“You Can Spy on the Enemies.” So reads a recent posting on an Islamic fundamentalist group’s website referring to US Airports — information that has been confirmed by DHS and FBI. Nothing new — spying on the enemy, that is. The revelation in this situation comes from the means suggested by terrorists for conducting surveillance: airport webcams. Knowing that terrorists have in the past conducted surveillance at airports, it is with stunning lack of foresight that the TSA has allowed airports across the country to project images of US airports — including control towers, parking structures, tarmacs and more — via webcam, onto the Internet.

The Canadian newspaper, Ottawa Sun, obtained a copy of the joint assessment issued by DHS and FBI. In that assessment, counterterrorism officials warn:

“The extremist website posting indicates continued terrorist interest in the aviation sector, and suggests that webcams may be a useful planning tool against critical infrastructure.”

Some press reports stated that the DHS/FBI joint warning came after federal officials learned that an Islamic website provided a link to a live webcam at an Alaska Airport (and also promising ‘more links to come.’) NBC News in Maryland reported that a regional airport in Hagerstown was the source of the controversy, noting that there was a webcam at that airport “which allowed users to control the camera and zoom in on the terminal and cargo areas.”

An airport official told NBC:

“There are no working webcams at the airport available to the public.”

Photo: Sacramento Airport

At that airport, anyway. The Aviation Nation searched for webcams at International Airports across the United States and discovered these following live feeds as of noon (PST) January 15, 2007 — three days after the DHS/FBI security threats were made public. These webcams display images of airplanes, control towers, airport parking structures and curbside areas at US International Airports.

Terrorists have conducted surveillance in airports since at least 1999. Convicted “millennium bomber” Ahmed Ressam plotted to blow up Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on the last New Year’s Eve of the century. Ressam, a radical Algerian Muslim, was trained in explosives and poisons at terrorist training camps in Afghanistan in 1998; a year later he was at LAX doing surveillance. Ten months after that, Ressam was arrested in Washington State en route to Los Angeles – just weeks before committing a terror attack designed to “ring in the New Year with a staggering body count.” Details of Ressam’s airport surveillance came out at his trial.

At least one of the 9/11 hijackers cased airports, again the airport surveilled was Los Angeles International Airport. Videotape recently deposed for a grand jury in Southern California shows hijacker Nawaf al-Hazmi with Yemeni student Mohdar Abdullah (questioned by the FBI, released and deported) and a third unidentified man conducting surveillance inside LAX on June 11, 2000. The MSNBC Investigative Unit broke the story, learning from law enforcement “the men appear to be scouting out the airport.” FBI agents told MSNBC that one of the men may be holding a video camera and rotates in a circle while secretly videotaping near the security area.

Airport webcams have now become a means for terrorists to do their surveillance.

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