The terrorist threat is real, so I don’t want you to put your head in the sand and ignore it. However, the terrorist threat isn’t so great that you should live in fear and be paranoid. I want you to be aware of the terrorist threat and live your life practicing safe habits that will keep you safe. Watch the video and then read the continuation of the passage from the book Fight Back: Tackling Terrorism, Liddy Style by G. Gordon Liddy and CDR James G. Liddy USN SEAL (Ret.), with Joel D. Selanikio, M.D., and J. Michael Barrett.
The Terrorist Threat with Alain Burrese video:
G. Gordon Liddy’s Fight Back continued:
This is a continuation from the book where I stopped reading in the video. Even though ben Laden has been eliminated, it is interesting to read what Liddy wrote in 2006, and some of this is still relevant today.
“Let’s examine these three scenarios and the United State’s response options and effects in turn.
If a significant attack occurs and is linked to bin Laden, the United States will almost certainly cross into Pakistan militarily to capture or kill the senior leaders believed to be hiding in the northwestern provinces. The Pakistan military, to its credit, is conducting operations, albeit sporadically, but to date there have been all too few results. Meanwhile, press accounts detail how this area is now an al Qaida safe haven, a post-9/11 version of what Afghanistan once was. In the wake of a catastrophic attack, the United States would move decisively to eliminate the threat, accepting the potentially destabilizing effect this may have on President Musharraf’s regime.
In the case of a Shi’i-sponsored attack, the most likely scenario is a Tehran-sponsored attack carried out by the terrorist wing of Hizbollah. Here, the United States would have to find proof, convince allies of the connections, and would still have few effective options. Even more complicated would be an attack by a Shi’i-based entity not supported by the leadership in Tehran. Not only would the United States be hard pressed to find suitable levers of influence with the mullahs, it would also be unable to violate Iran’s sovereignty to strike the enemy hiding within (this scenario will be even more difficult after Iran develops nuclear weapons).
Finally, the next strike could emerge from an unexpected quarter, perhaps Indonesia’s Jemaah Islamiyah or another of the small, secretive sects in growing Southeast Asian terrorist hotspots like Bangladesh or Cambodia. Effective, acceptable United States response options are limited because of the difficulty of convincing the world that we are certain of the sponsorship of the attack and the difficulty of tying the actions of the group to the support of the country’s government. Nonetheless, if the event is severe enough, the United States will lash out in an attempt to remove the threat, wherever it may be. Though Such action must be carried out, it will redouble the enemy’s efforts to strike the United States, further increasing our risk here at home. This, sadly, is the backdrop to the insecure situation in which we find ourselves.”
– G. Gordon Liddy in Fight Back
It is important that we acknowledge the terrorist threat, but not let it consume us or make us live in fear. I’ll continue to post commons sense safety strategies, including those specific to terrorism, to help you stay safe.
If you want to check out G. Gordon Liddy’s book Fight Back: Tackling Terrorism, Liddy Style, here is the amazon link: