NATO Commander: Water Security is the Weak Link

Maritime security is a weak link in the U.S.-led war on terror and extremists will one day exploit the shortcomings unless action is taken, the U.S Commander of NATO forces in southern Europe said. Admiral Johnson, who is also commander of U.S. naval forces in Europe, said in an interview that friendly nations needed to create an intelligence network to monitor the world’s main shipping lanes. Some 95 percent of the world’s commercial cargo moves by ship, with some 11 million containers travelling the seas every day, Adm. Johnson said. “There’s only a tiny, tiny portion of one percent of those containers that we know about before they reach our ports,” he said. “The volumes are such that over time any would-be terrorist is going to work this out.” (Reuters)