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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: quehubo who wrote (93317)	1/2/2005 1:35:50 PM
From: carranza2	Respond to of 793745

Why do you think AQ funding by SA or others has been impacted? I've seen some reports. Charities have been shut down, the Saudis are taking steps since the Royals have finally recognized the threat, money has been traced, etc. Yes, shooting down airliners would be difficult for everyone. But it is hard, as evidenced by the fact that they could not do so in Africa using shoulder fired missiles. The laser stuff seems a stretch. I've read somewhere that it is quite easy to protect against them. Goggles seem to be the way to go. gertzfile.com Navy laser protection Several years after a Navy officer suffered eye damage from a laser, the service has developed eye protection designed to protect against a range of laser attacks. The Crew Systems Science and Technology division of the Naval Air Systems Command, known as NAVAIR, at Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Southern Maryland said it will be fielding new anti-laser goggles later this year. The protection is considered state of the art. It combines several light filters used in eye goggles and helmet visors that will protect the eyes of military personnel from the damaging effects of lasers. The goggles were identified as EDU-5/P protective glasses. They use holographic and dielectric technology to filter laser beams and prevent them from reaching the eyes, according to a NAVAIR spokesman. The goggles will be distributed to aviators and aircrews in the coming months. They provide protection from various lasers that emit differing wavelengths of light. They can be used day and night, and can be combined with night-vision goggles. The current eye protection is limited to single wavelength lasers and is not as effective as the new spectacles. "Through this team effort, U.S. Navy and Marine Corps fixed- and rotary-wing and patrol aircrew will have state-of-the-art laser eye protection to protect against the hazards of anti-personnel lasers," said Brandon Johnson, who worked with a team of specialists who developed the spectacles. The new goggles are being fielded more than five years after an intelligence officer, Lt. Cmdr. Jack Daly, was hit in the eyes by a laser fired from Kapitan Man, a Russian merchant ship. The ship was spying on a U.S. nuclear missile submarine in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, north of Washington state's Puget Sound. Two members of an Army helicopter crew also suffered eye damage from a laser fired at them during a mission over Bosnia- Herzenovina. Cmdr. Daly, who was aboard a Canadian military helicopter, suffered burns to the retina of his right eye and has not recovered. The Canadian pilot, Capt. Pat Barnes, also suffered career-ending eye injuries. A 1997 Pentagon investigation of the incident offered conflicting conclusions. It found that Cmdr. Daly suffered eye injuries caused by exposure to a laser but stated that there was "no physical evidence tying the eye injury to a laser located on the Russian merchant vessel." Members of Congress charged that the Clinton administration covered up facts about the incident to avoid upsetting the Russians. Last year, Cmdr. Daly brought a lawsuit against the owner of the ship, the Vladivostok-based Far Eastern Shipping Co., or Fesco, for negligence. The case is scheduled for trial later this year in Seattle. Eventually all airliners will have devices to protect them from shoulder fired weapons. All El Al airliners have them now. It's a tremendous cost, but may be necessary.