{Terror} U.S. Terror Attack — “ Ninety Days at Most ”

[BEER980]

They didn't waste any time draging out this guy.

U.S. Terror Attack — “ Ninety Days at Most ”

Friday, July 08, 2005

Counterterrorism expert Juval Aviv spoke with FOX Fan Central about what Americans can do to protect themselves in case of a terror attack.

Do you believe another terrorist attack is likely on American soil?

I predict, based primarily on information that is floating in Europe and the Middle East, that an event is imminent and around the corner here in the United States. It could happen as soon as tomorrow, or it could happen in the next few months. Ninety days at the most.

What advice do you have for individuals that have the misfortune of finding themselves in the middle of a terror attack?

Since mass transportation is the next attack, when you travel to work have with you, a bottle of water, a small towel, and a flashlight. What happened in London is exactly a point to look at. Those people who were close to the bombs died, then others were injured or died from inhaling the toxic fumes or getting trampled. The reason you take a bottle of water and a towel is that if you wet the towel and put it over your face, you can protect yourself against the fumes and get yourself out of there.

Don’t be bashful. If your gut feeling tells you when you walk on to a bus there is something unusual or suspicious, get out and walk away. You may do it 10 times for no reason, but there will be one time that saves your life. Let your sixth sense direct you.

Try to break your routine. If you travel during rush hour everyday, try to get up a little earlier and drive to work or take the train when it’s still not full. Don’t find yourself every day in the midst of rush hour. Terrorists are not going to waste a bomb on a half empty train.

What portion of the American infrastructure do you believe is at the greatest risk for a terror attack?

We have put all of our emphasis, right or wrong, on the aviation area. What has happened, in the last two to three years, based on information we have, the terrorists have realized that they cannot hijack a plane in America soon because the passengers are going to fight back. So they realize what they have been very successful with over the last 50 years in Madrid, London, Iraq, Israel: demoralizing the public when they go to work and when they come back from work.

What they’re going to do is hit six, seven, or eight cities simultaneously to show sophistication and really hit the public. This time, which is the message of the day, it will not only be big cities. They’re going to try to hit rural America. They want to send a message to rural America: ‘You’re not protected. If you figured out that if you just move out of New York and move to Montana or to Pittsburgh, you’re not immune. We’re going get you wherever we can and it’s easier there than in New York.’

What more do you think the government can do to protect the public?

N——umber one, and this is the beef I’ve had with Homeland Security for the last four years, is educating the public on how to deal with those types of events. There’s no education. We’re raising the color code alert and that means nothing to anyone. Whether it’s green, yellow, pink, no one ever educated the public how to identify suspicious items or people. In Israel, so many of them [terrorists] have been apprehended just because people have phoned in. We don’t have that training on campuses, schools, or kindergarten.

In Israel, it’s very popular right now [amongst terrorists] to put one device to explode and time another one for five minutes later when it’s all calm, people are getting up, and the rescue teams have responded. You need to know all those things and think about those things. The government must pursue that. Law enforcement will never have enough people on the street to detect things. We don’t have that kind of manpower. That’s why the government must enlist the public.

Juval Aviv is a former Israeli Counterterrorism Intelligence Officer and President and CEO of Interfor, Inc. Mr. Aviv has also served as a special consultant to the U.S. Congress on issues of terrorism and security and is the author of “Staying Safe : The Complete Guide to Protecting Yourself, Your Family, and Your Business.”
Source

[Swimdude]

Most of that is pretty good for public awareness... But, rural America? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of terrorism all together..? Oh well, most of it is good advice. Hopefully his prediction is wrong.

[Guest]

It definitely does not defeat terrorism. If they attack a less populated area once (there is statistically more rural and urban), we are going to be scrambling to find where the next terrorist attack will take place. Will it be Minot , ND, Amarillo, TX, Funk, NE. Who knows? These are easy targets.

Remember, Oklahoma is considered rural (yeah, the 1995 bombing happened in Oklahoma City, but...), but if you told me the day before that there was going to be a bombing at the Alfred Murrah federal building, I would have laughed and told you to get a psychologist!

It can happen!

[streetsoldier]

I've been talking about this locally for some time. Imagine a coordinated attack at the West Park Mall in Cape Girardeau (which is wide open from a terrorist's vantage point) on a Saturday about noon...deaths/injuries could exceed the WTC number easily.

Same for Southeast Missouri State University (Cape Girardeau), University of Missouri (Columbia), Kiel Center (St. Louis)...the possibilities are endless. And that's just in Missouri alone.

[azsnowman]

Just an FYI.....our dept has NO news Once again, just another SCARE tactic

Dennis

[Miss Mary]

Aside from preparing ourselves at home with extra groceries, bottled water, supplies and reporting suspicious behavior, most US citizens will continue about their usual business. To and from work, while on vacation or running their normal errands. Not mention going out to eat or see a movie. To cease all of this and quiver in {Terror}, is not the way to handle this.

Like you Dennis, I took it as a scare tactic too. We can't hole ourselves up in our homes, afraid to enjoy life! If we do that, they win.

Mary

[azsnowman]

*HIGH FIVES MARY!* Finally, SOMEONE who AGREES with me........what happens, HAPPENS, you CAN'T STOP FATE! If it's YOUR time to go, then it's YOUR time! Live LIFE to it's FULLEST as EVIDENT by my friend Valeree, the Pinetop Fire Fighter who lost her life OVERNIGHT while SLEEPING at the tender age of "33"....you NEVER know! If you STRESS over what's gonna happen, hel*! Everyday when I arise and I put the *badge* on, I've got it in the back of my mind that THIS day COULD be my LAST.......do I let it RULE my day? HECK NO!

Dennis

[Miss Mary]

You're welcome Dennis! While I do continue to live life, I do so with more awareness than I did before 9/11. 9/11 is almost always in the back of my mind but it doesn't rule my day either. If survivor's of that awful day can go on with their lives, we need to follow suit and demonstrate that's the way to go. My mother is a good one for the "shoulds", "what ifs" "if onlys".....and watching cable news all day long. Her constant worrying drives me batty but that's another story and example of how a person can take all these warnings to the max. No thanks I say. And you have to remember I looked at death (cancer dx) and said, no, it's not going to beat me! Of course I must add, I was Stage I and all....but still we must having that fighting spirit. At least that's what I believe...

Mary

[Brent]

*HIGH FIVES MARY!* Finally, SOMEONE who AGREES with me........what happens, HAPPENS, you CAN'T STOP FATE! If it's YOUR time to go, then it's YOUR time! Live LIFE to it's FULLEST as EVIDENT by my friend Valeree, the Pinetop Fire Fighter who lost her life OVERNIGHT while SLEEPING at the tender age of "33"....you NEVER know! If you STRESS over what's gonna happen, hel*! Everyday when I arise and I put the *badge* on, I've got it in the back of my mind that THIS day COULD be my LAST.......do I let it RULE my day? HECK NO!

Dennis

EXACTLY.

Right after 9/11... I worried for a few months about terrorism. Every suspicious thing from plane incidents to fires, you wondered. Now, I still wonder, but I don't worry. It's going to happen if it's going to happen.

I do believe however in the near future there will be another attack, that will likely make 9/11 dwarf in comparison.

Of course... I've believed that for 4 years now and it hasn't happened, but the London attacks seem to back this up.

[streetsoldier]

Prudence and preparedness shouldn't be confused with fear, ladies and gents.

Yes, they can kill me, but I don't have to make it easy for them.

[Stephanie]

Prudence and preparedness shouldn't be confused with fear, ladies and gents.

Yes, they can kill me, but I don't have to make it easy for them.

Good point.

Be aware, be vigilant, but don't live in a bubble. Once they de-moralize us, they win.

[wx247]

Prudence and preparedness shouldn't be confused with fear, ladies and gents.

Yes, they can kill me, but I don't have to make it easy for them.

Right on! This is my feeling. I am not going to cower in fear but I am not going to be unprepared. I will also report any suspicious activity to authorities if I see it (though I never have).

[gtalum]

They've been saying this more or less over and over since 9/11.

Remember all the trumped up "terror alerts" right before the election last year?

[streetsoldier]

Not quite "trumped up"...you seem to have forgotten that potential terrorists were apprehended, charged and are awiting trials, or have been convicted.

[gtalum]

Do you have any specific examples of such arrests and convictions from the "terrror alerts" that sprung up all over the place last year (and coincidentally stopped right after the elections)?

[Stephanie]

I don't think that they were trumped up. The terrorists would've loved to disrupt our Presidential election process. Nevermind the fact that it had been 4 years since 9/11.

[streetsoldier]

Do you have any specific examples of such arrests and convictions from the "terrror alerts" that sprung up all over the place last year (and coincidentally stopped right after the elections)?

They didn't "stop"...terrorists and those who've aided or funded them are being arrested as they are discovered. Or have you forgotten the guy who was photographing Florida bridges...or the angry man who lost custody of his kids, and tried to sell weapons technology to an "Al Qaida" FBI "plant" (as long as he promised to kill the guy's ex-wife)...or the father-son-mosque foursome taken ito custody earlier this year?

The hunt continues, and continues, and continues.

[GalvestonDuck]

I don't think that they were trumped up. The terrorists would've loved to disrupt our Presidential election process. Nevermind the fact that it had been 4 years since 9/11.

Shhhh...they're not "terrorists." They're "bombers."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/attackonlondo ... ?gusrc=rss

The language the BBC has used in its coverage of Thursday's bombings has also come under scrutiny after it emerged that the word "terrorist" had been edited out of reports.

Early reports of the blasts on the BBC's website mentioned possible terrorist involvement but the stories were later changed to describe the perpetrators as "bombers" rather than "terrorists".

Although a spokesman said the word "terrorist" was not banned from the BBC, its language guidelines state that "careless use of words which carry emotional or value judgements" should be avoided and that "the word 'terrorist' itself can be a barrier rather than an aid to understanding" and should be "avoided".

[Stephanie]

The "terrorists" also setoff those bombs in Madrid last year to help sway the public to vote for their new President who wanted to remove the country's troops from Iraq.

[BEER980]

At least they didn't bomb the UK to get them to remove their troops from Iraq. A recent poll stated that 55% believe we will be hit again so at least we can stay alert. There are more questions then answers in London.