So the lower echelons really don't know much more than we do.
man do i agree with that.
i have attempted to take this subject to where the rubber meets the road.
i say in my book that the offices of the president, the attorney general, the Secretary of defense, and the FBI have issued a steady stream of warnings about credible terrorist threats against Americans. We have been told repeatedly to increase our alert status. not a single one of our government warnings offered a concrete suggestion to the American people about what they can and should do to prepare to survive a terrorist attack.
osama bin lost said, "hostility toward America is a religious duty, and we hope to be rewarded for it by God...i am confident that Muslims will be able to end the legend of the so-called superpower that is America."
in feb 1998, he issued an order stating...."we, with God's help, call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God's orders to kill the Americans."
on jan 20th, W stated, "we have found diagrams of American nuclear facilities...detailed instructions for making chemical weapons...surveillance maps of American cities."
later in that address he said, "what we have found in afghanistan confirms that far from ending there our war against terror is only the beginning.....thousands of dangerous killers, schooled in the methods of murder, often supported by outlaw regimes, are now spread throughout the world like ticking time bombs set to go off without a warning."
i believe that further major attacks are most probable. i believe that our armed forces are up to the task...and American civilians will become more resolved after more attacks...many who object to our current tactics will sing a different tune if their wife and kids are killed or injured.
the problem that bothers me most is the lack of preparation by the average family. it is not their fault. they do not understand the weapons and their capabilities and nobody is explaining or making direct recommendations. simply, waiting for the next event and reacting is ridiculous...the fed, state and local governments have extensive evacuation and survival plans for key personnel and their families...but they are secret and most do not include the general population (THAT IS YOU AND ME.).
every family should have a plan to survive at home and a plan to evacuate on a moment's notice. everyone should know how to estimate a fallout zone and determine a safe evacuation route. families need a basic load of supplies in the car and at home. they need a communications plan. everyone needs to know how to purify water using simple methods. everyone should know the basics of current terrorist weapons and how to defend against them...if the shoe bomber had succeeded in lighting the fuse, how many would know what to do? and don't say cut the fuse because nobody has a knife or scissors on an airplane now. you can survive a grenade attack if you understand how they work and know what to do. i did.
my family does know all of this because i taught them. i have written it all down great in detail for my family and friends. they now have a solid base line for making good decisions during an attack.
unclewest |
