Monday, March 13, 2006

What Would You Do...

...if al Qaeda managed to nuke both Phoenix and Salt Lake City? It may be of little concern to you. By reading the logs for this site I know where most of you live. Some of you live in Germany, some in Sweden, some in my old haunts of Boca Raton, FL, Kenner, LA, and Cambridge, MA. Most of you don't live in either Phoenix or Salt Lake. Most of you have no relatives in either place. Most of you haven't even visited either place, for you they're both probably as remote as Baghdad or Peking. Would you ignore such an attack? Would you be angry? Would you sign up for the Marines? Or would there be secret schadenfreude that the damned Mormons got it? And not you. What would you really do; how would you really feel?

Perhaps more important: how should you feel, what should you do? What should the country do in such a circumstance? (I would ask, What should all Western countries do?, but I've long hence concluded that no actual action is to be expected from any of the other ones except possibly Britain.)

It's a serious question, one we have been avoiding, but one which we should perhaps lend some attention to, because an attack like that is exactly what al Qaeda is now threatening to carry out. Mind you, they aren't completely specific, they simply say that they have two attacks planned far from Washington. Two "big" attacks.

Despite the fact that the New York, Washington, Madrid, and London expeditions have been carried out a few years back. The search for clues on how they were conducted in such a successful manner is still going on and reports upon reports are still being written about them. However, the next expedition might not find someone who can provide analysis for. The top intellects, strategists, and analysts, will be totally clueless as to how to explain what occurred. Let me also inform you that we are talking about two operations, not one. The scale of one of them is larger than the other but both are large and significant. However, we will start with the smaller, and temporarily put the larger on hold to see how serious the Americans are about their lives. Should you value your own life and security, accept Muslims’ demands, but if you shall prefer death (over giving in to Muslims’ demands). Then, we, by the grace of Allah, are the best in bringing it (death) to your door steps.

...

O’ you helpless Americans, especially those living in States far away from Washington, D.C.! Your country is comprised of many States that should not have anything to do with Muslims. Take the State of Arizona for example; what does this State have to do with killing Muslims in Palestine, Afghanistan, and Iraq? What interest of theirs serving, helping, and siding with the Jews and Israel?

"If some members of your Congress and Senate are being used as Jewish tools manipulated by Israel, why do you bear the consequences?

"Why do you bring death and destruction to your homes and lives in an apparent sacrifice for a handful of dishonest men and women?

...

The operations are ready to go, we are just waiting for orders from the commander in chief, Osama Ben Laden (may Allah preserve him). He will decide whether to strike or to hold. We swear by Allah that there are so many tricks and tactical maneuvers that will make your heads spin, by the grace of Allah. You will be brought to your knees, but not until you lose more loved ones and experience significant destruction.


This purports to come from an "al-Qaeda undercover soldier", allegedly a white male convert to Islam hailing from Merrye Olde England.

Which just goes to show how silly it is to accuse anti-Muslims of "racism". Or does it? Is the threat all meaningless bluster? Who knows? Maybe they won't destroy Phoenix and Salt Lake after all, rather Albuquerque and Denver instead. Or maybe no attack will occur after all. But my question to you, dear reader, is this: if an attack does come, what difference will it make to you personally, one way or the other?

Within the last week I've had two highly intelligent friends inform me that the Republicans are manipulating the American people through endless repetition of the "boogeyman" mantra--that actually there's nothing to worry about, it's all a plot by the "neocons" (read Jews) to control the country and that threats from al Qaeda are no more real than are Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. And maybe they're right. Maybe by the mere act of reprinting this alleged threat from al Qaeda I'm playing into the hands of my invisible neocon puppet masters.

Despite that salient danger, I repeat myself: if such an attack does come, what will you do? Because, forewarned being forearmed, I suggest we contemplate the unimaginable while our wits are still about us.

[HT Econopundit]

11 comments:

truepeers said...

I would go totally ballistic if such an attack occurred. I would not rest until my socialist Member of Parliament was committed to war - i'd be in his face every chance i got. I'd be in his boyfriend's face. I'd wear the American flag. There would be no young men slouching about the city who wouldn't get a lecture from me on toughening up for the fight. There would come a day when no white guilt pseudointellectual fools would dare open their mouths within a mile of me.
And I don't usually talk so belligerently... And I think Canada under Harper would come into the fight, for what it's worth.

BTW, the idea that the US invents bogeymen in order to build up the military industrial complex, or whatever, is too stupid for words, if not for the fact that so many believe it. It is a denial of basic anthropology. The US must defend itself because it is a real target precisely because it is the predominant economic power, the market leader and, most important, the market maker. Today it's first among nations and that is something deeply resented - the act of going first, of disrupting formerly symmetrical tribal or national standoffs, of taking charge of the future and defining it. To go first is to claim an essential human function - the re-definition or renewal of sacrality. That is why OBL hates you so. Because you make Nike (shoes) and so much else into little sacred centers with which poor old OBL must compete. Compare anti-Americanism with antisemitism, a very similar phenomenon. Firstness is also the mark of the Jews (the first to define the paradoxical anthropology underlying monotheism and nationhood - "i am what i am" God tells Moses). The Jews have been persecuted for millennia for their original idea of nationhood, without often having posed a realistic threat to anyone. Of course, finally building their own military industrial complex hasn't gotten the monkey off the back.

It is AMerica's resourcefulness that makes it a target; it is not that it becomes resourceful or powerful by deciding to make itself into a military power/target. What a satanic idea the latter is, if you think about it.

chuck said...

Within the last week I've had two highly intelligent friends inform me that the Republicans are manipulating the American people through endless repetition of the "boogeyman" mantra...

I'm sure they have high IQ's but doubt they are very intelligent in any general way. I know folks like that, quite brilliant in a narrow field but remarkably stupid about human nature or history.

That said, I think that al-Qaeda exaggerates wildly, it's mostly phony baloney. But who knows, someday they just might come into possession of nuclear weopons. If one of those goes off in an American city all bets are off. Naturally, there would still be some who would say Bush did it or somesuch.

Heinlein wrote an article about preparing for a nuclear attack. His prime directive: don't be there.

Unknown said...

My brother believes that th eRepbulicans are mainpulating people, that is in fact a common belief.

I am not sure that anything, including an attack on the country would completely erase it.

I do think there is some racism in our dealings with Muslims, even though as MHA points out, racism does not fit because Jihad does not require race to be a factor, only lunacy. That is what made the whole Dubai port deal so silly, the Arabs can not be trusted...but white people like the Brits can.

I wonder at their capacity to carry out such an attack, but I do not completely discount it either.

If it happened I would weep at the awful loss of life and then I would wait to see how many other people in places like Iran would die. Because I have no doubt they would.

I find the reference to Bin Laden interesting. I for one am not sure he is alive. In any event I wish we kknew that for sure.

Unknown said...

david:

I am afraid we will just obliterate them all.

Eric said...

"We" wouldn't obliterate them all, if such a thing occurred.

(That communique is all bluster, because if A-Q could hit the US, they'd be doing it. Simple as that.)

Anyway, assuming that it was terrorism with an nuclear device, I would expect retaliation against particular actors pending an investigation of who actually provided the materiel.

I would expet a great deal of anti-muslim reaction in places besides the US. (like Europe--the banelieus would get cleared by grape shot).

Rick Ballard said...

Such an attack would be symbolic in nature - as was 9/11. I'd swap symbols - Mecca, Medina and Qum.

Inshallah.

Unknown said...

eric:

You don't think the US would respond with a nuclear strike?

That is what I meant by my somewhat melodramatic "oblierate them" remark.

Charlie Martin said...

I've got a friend who's been talking about the "Holy Crater of Qum" for a long time.

Sadly, we'd probably better think about targets in Pakistan and North Korea as well, Pakistan because the ISI would probably take over instantly, and North Korea because they're the most likely source, and because they shouldn't be left out.

But the first thing *I* would do is try to get as far north as I could, as I dn't think there's much in the way of a fallout shelter available and we're downwind.

Charlie Martin said...

the idea that the US invents bogeymen in order to build up the military industrial complex, or whatever, is too stupid for words, if not for the fact that so many believe it.

That doesn't keep it from being too stupid for words.

Syl said...

Well, I'm not sure the targets are out West. I didn't feel it was that definitive.

Unless they've figured out how to cause a gigantic earthquake. I do remember reading that one thing they wanted to do was cause a landslide under the Canary Islands. Supposedly that would cause a humungous tidal wave to hit the east coast. The water would reach all the way to the Appalachians.

They've got big dreams. But crashing planes into buildings is bad enough.

I can't help but think, though, if they're really ready and can pull it off, why haven't they?

Is Osama wondering about what our reponse would be? Does he even care?

And what do they mean that if we detect them, it will automatically cause the timing to be moved up?

Weird.

I think they're in love with their own ideas.

There are plenty of folks with fantasies of figuring out ways to get back at those who have wronged them. But most people never let it get beyond fanciful wishful thinking.

Not these guys.

Eric said...

The target, if and when it comes, will be a port.

Whole container ships have disappeared (i.e. taken by pirates) in various East Asian seas.

My personal pick is LA. It provides maximum impact to the economy, because of the volume of traffic that goes through there.

Its a double-hit too, since it also hoses all the Asian states who unload through there.

You could probably do the port of Tacoma or Seattle as well, but I don't think it would do as much damage to the national economy.

Anyway, do I think the US would reply with nukes? I'm not sure. I don't think it would be an indiscriminate response. I do think that the response would be pretty nasty, but you have to remember, those giving the orders would need more than just 'revenge' to come up with targets.

I'll reiterate though, that I think the first nuke target will be someplace in Russia, set off by the Chechens.