|
CNN reported on June 12, 2002 that a source in Germany's BND intelligence agency "warned that al Qaeda operatives could strike passenger aircraft model aircraft or small rockets." The source added, "the threat was being taken seriously despite its unspecific nature."
I read that and thought, "Oh, great -- like rocketry hasn't been through enough lately."
Well, at about that same time a fellow who claimed to be a student in the United Kingdom contacted my brothers and me via our web site. He explained that he wanted to design and build a high-powered rocket as a research project. We responded as we usually do to inquiries from anyone obviously new to the hobby -- we gave him some generic information about rocketry, encouraged him to start small, and to begin with a visit to his local hobby shop. He rejected this advice, explaining that the urgency of his research would make it necessary to jump right in to a large project.
In a very short time the correspondence from our new friend included questions that made it obvious this 'research project' was rather unusual. He wanted to carry a heavy payload, formulate his own propellant, and make his own motors (which by itself sounded like a typical BALLS project). However, he also wanted to calculate trajectory and targeting data, communicate with the rocket in flight, and build it out of steel. Taken all together, it didn't pass the stink test.
Some amateur sleuthing turned up several interesting facts: First, the web site for his email portal was written in Arabic (see http://www.bab.com/). Second, we discovered his emails were not originating in the UK, but from somewhere in the vicinity of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I relayed this information to a friend of mine in the FBI who quickly verified that our friend was not who he claimed to be. They also agreed that the circumstances and deception in this case would suggest this information was being collected for potential use in a terrorist weapon. Because the FBI has no offshore jurisdiction, the case was handed over to the CIA. On their advice, we discontinued our correspondence. Some time has passed now and we have heard nothing on the progress of the investigation.
I feel obligated to communicate this information to the rocketing community, as I doubt we are the only hobbyists who have been contacted by those who would try to use our hobby for nefarious purposes. Be aware that the fellow(s) who first contacted us have realized their early deceptions were rather transparent and have become more sophisticated. For example, they have since switched to an email provider in the UK.
Were we contacted by a bona fide bad-guy or by some wannabe whack-job? I hope I never find out. I've left a lot of blanks in describing the details we learned about this fellow, as some items are disturbing enough that I prefer not to list them. The potential strongly exists that it was not just one impostor acting alone.
Here is some of the evidence that reinforced our suspicions about our enigmatic friend. These may be clues to others who find themselves in a similar situation.
-
Misspellings and grammatical mistakes that indicate a non-English speaker (beyond just sloppy typing skills).
-
Cultural ignorance and misuse of colloquialisms.
-
Evasiveness or inconsistencies regarding personal details (location, employment, school, etc.).
-
Wanting to loft mysterious payloads or use of construction materials not typical to the hobby.
-
Concern about trajectories or targeting.
-
Boasts of grandiose projects coupled with obvious inexperience in the most basic elements of rocketry.
One of the great aspects of our hobby is the enthusiastic support we give to one another. I see no reason for this to stop. But we must also be aware of who it is we may be helping and think twice before answering unusual questions or even directing strangers to information already available on the Internet. Even though there is a great deal of data readily accessible to anyone with a working web browser, none of us would knowingly lend assistance to a potential terrorist. While I personally believe that misusing the technology available to our hobby would more likely produce malicious mischief than widespread mayhem, I am still relieved to know that my brothers and I did not become unwilling accomplices in some gruesome plot.
I admit that I did debate with myself - for maybe two seconds - about whether it would be bad for the hobby to contact authorities or to broadcast this information publicly. I concluded that rocketry has survived as it has only because of our own self-regulation and self-enforcement of safety guidelines. Due to the times we live in, the level of required diligence has just been raised. We cannot afford to be either careless or ignorant.
|