REPORT BY RETIRED SEAL FINDS PROPOSED KEYSTONE PIPELINE VULNERABLE TO TERRORIST ATTACK

By TONI ELLINGTON 

David M. Cooper, a retired Navy SEAL Command Master Chief hired by environmental group NextGen Climate America to conduct a security analysis of the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline, has issued a report which finds that the pipeline would be vulnerable to terrorist attacks.  According to Cooper, an attack could be accomplished with a limited number of terrorists, a small amount of explosives, and some “basic hand tools.”  Such an attack could dump as much as eight million gallons of oil into waterways, farmland, and communities along the pipeline route, Cooper said in an interview with the Huffington Post.

The scenario reported by Cooper is based on a location in Nebraska on the route of the pipeline which he claims has little security.  According to Cooper, pipelines in general are soft targets, because they do not move, and they often are in remote, easy to attack areas with little security.

The report was delivered to the State Department.  The State Department is reviewing the Presidential Permit application to see if issuing a permit is in the national interest.

For a link to Cooper’s report, see the June 4, 2014 edition of the Huffington Post online at http://www.huffingtonpost.com.  For further updates on the Keystone Pipeline, stay tuned to this blog, or contact Toni Ellington at (504) 599-8500.