Target 3-Silicon Valley?

Suddenly, living in Silicon Valley has taken on the grim and -- potentially

deadly -- reality of being Osama bin Laden's next big target. Several months

ago, one of the terrorist leader's officers told a major US news agency that

three of the major targets in the United States would be New York, Washington DC

and Silicon Valley. That's two down, one to go. Obviously, with the exception of

the vast Intel headquarters complex, there are no clear definitive targets in

Silicon Valley to attack with an airplane.

The greater fear is an attack with biochemical agents such as anthrax that

could spread a deadly decease through the area that is considered the driving

force behind recent America's economic and military might. With new revelations

that the terrorists have been planning the World Trade Center attacks for three

years and had been living in the United States for as much as 10 years, even

attended top universities and started families, the fear is very real that other

cells have been preparing other forms of attacks.

Most alarming, of course, is that the most recent attacks show that it is not

necessary to smuggle a weapon into the United States. Just using what is already

available in the US is more than sufficient. In this vast country that offers so

many opportunities to operate undetected, it is quite possible that one or more

of these planted cells have been developing biochemical weapons for years.

A well-financed cell could easily have infiltrated the labs of top

educational institutions, biochemical companies and other entities. This will

have given such terrorists access to the sophisticated equipment, know-how and

components and materials to produce a deadly biochemical weapon.

The San Francisco Bay Area has long been regarded as one of the "best

places on Earth" to live and work. Today, that image has changed

dramatically. For once, we hope our analysis turns out completely wrong.

Imagine the United States with no air traffic and isolated from the rest of

the world. That unthinkable reality was the immediate after-effect of the

terrorist attacks on New York and Washington DC. Domestic airplanes are

traveling once again, but only at a fraction of what it was before September 11.

There are few scenarios by which air traffic in the United States will return to

the previous levels in the near future. And the same can be said for many

sectors of the Silicon Valley high-tech industry.

Some businesses will thrive, including companies selling products that

improve any kind of computer and network security. The Valley's defense industry

is likely to get a boost. Since the end of the cold war, the defense sector has

played third string to the business and consumer sectors. Now the United States

is facing a long-term active military campaign against terrorism. No doubt

technology will play a big role in tracking down and infiltrating the terrorist

networks. But it will do little to bring back the daily congested traffic

scenes, which many now look back on as an icon of the Valley's recent prosperous

past.