The extent and imminence of the threat to America’s schoolchildren is not clear, since the Department of Homeland Security releases very little information on the topic to the general public. Not only that, what it does release tends to induce skepticism in all but the most feeble-minded of citizens. No incident perpetrated by a Muslim or Muslims, no matter how violent and deadly, is ever considered to have any connection to “terrorism”.
Yup. Uh-huh. Now go ahead and pull the other one.
In the absence of thorough and credible information, rumors and theories flourish. One of these theories is that of the “Perfect Day”, which posits that Al Qaeda is planning hundreds of simultaneous Beslans for America’s schoolchildren, and that it’s only a matter of time before their plan is executed.
The evidence cited to support the theory includes:
- The discovery of floor plans and emergency planning documents for America schools in terrorist hideouts in Iraq.
- The disappearance (or bureaucratic misplacement) of seventeen school buses in Houston.
- The recent “dry run” by two Muslim men with a school bus in Florida.
- The publicly-released statements of Al Qaeda leaders.
Last month Glenn Beck did a series of TV reports on the “Perfect Day”. Below are four ten-minute video segments of his reports:
Watching these reports will give even the most cynical and skeptical of parents pause, especially if they have a child in a large public school in a major metropolitan area.
If an American Beslan should ever occur, would our authorities be any better prepared than their Russian counterparts were in 2004?
Are they still operating on the 9-10 model of hostage-taking? Will they propose careful talk and negotiations with the aim of persuading the hostage-takers to release their charges without harm?
Or are they aware of the overwhelming likelihood that — as Mr. Beck points out repeatedly in these videos — that the terrorists who execute such a plan will have no intention of living through their operation?
The Muslim fanatics who murdered all those children in Beslan planned their operation carefully. They were cold-blooded and rational in the pursuit of their insane goal, which was to die in the process of killing as many helpless infidels as possible while generating as much publicity as possible.
Mr. Beck is certainly correct when he asserts that after one or more Beslans here in the USA the ground rules for our dealings with Muslims will change drastically. The reign of political correctness will come to an abrupt end, and we will be fortunate if “people of Middle Eastern appearance” are not strung up from lampposts.
Glenn Beck thinks that this is just what the Islamic zealots want, that generating a massive violent reaction will play right into their hands and inaugurate the holy war that they have been longing for. He calls on his fellow Americans not to give them the result they’re seeking.
But, assuming that he is right, would this in fact be a sound strategic move for Al Qaeda?
Would their propaganda victory be that useful for them if it could no longer play it to their advantage amongst all those millions of American bleeding hearts?
Killing off PC in the USA would be the beginning of the end for Al Qaeda. After that, not even George W. Bush could persuade his fellow Americans that “Islam is Peace”.
Hat tip: Steen.
13 comments:
I don't think Al Qaeda is concerned about the backlash from a Beslan style attack. They view the U.S as divided and weak. They would be playing to the non-US crowd with such an attack. The WTC attack generated a huge counterattack and damage to Al Qaeda, but is was a public relations victory in the rest of the world. I have two kids in public school and I did watch Glen Beck's program on Beslan. Scared the heck out of me.
The "perfect day" concept is truly chilling. The idea of militant muslims taking over a school and killing several hundred children is not fear-mongering speculation; IT ALREADY HAPPENED IN BESLAN!
The "perfect day" concept is especially troubling because it is reasonable to infer that large public schools in major metro areas (and the law enforcement agencies that protect them) are more prepared than those in less populous areas. There are tens of thousands of urban schools that do no have the level of available police protection that those in New York, L.A., Chicago, or Phoenix have.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 33 MILLION children enrolled in more than 53,000 elementary schools in the United States.
That is a freightening number of targets, all of which are considered by threat assessment analysts as "soft targets."
This is serious business that must be taken seriously.
Mr. Beck is certainly correct when he asserts that after one or more Beslans here in the USA the ground rules for our dealings with Muslims will change drastically. The reign of political correctness will come to an abrupt end, and we will be fortunate if “people of Middle Eastern appearance” are not strung up from lampposts.
Don't bet on it.
There are too many enemies of America living in America who call themselves American.
What bothers me the most, is when they talk (clip 3, I believe) about deterrence. I think that having some "rent a cop" at the school is a complete waste. Again, there's the perception of security, and there's the real thing. One guy with a .38 caliber pistol is no real deterrence. A trained, fanatical attacker will take him down in a second, with no remorse, while the guard is still thinking about how to react.
Even a police officer or two is not enough. If terrorists plan to take down a school with a thousand kids, there will be a LOT of attackers. One cop will do nothing, especially if he's outgunned (which is likely). At best, he'll kill one and perhaps make a radio call. But by then, it's too late.
Of course, deterring them during the observation phase is best. And it might work, but if I were planning to attack a school, I think buying or renting the house across the street would be a good starting point, both for observation and for the actual attack.
Bottom line, I simply don't know what we can realistically do. We can't be strong everywhere, and they have the initiative. Make the best plans that you can, and then pray.
Snipers John Allen Muhammed and Lee Malvo had already threatened to kill schoolchildren when they were on their multi state killing sprees.
Remember them? They are Muslim, though the media sure suppressed that information.
AQ would want that Beslan times whatever scenario because it would hammer home their point: your government cannot protect you and is consistent with their strategy of "we will kill you until you submit."
Similar to the Japanese conception of "fighting spirit" and other bushido concepts. The Indians in the Plains (Comanche, Souix, etc) and also the Apache tried this tactic. It was tried in the Philippines by the Moros after the Spanish-American War. It has been the traditional way to fight America.
From bin Laden's perspective, it is a winning strategy. From his view, Americans fundamentally lack will, and can be easily broken by enough atrocities. In bin Laden's view he already broke the "stronger" Superpower the USSR by such strategies.
Beck is wrong. We will not see IMHO vigilantism, rather organized internment of all Muslims, a great sorting-out, and likely prison camps for those with Wahabbist ties where men will spend likely the remainder of the lives. We can certainly afford to build such camps. I suppose they will be relatively humane as they go. No beatings, decent food and such.
What we will also see IMHO is the application of America's nuclear arsenal to an "example" nation, with the dead measuring in the 50 million mark (if say it's Pakistan). Assuming the example nation is held responsible and does not overtly submit to US demands etc.
America is divided. The left hates America and her traditions. There are a substantial number of "Americans" who will insist we brought these attacks upon ourselves. The fault lines that divide our nation are becoming increasingly more sharply defined.
America is no longer. There is no coherent body of people sharing a common heritage, common values, common history, common cultural memories, heck even a common language. The terrorists can been heartened and encouraged by these facts.
A Belsan like attach would unite the disparate elements in this country for a brief while, but then the Dhimmicrats will divide us again. We are engaged in a war in Iraq we refuse to fight. Our children are dying there and yet the handwringing and uncertainty about rules of engagement cripple our efforts.
We engage in nation building instead of legitimate MILITARY engagements with armed forces that have been pussified by the left. I'm afraid that due to unrestrained immigration, lack of cultural confidence, and the toxic impact of a fifth column which undermines our nationhood at every turn that we may not have sufficient solidarity to take the necessary steps after we are struck.
Vigilantism? Nuke the bastards? Internment camps? Wholesale deportations? Protect our borders? Not even in your wildest dreams, for we are a "nation of laws" and the left will continue to hamstring us and defeat us. Even AFTER they attack again, the left will remain our greatest enemy.
Charles Martel,
You are exactly right. Said it better than I did. I can't think of any attack that would unite us again, other than for a week or two. Still, I have kids. I want to find a solution.
I'm afraid that due to unrestrained immigration, lack of cultural confidence, and the toxic impact of a fifth column which undermines our nationhood at every turn that we may not have sufficient solidarity to take the necessary steps after we are struck.
In fact, those who control the MSM would have a myriad of talking heads to explain why this is Bush's fault for being so aggressive.
OTOH, had he done nothing -- like Clinton -- he would be blamed for his passivity.
The left doesn't actually *do* anything; it simply reacts to whatever is in front of them. But they do have the perfect solution to their cognitive dissonance: blame America (or the Republicans, or the Christians, or whomever else they see as the enemy).
Dympha - well said. The left does not have any solutions and the MSM gives them a pass. They are in a "can't lose" position. They can attack all day without any consequences.
I think their pillars of strength, Multi-culturalism and Diversity, have so weakened this country that at some point the "center will not hold" and we will blow apart as a nation. Sooner or later we will have to decide what can be saved of this great culture and country and what needs to be cut loose.
I think it will happen. Remember all those little "enclaves" around the country like Red House? As far as lamp posts, there will be some payback but like animals before an earthquake or volcanic eruption, the Muslims in this country will have disappeared, proving once and for all that they knew what was going to happen. "Jews told to stay home on 9/11"?
Curt at Flopping Aces works in law enforcement and he said their particular agency is preparing for this scenario by not preparing for negotiations but for an assault. Maybe it's a small difference but it will be an action instead of a reaction.
Tom
What Charles Martel said.
Exactly.
I'm more of Beck's opinion. There will be a lot of "strange fruit" hanging from various trees and lamp posts in this country.
I could be as wrong as a football bat but IMHO John Q. Public is getting fed up with the PC mentality that exists regarding our dealings with the Muslims. As evidence of that I'd cite the polls showing an increase in distrust of Mo's followers. This distrust has grown despite all references to a "religion of peace", despite the actions of our MSM and the leaders of all major religious denominations towards appeasement, despite the vilification of those who speak out. The attempts at brainwashing aren't working, there's a lot of anger under the surface and a miscalculation such as a "perfect day" would cause it to erupt.
And it would be a severe miscalculation on the part of the Islamists. I believe we'd really go on the warpath then. Some of that strange fruit I mentioned would include the apologists for the Muslims. The America-hating Left would disappear, we'd be on the road to true empire and Islam would get drop-kicked back into the fetid corners of the Third World.
In all of this we might lose our soul, that's something that REALLY worries me.
Have you ever seen the good natured big kid on a schoolyard playground who is ceaselessly tormented by his smaller classmates? Sooner or later that big goofy kid gets fed up and starts to clean some clocks, normally not stopping until the schoolyard monitors intervene.
We're that big kid and there are no schoolyard monitors.
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