Memorial events are being prepared as the 10th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11 approaches. This anniversary is on the mind not only of survivors of the heinous attack but also on the mind of the perpetrators. The man who stepped into Bin Laden’s shoes, Ayman al-Zawahiri, released a (yet confirmed) video this week calling on his followers to attack the U.S., any way they can.
In the 12-minute video, Zawahiri is dressed in white, his automatic weapon leaning against his side, urging “Muslim brothers everywhere” to pursue America. “America today is staggering,” said Zawahiri. “Hunt her down wherever you may encounter her. Hunt her down to cut what is left of her corruption’s tail.”
Has there been any single day or hour over the past ten years when Al Qaida did not seek to hurt its enemies? The threat of another attack is not new. U.S. counter-terrorism officials are this week on high alert for any kind of a ‘revenge’ attack.
At the top of the potential attack pile is the lone wolf terrorist. Janet Napolitano’s 9/11 anniversary message is that we all need to be super vigilant against the type of lone wolf terrorism whose devastating effects were most recently seen in Norway, at the hands of Anders Breivik. She claims that the lone wolf is the hardest to prevent because there are fewer indicators and “because there is nothing to intercept.”
Of particular concern is the unknown whereabouts of the twenty plus Somali-American youth who have traveled over the past few years to learn terrorism with Al Shabaab, an Islamist militant movement centered in southern Somalia, with ties to Al Qaida.
Add to this recent chatter about a potential poison gas attack coming from Yemeni terrorists reflected in the attempted acquisition of large quantities of castor beans from which the deadly toxin risin is produced. It seems a bit bleak. Ten years later and the battle against terrorism continues undiminished. We are using a new vocabulary and are continuing to learn more about our enemies and how to counter them. It can at least be said that we are all a bit less naïve, a bit better prepared and certainly far more aware today than we were a decade ago. That’s the bright side.
Al Qaeda Calls For US Attack in New Video: MyFoxTWINCITIES.com
You’re right; we have become much better defensively. The challenge is to figure the best offense , and no Western politician will place constituents’ survival ahead of reelection until he is convinced that distasteful is better than defeat. Is it really a fight against a finite number of bad guys, or a clash of civilizations?
We have given up a good deal of our freedom -and a lot of our wealth and sanity -for improved security, but you can’t expect any truce from this enemy. We have to turn those who accommodate them, willingly or not, if we expect to eliminate them. It’s a war, not an anti-crime effort.