Trains, trucks and buses got good grades for homeland security from The Washington Post, but ports, bridges and tunnels didn?t fare so well in the paper?s one-year anniversary coverage of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The paper asked experts to grade various aspects of homeland security. Under the Transportation sector, Trains, Trucks and Buses received an ?A.? The paper notes that while truck bombs remain a significant concern to counterterror experts, about 6,000 truckers have been trained to recognize and report security threats as part of the American Trucking Associations? Highway Watch program.
Ports and Shipping, however, received a ?C,? but that?s an improvement from where they were a year ago, which was failing. Experts are concerned that intermodal containers, which enter the country on ships and are transported from there by rail or truck, could be used to import weapons of mass destruction.
Bridges, Tunnels and Dams received a ?B/C-.? Historically, the paper says, the nation?s 600,000 bridges and tunnels have been neglected when it comes to security concerns. But that changed a year ago. Areas around critical transportation structures are now being monitored through surveillance cameras and in some cases armed guards. In California, highway maintenance workers are being trained to watch for suspicious activity.
<I>Post</i> Grades Transportation Security
Trains, trucks and buses got good grades for homeland security from The Washington Post, but ports, bridges and tunnels didn?t fare so well in the paper?s one-year anniversary coverage of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
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