Entries Tagged 'vehicles' ↓
November 20th, 2007 — terrorism, Saudi Arabia, vehicle theft, crime, CzechRebel (author), 1389, counterjihad, al Qaeda, vehicles
Stolen vehicles may go where we cannot follow them
1389’s SUV was recently stolen, from a parking deck that happened to be in a river port city in the US. The police came up with nothing, so we eventually started looking to purchase a replacement vehicle. When we mentioned our predicament to a car salesman, he told us, “That was a diesel, so it probably ended up being shipped in a container to Saudi Arabia.”
Ouch. It had been a good vehicle, and not one that could easily be replaced.
As a practical matter, there was little, if anything, that we ourselves could have done to prevent the theft. Systems such as LoJack are generally a good idea, but that wouldn’t have helped in this instance, because the vehicle was stolen in an area where it wasn’t available. The police can help only when the vehicle turns up either in their own jurisdiction, or in another jurisdiction that shares information with them.
Stolen vehicles and jihadist terrorism
Considering that we don’t want any more vehicles stolen, I figured that it was time to do some more research.
Everything I found confirmed my suspicion that there is indeed a strong connection between stolen vehicles and jihadist terrorism.
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Once a vehicle has reached the Middle East, it’s gone
Except in Iraq, the U.S. and other western nations do not have the option to use their own police or military to trace and retrieve stolen vehicles from the Muslim Middle East. Nor do the local or national authorities offer any real cooperation. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, or the current regimes in Kuwait or Yemen or Dubai, are not all that terribly concerned about protecting the property rights of infidels living overseas.
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Stolen vehicles are used to commit other crimes
Stolen vehicles are less traceable than rental cars and the like. They are used as getaway cars, for smuggling persons as well as contraband goods, you name it.
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The profits from selling stolen vehicles and parts go to fund more terrorist violence
Stolen vehicles and parts get good prices from overseas buyers.
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A stolen vehicle may be used as a car or truck bomb
The last place you would want to see your car is on the news, being used as a car or truck bomb to attack U.S. or coalition troops, or perhaps Israelis or other innocent civilians. One source says that the Chevy Suburban is a particular favorite for this purpose. If this happens, your vehicle’s demise may be featured on YouTube as a scene in a jihadist recruitment video. True, you might never see enough of the vehicle in one piece to identify it as yours, but still…
What can be done?
Never mind political correctness - use the clues that we have
Criminals involved in any form of illicit international trade, including stolen vehicles, don’t sell their products randomly all over the world. They network with relatives or friends who are located in one or two specific countries, generally the home countries of the people involved. Catching the perpetrators means tracing the pathway back from the destination, while resolutely ignoring any false accusations of “racial profiling” and so forth.
For example, suppose people in Saudi are seen driving SUVs that have Florida license tags or dealer plaques. The SUVs probably are going out through the busiest port, which would be Miami. The likeliest perpetrators would be Saudi Arabians, or people with ties to Saudi Arabia, in south Florida, who buy and sell vehicles, or who export vehicles and parts. One or more of the people involved, perhaps container truck drivers, must have access to the port facilities. Of course, following the money will show where the proceeds are going.
Better inspection of outgoing containers
Because this aspect of vehicle theft has to do with international trade in stolen goods, some responsibility for stemming the tide falls upon the federal or national governments of the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the EU. Everybody has been worried about dirty bombs, loose nukes, bioweapons, and other WMDs coming into the U.S. and other countries via container ships, and rightfully so! The U.S. has stepped up its efforts to inspect incoming shipping containers and other cargo. But the same effort needs to be made to inspect outgoing shipping containers and cargo, to stop al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations from smuggling stolen goods and other contraband out of the U.S. and other western countries.
Fellow 1389 Blog team admin CzechRebel points out that this is like a stage magic trick: the bad guys let everybody focus on just one aspect of the problem (in this case, incoming freight); meanwhile, nobody notices that they’re pulling a fast one in some other quarter (namely, outbound smuggling). We need to monitor every major potential security vulnerability, not just the obvious ones.
States, provinces, and localities need to work harder to share stolen vehicle identification data
While I’d be the first to say that there’s plenty of room for improvement at the federal or national level, both in the U.S. and elsewhere, the fact is that most of the job of stopping vehicle theft has to be done locally. States, provinces, counties, and cities must streamline the task of sharing stolen vehicle identification data, even across national boundaries. This problem is by no means limited to the U.S.!
Private companies might even start making it their business to collect “hot sheet” data from all over the world. For a reasonable fee, they could offer it not only to governmental bodies, but also to everyone else who needs that information, including prospective purchasers who want to be sure that they are getting good title.
Stolen U.S. vehicles end up as bombs in Iraq, FBI says
WASHINGTON: Fifteen years after U.S. states were directed to share motor vehicle information in a national database, only nine states have done so, making it nearly impossible to identify hundreds of thousands of stolen vehicles - including a small but steady number that end up as car bombs in Iraq.
FBI officials said they believe the database could help break up far-flung terrorist networks, which are using vehicles stolen and smuggled from the United States.
Bought and sold on the international black market, cars and trucks help fund criminal operations and can be turned into the terrorist weapon of choice against U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians: vehicles packed with explosives. The FBI declined to estimate how many stolen U.S. cars have turned up as car bombs in Iraq but said the number is believed to be at least in the dozens [more]…
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Technorati : IED, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Saudi Arabia, WMD, al Qaeda, crime, fraud, jihadism, suicide bombers, terrorism, transportation, truck bomb, vehicles
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October 26th, 2007 — vehicle theft, Latin America, school terrorism, crime, vehicles, incident tracking, security
Be on the lookout for a 40-foot yellow school bus, marked with Merryville Schools, Unit #586 and Fleet #N63989. It was stolen from Merryville Schools, 1370 Baseline Road in Roseville, California.
If you have any information about the bus, please call Roseville police at (916)774-5000.
Stolen school buses can be misused in all sorts of ways too ugly to contemplate. See:
Are these stolen school buses going to Mexico?
- Has anyone requested the assistance of the Mexican government in tracking down missing school buses?
- If so, what was the outcome?
Learn more about homeland security on the road:
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October 19th, 2007 — school terrorism, Latin America, crime, incident tracking, vehicles, security
15 school buses went missing. Where are they now?
Between January and August, 2007, fifteen school buses were stolen from various facilities in the area of Houston, Texas. None of the missing buses were owned by the Houston Independent School District (HISD).
We reported this earlier in Why the rash of Houston-area school bus thefts?
- Stolen School Buses Raise Eyebrows in Houston
HOUSTON (Aug. 29, 2007) - Of the 15 school buses that have been reported stolen since January, only two have been recovered, causing local law enforcement to question their disappearance. While authorities are not saying there is a relation to any terrorist activity, they do not disregard the possibility.
- Numerous Law Enforcement Agencies Collaborate Within Texas on Related Issues, Including Homeland Security
HOUSTON (Aug. 29, 2007) - As a precautionary measure, schools in the Houston area are being reminded to be extra vigilant when it comes to school bus security. A string of suspicious but unrelated school bus thefts dating back to January have raised some homeland security concerns with law enforcement agencies within the state.
“We always try to keep tabs on vehicles that could be used to get close in to a target,” said Special Agent Patricia Villafranca, a media representative at the FBI’s Houston branch office. “It was important to remind people who provide security at the schools that just because it’s yellow and it looks like a school bus, don’t let your guard down.”
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Recently, a notice was sent out from Houston Fusion Center that listed the buses that were stolen. According to Dennis Storemski, director of the Houston’s Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security, the notice did not include any commentary.
“It wasn’t anything specific, it was just a matter of a potential crime pattern,” said Storemski. kids using them or malicious mischief or vandalism. Another possibility is that they could be going to Mexico, due to our proximity to the border. There are a lot of possibilities.”
The Fusion Center is a collaboration of analysts from the Houston Police Department, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety. The group is able to discuss issues in real time within the same department in the Houston Emergency Center. According to Special Agent Villafranca, the FBI will also be joining the center soon.
Also see:
Technorati : counterterrorism, crime, homeland security, incident reporting, incident tracking, school terrorism, vehicles
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October 7th, 2007 — school terrorism, vehicle theft, crime, incident tracking, vehicles, security
Seems there’s been a rash of school buses disappearing from the Houston area.
The National Terror Alert website points out some ominous possibilities:
We don’t know what purpose the thieves had in mind for the buses.
Best-case scenario: The perpetrators are caught. No more school bus thefts, no more worries.
If we’re lucky: The buses are headed for third-world countries, where they’ll be sold, repainted, and put to work on local bus routes. Or they’re off to a chop shop to be resold as parts.
If we’re not: One or more of the buses are being hidden somewhere, to be used for future criminal activities or for perpetrating acts of terrorist violence. School buses provide effective cover for attacks upon schools or school-age children.
How aware are police and sheriff’s departments of this security vulnerability?
- These buses could be anywhere. We would like to know whether an up-to-date list of stolen school buses, with VIN numbers and physical descriptions, is being circulated to state and local public safety departments throughout the U.S. If this has not been done, it certainly should be!
- If you work for a police or sheriff’s department, we suggest that you discuss this with the appropriate person, so that your department will have the best chance of locating the missing school buses if they should turn up in your jurisdiction.
- If you serve on a school board, please communicate with your fellow board members, and with your state and local public safety officials, regarding school counterterrorism preparedness.
- If you work at any facility that repaints or services buses, pay close attention to used school buses that are brought in by individuals or organizations that you are not familiar with. If you suspect that the bus may be stolen, call the authorities to check out the VIN number.
“What else can I do?”
- Keep an eye out for any school bus or yellow-painted bus that appears to be abandoned, or is being driven, parked, or stored in any unusual location where you would not ordinarily expect to find a school bus. Call the authorities to check out anything suspicious.
- Know who will be driving the bus for your school, church, or non-profit organization. If the bus and driver are provided by a transportation service, be sure that the company is performing solid background checks on their drivers.
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May 16th, 2007 — incivility, vehicles, Florida, current events
For the second consecutive year, an AutoVantage poll has rated South Florida’s drivers the nation’s rudest. Some people dispute the findings, saying that the poll’s margin for error is too high. But others say the results comport with what they see every day, ranging from ordinary discourtesy to road rage and everything in between: slamming on brakes, running traffic signals, and reading while driving (which 1389 has seen).
Evidently, there is a problem here, and surely not all of it can be blamed on out-of-town drivers with poor driving habits who are unfamiliar with the area. So what’s making people so angry? Are people frustrated or misrouted because of too many road-construction blockages, too few alternative through streets, confusing or missing signage, or faulty highway design? Or is it a cultural issue? Comment here if you have any ideas!
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May 15th, 2007 — disaster preparedness, energy, vehicles, weather, Florida, hurricane
From the blog Sleepless in South Florida, here’s a wake-up call for everyone in the area: Top Ten Reasons Why South Floridians
Should Prepare for Hurricane Season. This thought-provoking blog post also offers links for hurricane-preparedness information.
Update: More than half of Florida gas stations on evacuation routes must install generators. These generators are required by law, so that gas stations will be able to continue pumping gas to vehicles on the evacuation routes, even if a storm knocks out power. Too many gas stations have not yet complied. According to the article: “In past years, some stations have had gas in their tanks, but no way to pump it out because of power outages.”
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