A point often missed by the talking heads since the Sept. 11 tragedy is the role of technology in the fight against terrorism. What happened in New York can be divided into two parts. First, the planes were hijacked and driven into the World Trade Center towers. Secondly, the WTC towers fell down. Guess which caused the greater damage? The WTC towers maintained their stability and strength against the elements by having a steel core around which the office spaces were built. Unlike other tall buildings, like the Sears Tower in Chicago, it had a uniform breadth throughout. The sole structural supports were these steel cores.
The planes rammed into the two towers and smashed out this inner core. That is the reason the towers, quite unbelievably, collapsed in such a short time. A stray plane, gone out of control, could have rammed into one of these buildings in perfectly peaceful times with absolutely no bad intentions in mind. I think in the future, possibilities like these should be taken into consideration while designing buildings. Safety, not mere aesthetic considerations, should be the prime guiding factor.
It was quite surprising that high profile buildings like the Pentagon had no proper air defenses. The Reagan National Airport is just two miles away from all major national monuments and buildings. The popularity of this airport stems from the convenience it provides to commuters. However, taking the present situation into account, I think it is in the best interests of the nation to close it permanently.
Coming back to the hijacking, the attitude of this present lot makes people re-think the whole philosophy of hijacking. The barbaric medievalism displayed by the bandits will give aircraft safety designers nightmares for a long time to come. Nevertheless, a few simple measures like coded access to the cockpit, installing closed circuit cameras in aircrafts, and arming a few members of the crew, albeit expensive, can help save lives.
The issue of airport security is also something which has to be considered. In the past, airlines in America provided the commuter the luxury of last minute check-ins, no security checks for luggage going to the cargo and friends accompanying the passenger right to the departure gate. It was much like boarding a local bus. I remember passing through the metal detector gates without a single eyebrow being raised, even though I was carrying a bunch of keys (OK, not a knife) in my pocket. It is obvious there has to be a balance between convenience and security to passengers.
However, metal detectors have limitations. They do not detect plastic explosives. Recently, when I was in India, I found the security personnel opening the entire carry on luggage and searching it thoroughly. Further, the passenger himself was extensively hand frisked before boarding. Honestly, I found measures like these offensive at first, but later when I was actually aboard and when the scene of the second plane crashing into the second tower flashed in my mind, I felt grateful to those security personnel.
Lastly, to destroy the scourge and horror of terrorism, the intelligence community has to make a shift in its approach. It has to think like the terrorist. Sole dependence on satellite tracking and eavesdropping is not enough. Get your claws inside the terrorist camps. Newer, smarter tracking devices that allow a person to carry such things right inside the dens, extract all relevant information and come out without giving them a clue. When your enemy is invisible , the first thing you should do is make yourself invisible too.
Jayanta Mukherjee is a graduate student in electrical engineering. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].
