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Avi Perry

Terrorism in New York--Have we Missed the Point?

5/2/2010

8 Comments

 
It happened again. A car bomb parked at the heart of the busy city on the busiest day of the week went off but failed to produce the intended blast. It was pure luck. Many lives were spared, potential property damage and long-term psychological harm were averted.  It went down as a warning shot, a learning experience, a prelude to what’s coming next when Mother Luck is out to lunch.

Have we learned the lesson? Have we implemented the logical steps required to ward off a looming terrorists-triggered disaster?

My answer is—only partially. There are still plenty of cracks requiring solid wrappings before we can feel safe and secure. Americans, at times, seem like a bunch of kids whose inference is bounded by the exact replica of what they’ve experienced. We must start thinking outside the box. We must employ more imagination. If a terrorist used his shoes to hide a bomb, then it does not mean that shoes are the only hiding place for a body bomb. Why didn’t we think of underwear until it cropped up? Are we always one step behind the terrorists?  

The next terrorist attempt may not be in the form of a Nisan SUV car bomb. It could be a different car, a suicide bomber inside a bus, a theater, a shopping mall or a school. It may take place on a subway car, in a tunnel, on a bridge, inside a stadium, inairport lobbies ahead of the security checks, or any place where crowds are gathering. The fact that it has not happened yet, is not proof that it won’t. It could be executed in a much more professional fashion. It may even involve poison gas (like the one in my book--72 Virgins). The terrorists do not lack imagination; they learn from their mistakes; they improve. Their second attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11 is the best indication of their learning ability and developed imagination.

In my book, 72 Virgins—Countdown to a Terror Attack, I described the terrorists’ mindset. I demonstrated how they work, how they think, how they talk, how they pick their targets and why. Although it’s fiction, it borrows from the real world we live in. I do hope that those responsible for our security as well as the public at large, read the story, learn and implement preventive measures.

America should learn from the Israeli experience. That particular theater operates on several dimensions.
 ***The first one is education. The Israeli public is naturally alert and suspicious. Any package left unattended in a public place is immediately reported to the authorities who treat it like a potential bomb. Schoolchildren learn to practice this form of conduct starting at pre-school.
 ***The second one is profiling. When you watch an Arab looking person wearing a coat on a hot summer day, walking nervously, looking for some undefined spot, chances are he or she hide an explosives-filled suicide belt under their coat.
 ***The third one is security checkpoints. Those are not limited to government buildings. They are spread around wherever there is a potential opportunity for a terrorist to blow up on his way to heaven. These checkpoints are part of the scene on the way to the airport, at the entrance to high profile restaurants, hotels, movie theaters, and other gathering places. They operate on the assumption that Mother Luck is out on her Lunch Break.

New York City is a great place and therefore a great target for a terrorist attack. It’s not the only one. A small town in the Midwest may not possess the aura of Manhattan, nevertheless it’s an easy target, and therefore, a potential for a terrorists’ attack.

We will not be safe until we understand that we are not safe. We will not be safe until we expand our field of vision to include potential scenarios that have not yet materialized. We will not be safe until we educate the greater public, including our schoolchildren, to be on the watch for potential attacks. And if we implement caution and stronger preventive measure, chances are that luck will not be the only reason why we have not yet experienced the devastating catastrophe that is so normal all throughout the Muslim world of today.

8 Comments
mark stephen
5/2/2010 01:57:42 pm

well, when the enemy is occupying the white house and possibly sharing all our classified information, we are in huge danger. He is a muslim sympathizer if not a muslim himself and cares not one iota for the america that gave him everything--including a position that was once the most coveted leadership position in the world. BO hath shat on WE the People and we are on our own to protect ourselves. an instant responder beats a first responder and how come gun free zones are the first place criminals go? Pray for our nation, we must stay in our faith and protect what is left of our constitution and our liberty. Tyranny is death for america.

Reply
ashok chhabria
5/2/2010 03:55:56 pm

Thanx avi for sharing this

Reply
alma angeles
5/2/2010 06:04:12 pm

thanks for sharing this, avi!

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Diane Australia
5/3/2010 04:09:50 am

I think we could all learn from Israel, most Western nations are too relaxed or not well enough prepared for any terror attack. The Australian people are way down on the list of those who are concerned about any threat of terrorism, I don't understand it, the "She'll be right mate!" attitude could get us all killed. Naive and stupid in this day and age to not be vigilant about something so important.

Reply
Angela Squires
5/3/2010 10:16:42 am

The point of terror is to make us scared, impact our lives negatively, prevent freedom of movement, restrict our freedoms in our own countries. It has made commerce and travel between Canada and the US much more hassle. I and many friends do not visit the US like we used to. This has severely impacted the economy of Whatcom County, south of Vancouver, where they rely on Canadian spending.
The US Patriot Act severely restricted the cherished freedoms of American citizens and enabled unprecedented access by US security agencies into the private lives of the people. In other words the terrorists are winning!
I find it sad that when I next fly I will be suspicious of any Arab looking person on the plane even though I know that, at least in the UK, there are white terrorists, converts to Islam. I don't want to see Israeli style paranoia outside of the Middle East. Frankly we have more to fear from homegrown nutcases and possibly the US Government. My buddy in OR says he needs the right to bear arms so he can defend himself against his government, I'm not joking! Xenophobia is an ugly phenomenon that will only grow in the current climate of fear.
We are more likely to die on our roads than from a terrorist attack so lighten up Homeland Security, stop treating all visitors as potential threats or illegal residents. The US is a nice place to visit but I don't want to live there even when you eventually have sensible medical care. Even before the economic meltdown Canada had way less folks living in mobile home parks. There is far too big a divide in the US between rich and poor; that may be your most dangerous threat, not suicide bombers.

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William Klauck
5/3/2010 12:24:24 pm

We must all understand that nothing is happening that was not prophecied two thousand years ago to happen near the end of the age.
We can gripe and complain all we want about this and that and the other thing, pointing fingers in all directions but ourselves, but we will not get anywhere else other than what God planned when He made the spirit of existence.
If we wanted to find the TRUE enemies that threaten this world's potential for peace, then we should look into those running the "GREED MARKETS" of the Banking and Insurance Industries, as well as the politicians who think they are in a place of personal power rather than in a place of servitude to the people.
As a devout patriot of the United States of America and her glorious and unmatched history of victory over insurmountable odds, I tend to support any President that is elected into office for the sake of the common good. But am I the only one who noticed that he started his innagural address by claiming that he was our commander and chief?
The President may be the commander and chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, but there is no way that he or she is anything more than the global voice of a majority FOR the people and BY the people, and responsible to the people for the job that we gave them to do.
How can we focus on outside terrorism, taking away our freedoms as we do it, when we have more than our share of economic and political terrorism within our own borders; in the form of greed, apathy, and power mongering; by those who we put into a position that requires trust?
I hate very much to be the one to say it: But God's wrath looms heavily on our country and the world--look around and tell me I am wrong--bring the fight into our personal relationship with God and forget what is happening in the world, for prophecy says that none of us will get out of this alive except those who have a better place to go after all is said and done.

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David Blaski
5/4/2010 03:34:07 pm

It is well said that America should learn from Israel, a nation surrounded with enemies within and without, that have managed terrorism successfully. Maybe instead of our current administration attempting to tell the Israelis how to manage it's affairs, maybe they should seek Israel's wisdom in managing it's own with terrorism.

Reply
Beryl Hartman
5/7/2010 04:57:28 pm

David Blaski says it all. down under in New Zealand the majority of people are naive and ignorant when it comes to knowledge of Israel they willingly believe the lies that are published on TV and the media about Israel.

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