Sen. Charles Schumer is calling for better rail security now that the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound has turned up plans to attack trains in the U.S.
Schumer said Sunday that he will push for the creation of a “do not ride” list for Amtrak. The list would be similar to the no-fly list that keeps those suspected of terrorism from flying into or out of the United States.
Notes and computer materials seized from bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan last Sunday showed bin Laden wanted to strike American cities again and discussed ways to attack trains.
Schumer is calling for increased funding for rail security in light of the new intelligence.
The New York Democrat says the U.S. must remain vigilant in protecting itself from future attacks.
(Source: WCBSTV)
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AMTRAK is integrated with the local commute lines.
That would mean having to hire an army of ticket takers to checks tickets and IDs prior to boarding all trains (including ones such as New Jersey Transit and the Long Island Railroad and SEPTA (for Pa) and MARC (for Maryland).
Furthermore, anyone wishes to attack a train an manage to leave a bomb on the track which is a bit simpler than trying to fire a rocket at an airplane.
It seems Mr. Schumer doesn’t know what he is doing unless his real goal is to massively increase the number of civil servants, or to make public transit too expensive to operate (and as it is, most rail service requires massive subsidies).
One precaution that might work would be to allow/require law abiding citizens to carry concealed handguns so they can shoot terrorists, if they should even encounter one – but that’s politically incorrect.