I do agree that we have to tackle the CBBT access issue in a manner that
fully takes into account the security angle.
That said, however, I have some difficulty in defining exactly what is the
security concern, as I have seen absolutely nothing about this. I have only
been able to come up with two such concerns, but I presume there are more. One
is that the islands could be used as a launching point for attacking
shipping. The other is to blow up the air ventilation mechanism on one of the
islands. Neither of these threats add up, when you consider the relatively
little
damage that would be caused, even if successful, thus making them extremely
low
priority targets for any terrorist. And I can think of equally good ways of
achieving both objectives, without use of the islands.
I therefore wonder whether the authorities have shared with those
representing the birding community, just what sorts of threats are being
defended
against. NOT that I want to know what they are precisely - that sort of
information is better kept restricted. But I would like to know that someone
has
explained the potential threats, in a credible manner, to someone in the
birding
community.
If we do not know the threats, it is extremely difficult to make any case
that the current restrictions could safely be amended or abandoned.
Stephen Eccles
