"Liquid Explosives"

[ravan]

OK, I've read some of the articles and such about liquid explosives from the BBC. They all allude to some vague, nebulous ingredients that might be able to be combined to make a liquid explosive, or combining a liquid and a solid.

They read like bullshit, as in, as credible as "red mercury" being a nuclear material.

Yes, there are liquids that can be combined to make explosives. In order to get explosives out of these, they have to be highly concentrated. Some are considered "volatile". This means they stink.

Take acetone, a well known ingredient in nail polish remover. The concentration is low, the smell is high. If someone decided to "do their nails" on an airplane flight, they'd get lynched - that shit is vicious in an enclosed environment.

Or various acidic drain cleaners: hard to handle and package without burning yourself, or sufficiently low strength to not do anything more than fizzle. These stink too.

Hydrogen peroxide: the stuff you can buy in the drugstore is low concentration. It would have to be concentrated (not a simple process), then repacked in the original bottle. It smells when you open it, too. Hair bleach developer has a slightly higher concentration, but again has the smell problem.

Gasoline/Fuel oil: first, it smells; second, its already prohibited in aircraft cabins.

So, basically, it would take a lot of effort, coordination, and ingenuity by the terrorists, plus gross apathy on the part of their fellow passengers. Ain't gonna happen. Not when passengers that look like they *might* be doing something funky get tackled promptly by fellow travellers.

Comments

[raindrops.livejournal.com]

What pisses me off the most is that all they have to do is announce that they've foiled a plot, and therefore we are all simultaneously saved and subject to further bullshit.

Show me, don't tell me.

They (all the coalition of the killing) have been "thwarting" plots ever since 9/11, yet we've seen no legitimate judicial action based upon these claims.

Why was the announcement not made after arrests, charges, evidence presented in a court of law, and a verdict?

If it was such a brilliant plan, why didn't these trrrrrrrrrrists infiltrate the employee rosters of airport vendors and suppliers, to coordinate shipment of the inert substances to different airport bars/restaurants, and then disperse them on D-Day to the psycho mofos who would then combine them in the damn loo onboard?

"I'd like the extra-special daily special."

How hard is that?

[ravan.livejournal.com]

Not very. Sleepers are a far more insidious threat. If you are patient, you can have several of your agents get jobs with concessions, and then years later use them to provide materials. They don't have to have flight line clearance - just concessions. But they can smuggle small amounts in over several weeks. If you have them all working for different vendors, there's less chance of them being found out. Have two or three for each component. Better yet, have the ones with component 1 at SFO, component 2 at ATL, and component 3 at JFK. Get on an international flight from there.

That's why I don't believe this crap about liquid explosives and sports drink containers. It's too contrived.

Hell, liquid plus powder is more believable.

[raindrops.livejournal.com]

And don't forget, this is an election year. Congress is out of session until September 5, when they will do nothing for a month, then adjourn so they can go fight to keep their seats. Coupled with the fact that the Bush administration was privy to the investigation all along, it seems all the more contrived.

Hey, America, look what we've been doing to keep you safe! Now pay, and obey.