Originally Posted by eyecue
Any congregation of people is a target. Sports events, amusement parks, rallly's, Tourist attractions. I dont believe that an attack on one of those would have the impact on the US like 9/11 did. ... So with 9/11 terrorism made a grand entrance into the United States from a foreign country. It is going to a hard act to top.
Actually, I don't believe that the next time will be an attack on
one of those. And, yes, it will top 9/11 -- perhaps not in the number of deaths but in emotional impact.
Unlike Palestinian terrorist groups which make repeated attacks against single targets (a restaurant, a bar, a school, etc) Al Qaeda doesn't mind going one or more years without attacking but when it does it likes to hit multiple targets. This is what it did with the embassies in Africa, the Madrid bombings, and, of course, on 9/11.
The 9/11 attacks were on New York and Washington and while they infuriated Americans everywhere did not really hit home to small town USA. My gut feeling is that the next set will do exactly that. Perhaps it will be four schools in towns in Iowa, Kansas, Alabama and Ohio. Or else it might be four shopping malls in the suburbs. Possibly it will be a combination of types of targets: A theme park, a college basketball game, a church social and a Nevada casino.
The message will be that Americans are not safe anywhere.
Israelis already know we can be attacked at any time and at any place: Israelis have been murdered in their homes, in restaurants, in schools, on buses, at a casino in Egypt, at a hotel in Kenya, and an attempt was even made to shoot down an Israeli passenger jet with a SAM missile.
While Israel takes all reasonable steps to protect itself, we realize that as horrible as a terrorist murder is it actually has no strategic value unless we give it that value. Hence, the day after an attack here life goes back to normal.
It has been over three years since 9/11 but the financial damage from it is still being inflicted. Every time an airport terminal is evacuated without real cause; security costs are increased by adding another harmless item (like cigarette lighters) to the forbidden list; or a screener decides that this week he will delay passenger by making everyone take off his shoes, the financial total of 9/11 goes up.
Yes, America has got to take reasonable precautions but it also has to realize two things:
1. Another attack is inevitable and unavoidable.
2. The terrorists will determine the extent of the immediate damage; America will determine the extent of the long-term damage.