Quote of the Day
posted at 9:30 pm on July 4, 2010 by Ed Morrissey
A 100-foot (33-meter), twin-screw diesel submarine seized at a jungle shipyard in Ecuador marks a quantum, if anticipated, leap in drug-smuggling evasion technology, the top U.S. counter-drug official for the region said Sunday.
“It is the first fully functional, completely submersible submarine for transoceanic voyages that we have ever found,” Jay Bergman, Andean regional director for the Drug Enforcement Administration, told The Associated Press.
Blowback
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They know no depths ….
OldEnglish on July 4, 2010 at 9:32 PM
Blow them out of the water.
amerpundit on July 4, 2010 at 9:32 PM
Well, if they have this, then I guess we should just give up then, eh?
AUINSC on July 4, 2010 at 9:34 PM
Plug the d*mn hole! on your way delivering cocaine to the U.S.
Electrongod on July 4, 2010 at 9:36 PM
I bet “The Hunt for Red October” makes good watching on the long journeys…
Seven Percent Solution on July 4, 2010 at 9:40 PM
The whole story is long on sizzle and short on steak. I figure this will be forgotten before long and the actual capabilities of this vessel will never be known.
cozmo on July 4, 2010 at 9:40 PM
“Run Silent, Run Deep”
chemman on July 4, 2010 at 9:40 PM
End the g-damned drug war and it wont matter anymore.
End it, legalize it and restrict it’s use via legislation a la cigarettes and alcohol.
Stop the madness.
rickyricardo on July 4, 2010 at 9:41 PM
You know…
… after that meeting with Obowma, James Cameron hasn’t been seen lately.
Seven Percent Solution on July 4, 2010 at 9:42 PM
We are not talking a U-boat here manned by the Kriegsmarine. This is a tin can built by some asian drug traffickers. It’s not likely to go very far or resurface too many times. Reminds me of the CSA Hunley. It sank three times with the loss of all three crews.
keep the change on July 4, 2010 at 9:42 PM
Or better yet. “Down Periscope”. I need a tetanus shot just looking at it.
Electrongod on July 4, 2010 at 9:43 PM
Great! The Navy can always use targets to practice live-fire anti-submarine warfare!
rmgraha on July 4, 2010 at 9:43 PM
Between the devil and the deep blue sea – may either get them.
Schadenfreude on July 4, 2010 at 9:45 PM
Good job picking up allahpundit’s job Ed.
Like others said, blow them out of the water.
simkeith on July 4, 2010 at 9:46 PM
here’s my quote of the day:
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9GOIOPO0&show_article=1
r keller on July 4, 2010 at 9:46 PM
Dead drug dealers and smugglers at the bottom on the sea tell no tales.
thmcbb on July 4, 2010 at 9:47 PM
I wonder what Al Qaeda could do with one of these. If drug smugglers can get one then it wouldn’t be hard for terrorists to get one either.
Mark1971 on July 4, 2010 at 9:50 PM
Based on the picture the Hunley was more technologically advanced.
Caper29 on July 4, 2010 at 9:50 PM
Little editing for ya.
turfmann on July 4, 2010 at 9:51 PM
Don’t you see?
Since the drug cartels are this sophisticated there’s no use trying to secure our borders. It’s a lost cause.
We have to leave them wide open to anybody and everybody !!!
It’ll be for the (anchor) children.
BowHuntingTexas on July 4, 2010 at 9:53 PM
The best modern technology that drug money can buy. It would be a mistake to think that way.
German Type II U-boats weren’t much longer than the 30 meters quoted in the story. There is more than speculation that ex-Soviet submarine designers have worked for the drug smugglers.
The ocean is real big, and a submarine is real small. How much harder would it be to smuggle explosives, weapons or terrorists in a submarine such as this?
Until more is known about this vessel, it would be wrong to take it lightly.
cozmo on July 4, 2010 at 9:58 PM
Oh, and the Hunley’s open ballast tanks were a fatal design flaw that was never repeated.
cozmo on July 4, 2010 at 10:00 PM
HEY…!
Look what I found in the Auto Trader…
Seven Percent Solution on July 4, 2010 at 10:02 PM
Any story is a good AP story as long as it distracts from the miserable of a failure Obama has been in cleaning up the oil in the gulf!
Maybe Obama should give his good old socialist mop a try!
Freddy on July 4, 2010 at 10:05 PM
Meh, we just grow it in the yard, no subs required
Bobnormal on July 4, 2010 at 10:06 PM
If they’re running on diesels then they ain’t very deep and they damn sure ain’t silent.
Oldnuke on July 4, 2010 at 10:08 PM
Change the mindset of the consumer & the market vanishes.
hoi polloi on July 4, 2010 at 10:08 PM
That is a precursor to the German Type II. About the stated size of the submarine captured in Ecuador. It had a decent war record. Remove the armaments and you can increase the range and cargo capacity.
cozmo on July 4, 2010 at 10:11 PM
More money wasted and easier profits for those still doing business.
CWforFreedom on July 4, 2010 at 10:12 PM
Like I said, this is no U-boat. Even the small Type II was huge compared to that thing in the photo. This is closer to the Hunley. Anyone who knows subs and sub history can tell you how insane it would be to make your own mini sub and try to use it in the ocean, much less try to navigate. This thing had never been used. It would have killed its crew very quickly and delivered not one line of cocaine anywhere. That’s not to say that they can’t get their hands on a real submarine, but the thing in the photo is useless for any ocean purposes.
They would do much better to buy a Russian sub like the one for sale here. An actual submarine. This wouldn’t sink right away. However, for a sub like this, you need a well trained crew. In the hands of some drug smugglers, it would have a very short career.
keep the change on July 4, 2010 at 10:13 PM
With the amount of money that is in the drug trade they can buy a old Soviet surplus sub and transport hundreds of times than this little sub. So many ways that they can get drugs in to the US. Why do have not selectively breed or genetically modified coca plants to grow in the desert of Arizona, they have the money and they probably could get a stimulus grant to do it.
The free market does not even work in the underground drug trade as the government has there hand in there too. If they had the true free market they would hall drugs by cargo ships a mile long.
tjexcite on July 4, 2010 at 10:14 PM
Keep it our Navys’ gonna need it after the Obammunists get done gutting the military. Lets see star wars , space shuttle, f23?, ballistic missle shield looks like Pinnochio started in the air the Navys’ day will come.
dhunter on July 4, 2010 at 10:18 PM
Terrorists also have it because of the connection between drug smugglers and terrorists in the South American Muslim Triangle. The only thing keeping us from being invaded and warred on is the vigilance of regular citizens cuz we can’t rely on Obama’s administration to defend us.
SilentWatcher on July 4, 2010 at 10:21 PM
It’s pretty much always true, if you can afford it, you can have it. I’m waiting for their space program.
RBMN on July 4, 2010 at 10:22 PM
Submarine science isn’t rocket science and thanks to Walker, Toshiba and Kronsberg (?sp) much of submarine stealth technology is on the open market. Boat builders are offering private submarines to the public. All you have to do is optimize the boat for range and capacity instead of comfort or firepower.
Granted, this isn’t on par with a smuggling submarine, but one guy with no prior engineering experience built this working sub almost 30 years ago
working sub
cozmo on July 4, 2010 at 10:24 PM
We need to get us some subs.
borntoraisehogs on July 4, 2010 at 10:30 PM
Yeah. Won’t matter. Until it ends up in millions of more homes, destroying even more families. Brilliant!
Narutoboy on July 4, 2010 at 10:31 PM
Those private subs you mention are for recreation only. They have no real capacity for range. They are battery operated. They can not be used for any serious ocean going purpose. Making a submarine work safely is a big F-ing deal, as Biden would say. Drug smugglers have many planes in their possession. It is not question of technology not being available to them. But none have ever operated a real submarine. There is a reason for that.
keep the change on July 4, 2010 at 10:31 PM
And using alcohol as an example isn’t a good argument. Like money, alcohol is the root of a lot of crime. Unlike money, we don’t need to consume it to survive.
Narutoboy on July 4, 2010 at 10:32 PM
I’d rather have a Quiznos sub than the thing in that photo. At least Quiznos knows how to make a sub.
keep the change on July 4, 2010 at 10:33 PM
No doubt, and many more planes are littering jungles and beaches and DEA impound lots. Many fishermen know how to navigate and GPS takes out the guesswork. Many drug submersible have been found or caught in the last decade that had the range to reach America. They are learning. It has been only a matter of time for years. That time may have arrived.
cozmo on July 4, 2010 at 10:37 PM
Ditto
TheBigOldDog on July 4, 2010 at 10:47 PM
And this isn’t news to the people who are hunting these drug smugglers. IIRC, I first read this at FAS, or Global Security, but could only find this link:
Drug Subs
and
cozmo on July 4, 2010 at 10:48 PM
Uh hoh please….
Why don’t they try a Sopwith Camel bi-plane to smuggle in the drugs…?
That sub is purely for below the border where there are no other subs looking for it.
It would be as about effective today as a Sherman tank.
NeoKong on July 4, 2010 at 10:52 PM
I would think that the US Navy has a pretty good listening net around the US built during the cold war. I would imagine the US Navy is still pretty good at detecting submarines trying to penetrate US Waters. Especially, noisy twin-screw diesels chugging along making a heck of racket. Am I wrong?
TheBigOldDog on July 4, 2010 at 10:56 PM
They’re just doing the jobs that the Navy won’t do, or something like that.
29Victor on July 4, 2010 at 11:01 PM
These boats look like they’re built for deliver of product. Not deep diving, stealth and evasion.
Find the bogies with sonar and bring them to the surface with grenades. The boats don’t look like they can blow and surface more than once on a trip. Then hole the boats with .50 caliber Ma Deuces. Crews and all.
Just sayin’.
Jack.
Jack Deth on July 4, 2010 at 11:03 PM
Listening nets gives the U.S. an unfair advantage over sea life. The President is going to give a groundbreaking speech in Atlantis to apologize, declare that the ocean belongs to everyone and that he’s unilaterally taking down the nets and trusting that the sharks will do the same.
29Victor on July 4, 2010 at 11:04 PM
Wait a minute. There’s no way that thing is big enough to hold enough fuel to cross any ocean. What’s it got, a nuclear reactor?
Maybe it has retractable masts and sails, recharging its batteries with the latest solar technology. It’s the world’s first green drug smuggling machine!
TheBigOldDog on July 4, 2010 at 11:07 PM
I give up. I should have put an /s after it I confess.
chemman on July 4, 2010 at 11:09 PM
We in it to winz it
TimeTraveler on July 4, 2010 at 11:13 PM
Maybe it does. The story from the Daily Mail has more pictures. And a diesel-electric claim.
Daily Mail
cozmo on July 4, 2010 at 11:13 PM
Wow, I’m supposed to lose some sleep over this????
docdave on July 4, 2010 at 11:14 PM
Beware the tyranny of a do-gooder.
chemman on July 4, 2010 at 11:15 PM
Well, Mexico has tried it, and still are, and you might say, it ain’t workin out too well for them, now is it.
In fact, the cartels are almost a political party now, running a shadow gov.
So, conclusion?
rightwingyahooo on July 4, 2010 at 11:16 PM
The big problem with a crude sub like this – shared by the U-boats – would be its range while submerged – i.e., unlikely to be very much. It looks like it might be useful for short voyages, evading surface craft in littoral waters, but not much else.
SWLiP on July 4, 2010 at 11:17 PM
Target Practice fot Hunter-Killer Subs,
USS Texas (SSN 775)
http://www.navysite.de/ssn/ssn775.htm
====================
http://www.navysite.de/submarine.htm
canopfor on July 4, 2010 at 11:20 PM
That tyrannical do-gooder Ronald Reagan and his drug war.
Narutoboy on July 4, 2010 at 11:21 PM
how many of these subs does iran have and how many suicidal submariners and how many nukes?
reliapundit on July 4, 2010 at 11:21 PM
Ya. If you read the Daily Mail article link by cozmo on July 4, 2010 at 11:13 PM, it’s clear they use them to evade patrol boats to get to Central America where presumably they have reliable methods to get them to the US (like marching them right over the boarder)
TheBigOldDog on July 4, 2010 at 11:23 PM
If you old fogies hadn’t lost the culture war in the 60s, we probably would not even be dealing with this today. The Hollywood elite liberals popularized drugs in the 60 and 70s, drugs such as cocaine. That embrace led to a trickle down effect in the 1980s once drugs (i.e. crack) became cheaper and affordable for the inner city and suburbia. Now everybody wants there drugs, including Middle America. And the idiot libertarians, liberals, and some conservatives are actually talking legalization. My goodness.
Narutoboy on July 4, 2010 at 11:25 PM
rickyricardo
Sure Ricky, legalize all of it. But with the caveat that you threaten me or mine while ‘expanding your mind’, I get to blow a hole in your head, no questions asked.
Sounds like a win-win to me.
GarandFan on July 4, 2010 at 11:26 PM
Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command
====================================================
http://www.cmwc.navy.mil/Site%20Documents/BRAC.aspx
canopfor on July 4, 2010 at 11:26 PM
Hmmmmmm.
Remember this?
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/boater-chases-mysterious-periscope-off-hollywood-beach-752917.html
diogenes on July 4, 2010 at 11:30 PM
From the size, small crew and limited payload, it could well have extended range. Not much depth capability, made of fiberglass. If it really is a D-E, and they used interior space efficiently, and put some real $ into the batteries, AND they were patient, they could do thousands of miles.
I’m impressed with the construction site, it looks like a bunch of Okie good-ol-boys decided to build theirselves one o’ them thar submersibles.
Or something from Fallout 3.
Merovign on July 4, 2010 at 11:34 PM
No way a homemade tin can runs 20 knots under water. No way no how. Doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Just means it was probably a US Navy Sub.
TheBigOldDog on July 4, 2010 at 11:35 PM
Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR)
===================================================
http://www.public.navy.mil/spawar/productsServices/Pages/default.aspx
canopfor on July 4, 2010 at 11:40 PM
Some years back, in the late 80s or early 90s, a tug towing a barge was sunk suddenly and inexplicably in the middle of the night. After a long investigation, the only plausible explanation was that the boat had slowed slightly, the tow cable submerged, and it was caught by a submarine that passed between the boats.
No US submarines were found to be damaged, speculation is that it was a Russian sub just off the US coast.
The Tug was called the Thomas Hebert, the official cause was faulty steering gear or handling, but when they finally found the wreck the condition of the gear did not match the theory.
Merovign on July 4, 2010 at 11:40 PM
Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS)
http://www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/sosus.htm
canopfor on July 4, 2010 at 11:41 PM
You are a research machine!
Inanemergencydial on July 4, 2010 at 11:45 PM
German submarines,type 7C,and up,great resource website!!
http://www.uboat.net/
canopfor on July 4, 2010 at 11:46 PM
canopfor on July 4, 2010 at 11:41 PM
================
You are a research machine!
Inanemergencydial on July 4, 2010 at 11:45 PM
Inanemergencydial: Sometimes too good,I got lost after I got
deep into a Military website,and after li
nk leads to link,I got a nasty FBI WARNIN
G,that I had about a minute to terminate
off that particular website or the author
ities would be notified,lets say,I didn’t
play a game of chicken!!:)
Btw,Soo,Michigans 4th of July fireworks
were the best yet,awesome!!:)
canopfor on July 4, 2010 at 11:53 PM
WOPR: “Shall we play a game?”
Electrongod on July 4, 2010 at 11:58 PM
email? If so its a scam.
Inanemergencydial on July 5, 2010 at 12:07 AM
Next step: Building an unmanned submersible drug sub.
It just has to follow a pre-programmed course, radio-silent. No crew, nobody to arrest. If they do it right, even if the boat is captured, there won’t be any way to trace it back to it’s origin.
ZenDraken on July 5, 2010 at 12:21 AM
Dude!
Every time I drive by them on the I-5 South…
… I always wonder,
Seven Percent Solution on July 5, 2010 at 12:43 AM
Dam#….just dam#…..you are on a serious roll…
…..I wonder what kind of warranty comes with it.
Baxter Greene on July 5, 2010 at 12:52 AM
I have this dream…
Right before Obowma was elected “Present”, some very Patriotic scientists and battle tested members of the military removed a “certain item” from the data bases…
… only to wait until Obowma’s damage blew over, our defenses were weakened, and our adversaries spent Trillions on Naval Surface Fleet ships.
Then, in a day in January, circa 2012, the new Commander in Chief let it leak that there were swarms of “Predator Submarine Drones” roaming the oceans of the Earth…
Undetectable, Unstoppable, and Very, Very Powerful.
… One can dream, can’t one?
Seven Percent Solution on July 5, 2010 at 12:56 AM
Seven Percent Solution on July 5, 2010 at 1:08 AM
Here’s where your tax dollars are going folks.
It’s ramping up:
Notice the “org” and no a “gov” in the url….don;t be fooled, this is where our tax dollars are going.
rickyricardo on July 5, 2010 at 1:10 AM
When the president is an admitted drug user, the war has been lost.
SouthernGent on July 5, 2010 at 1:13 AM
OK. Sun went down, solar panels are off-line.
Just launched all my $100 worth of fireworks. It went at a rate of 3$/minute.
For the first time in my adult live, I witnessed a huge reduction of fireworks this year by the average Joe. The economy isn’t all that great after all.
Electrongod on July 5, 2010 at 1:19 AM
Heh!!!
Baxter Greene on July 5, 2010 at 1:26 AM
If I had an extra $550K just lying around, id buy it and rechristen it the “USS Sarahcuda” and sail it into all the lefty harbors like SanFran, Seattle, and Portland just to watch their heads explode :D
Wolftech on July 5, 2010 at 1:41 AM
State Farm, meet GE on my no-buy list.
drunyan8315 on July 5, 2010 at 1:57 AM
Legalize drugs and worry about real threats like Jihahis.
AshleyTKing on July 5, 2010 at 2:05 AM
OK What did State Farm do now?
IlikedAUH2O on July 5, 2010 at 2:09 AM
The makers of the CSA Hunley did not have a hundred years of submarining history to draw upon. Nor did they have high presser air tanks, or O2 sensors.
Modern batteries and motors, blow your comparison out of the water.
Think Millennium Falcon: looks like a garbage scow, performs like an interceptor.
Slowburn on July 5, 2010 at 2:25 AM
Had the Americans scorched the earth of one of the cocaine-producing countries, as I have proposed since the 1980s, it seems the inhabitants of the others would not have dared risk destruction by continuing to produce cocaine. Really, I don’t know why the Americans bother to have first-rate armed forces, if they’re not going to make whole-hearted use of them.
Kralizec on July 5, 2010 at 3:20 AM
What we need is a zero-tolerance policy towards drugs at home. Possession of any amount should be illegal. It makes no sense to punish the sellers and producers but not the consumers of drugs.
year_of_the_dingo on July 5, 2010 at 4:26 AM
This isn’t anything atypical, the cartels have been utilizing submerged vessels for awhile now. This is just a more sophisticated version of its predecessors.
Cr4sh Dummy on July 5, 2010 at 4:27 AM
What a great idea. Legalize it and then tax it so that it’s too expensive to buy.
Uh, can you say black market? That’s the problem we have now dummy.
Mr. Grump on July 5, 2010 at 5:13 AM
Let me guess….more evidence that we should just legalize it? ….yeah right.
ted c on July 5, 2010 at 5:41 AM
Sinking one of those antiquated deathtraps is easy. IF Obama allows it. You know, I don`t think he would. He enjoys the awful mess he is making. Obama is the British but right in our own Capitol.
Down with King George Obama!
Along with that crappy submarine!
Sherman1864 on July 5, 2010 at 6:19 AM
$3/min?
Damn! My flare gun was $3/shot… but oh, so very, very satisfying… nothing like watching a red flare fly into the sky to break apart into 3 and fall to earth ever so slowly and then wink out into the darkness.
ajacksonian on July 5, 2010 at 6:59 AM
Just drug cartels building up their military for the coming battles with Hussien’s Civilian National Defense Corp during the next US civil war…
Friendly21 on July 5, 2010 at 7:04 AM
You won’t like the end result of your policies. You can denude the Earth of coca, and also of opium, if you put enough effort into it, sure. (Theoretically, anyway.)
Now what are you going to use to replace the lidocaine, morphine, and all of the related opiates that are part of modern medicine?
You know, at one time, you could buy cocaine in liquid form off the shelf in your local drugstore. It was used to treat the gums of teething babies. Used properly, there were no side effects, and it was a great benefit.
On topic: I think some of us are so used to the bells and whistles, and polished spaces of modern US submarines, that we forget how far one can actually go with the bare necessities. I’d be willing to bet that this sub has far more capability than most of us suspect.
Te outer hull sure does look like junk in those pics, though.
NavyspyII on July 5, 2010 at 7:36 AM
two words….
armed…dolphins
American Elephant on July 5, 2010 at 7:39 AM
100 years from now, they’ll STILL be talking about how GREAT a President Ronald Reagan was…
You won’t even be a dust mite on the scrap heap of history…
Khun Joe on July 5, 2010 at 7:43 AM
The Navy still uses depth charges, right?
pilamaye on July 5, 2010 at 8:16 AM
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