon deemed to be in "marvelous condition".
- There´s a collector of cannons in Florida who could "outfit an army" apparently – for a price, of course.
- In Jacksonville, Florida, you can actually learn how "to fire the cannons at the Castillo de San Marcos" .
- Over in Oregon, storms reveal secrets when some beachcombers find a pair of old cannons.
- In Massachusetts, fishermen find a 300-year-old ´swivel gun´.
- And, in St Louis, Missouri, a few people there were wondering about an old Spanish gun in Forest Park. Where did it come from?
Think of it from the extremists´ point of view: after going to all the trouble of getting sufficient nuclear material, then successfully smuggling it through U.S. Customs, an extremist group, coming in from some foreign country, must then search for a suitable delivery device i.e. an operational cannon of the right size before it can execute an attack? Perish the thought: it´s so improbable as to be beyond worry.
What is of concern, however, is this: an agent, a landed immigrant, even a natural-born citizen, in league with the foreign group, touring around the country, keeping tabs on a few suitable cannons found ahead of time, perhaps over some years, knowing where they are, and able to act when needed. Or, even stealing one, way ahead of time, and hiding it until D-Day, so to speak. That´s not only possible, but it has a distinctly higher probability than coming in to start a cold search from scratch.
However, I broadened my effort globally and found even more interesting stories that should generate a buzz, if not alarm bells:
- Off the coast of Africa, in 2008, a 500 year-old treasure ship was found. In that ship, there were a number of bronze cannons, presumably in good condition. They are breech-loaders from the "early 1500s" and of great archaeological value.
- In Bahrain, it´s common to "ring in" the holy month of Ramadan with cannon fire; while in Turkey, that practice is now being replaced with fireworks. A sensible change there, I think.
- Even in England, ´enthusiasts get fired up about 200 year old cannon´ last November, 2009. So, America is definitely not alone with its fascination with guns.
- Down in the Caribbean, an antique cannon was stolen from a fort in 2006. Did anybody find it, or was the theft even investigated, I wonder?
- In Thailand, some old cannons were found in 2009, apparently abandoned near an archaeological site. I hope someone in authority looked into that.
- And, last but not least, way over in the Philippines, on Lubang Island, a century-old cannon went missing, and nobody can find it. Another item that should be investigated, in my opinion.
The point I´m making is this: I think it´s safer for an attack group to find a suitable cannon outside of the U.S.A. and then ship it to an appropriate U.S. port of entry. That sounds decidedly problematic, I know. But given the reality and celebration of such a pervasive gun culture throughout the country, such a shipment is likely to be treated with care and deference, rather than doubt and suspicion.
Of course, the essence of the requirements is a metal tube at least twelve feet long. So, you might think that extremists could simply use a length of heavy gauge stainless steel, for example. Why they wouldn't has a lot to do with the physics of nuclear dis-assembly - a euphemism for nuclear detonation - coupled with the need for a suitable neutron reflector. For those reasons, a really heavy cannon - iron would suffice - would be the "tube" of choice, in my opinion.
Hence, in certain situations, there´s nothing quite like hiding in plain sight. Those attackers who learnt how to fly large passenger planes in Florida, and elsewhere in U.S.A., proved that conclusively.
We´ll get to the heart of the maze, coming up next.
Copyright © Roger J. Burke, 2010. All rights reserved.
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