Why Is San Diego Key in Anti-Terror Fight?

Jan. 24 -- San Diego may not seem like a counter-terrorism hot spot, but look closer and you'll find U.S. Coast Guard helicopters buzzing overhead and scientists developing a device that analyzes the facial expressions of airline passengers before they board.

When the local office of U.S. Homeland Security opens up in March, only the city of New York will have more personnel than San Diego, where various agencies, research labs and universities will be part of the fight against terrorism.

San Diego may seem like a vulnerable terrorist target, since it is home to 100,000 Marines and sailors and 700 Coast Guardsmen stationed on the city's seven military bases. But after the Sept. 11 attacks, the city took steps to stop terror.

The Coast Guard assigned a dozen armed sea marshals to randomly examine commercial boats and cruise ships before they enter San Diego Bay. During the Super Bowl this Sunday, U.S. Customs aircraft will patrol the skies and help sort, intercept and track any suspect aircraft approaching the temporary flight restriction airspace during the big game. But even on normal days, Coast Guard helicopters buzz regularly overhead.

"A helicopter flying at 1,000 feet and see a lot further than we can, and they're a great asset," Coast Guard Lt. John Bitterman said. The city — which is on an ocean, near a desert, and minutes from the border of a foreign country — is also close to the San Onofre nuclear power plant, and one of several cities that some of the Sept. 11 terrorists called home.

Terrorists Lived Here

"After 9/11, we dedicated a lot more resources to counter-terrorism," said FBI agent Bill Gore, who is based in San Diego.

Federal authorities previously identified three hijackers with San Diego connections: Khalid Almihdhar, Nawaf Alhazmi and Hani Hanjour were on the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, according to the FBI. After the attacks, authorities also arrested four people from San Diego as material witnesses and charged three of them with various crimes. The fourth was released.