Preventing the Next Attack on America

Preventing the Next Attack on America

By Keith A. Harper, President and CEO of The Counter Threat Institute, Intl.

Last month we discussed why firefighter and emergency services personnel are so very essential to the domestic counterterrorism mission. This month I would like to reinforce those arguments and share some thoughts on how high the stakes are. I think it is important as well to explain why each of us must remain involved in preventing the next series of attacks on U.S. soil.

Our economy is fragile; our ability to deliver armament on target on the battlefield and quality emergency services throughout the U.S. requires a strong economy.

Al Qaeda and its ilk want to take that ability away from us at any cost. Their dream of delivering sustained or catastrophic attacks inside the U.S. would destroy not only our delicate economic situation, but could push the World’s economy towards depression and thus render useless our ability to project power and protect those whom we serve.

As a student of history I prefer to look at the situation we are facing through the eyes of our enemies. I want to identify what are the strategic and tactical hurdles the Extremists face and determine how we can exploit and amplify these challenges so that the Extremists are less likely to accomplish their mission.

We don’t have to search far to know what the Extremists plan to do, they tell us all the time, in fact they have very clearly spelled out their goals in Bin Ladin’s “Declaration of War on America” (http://www.mideastweb.org/osamabinladen1.htm), “Al Qaeda Terrorist Manual” (http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/aqmanual.pdf ), and Bin Ladin’s “Letter to the American People” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/nov/24/theobserver ); they are very open, sincere and vocal about their plans. These documents are available simply by Google-ing them. The unfortunate thing is that most public safety and emergency services personnel have not taken the time to read these documents. In fact, most intelligence and counterterrorism operatives have not read them either. We could defeat our enemies plans much more efficiently if we understood their playbook, learned their tactics and anticipated their next moves. Then we would be yelling with joy like General Patton did in the movie, “Rommel, I read your book!” We, like Sun Tsu, would “know our enemy”.

So let’s start by examining the Cliff’s notes edition of extremist strategy and analyze the tactics they are using to build momentum behind their movement. Because after all, the Extremists are only a very small and ostracized sliver of the overall Muslim population, and in order to achieve their goal of world domination (the great Ummah or Caliphate) they must first convert the general Muslim population to their radical view of the world.

The Extremists we currently face are using a 1400-year-old playbook, they use a mixture of Salafi & Takfeeri teachings to reduce their followers and strip them to remove their personal identity, much like a drill sergeant would do to a recruit. Then they build them into a team, and subtly convince these vulnerable recruits that the leaders of their radical movements are acting on or directed by orders from God. Interviews of extremists in Gitmo and other locations indicate that many of the followers believe that either Bin Ladin or al-Zawahiri are at least the Mujahidid (100-year re-invigorator), and at best one of them is the Mahdi (The hero of Islam that will bring about the end of days and set the stage for the return of Jesus of Nazareth who will lead a great Muslim army against the Jews and the Christians.)

While operating undercover inside an extremist group, a law enforcement friend of mine, described the tactics that members of this group used while they began to lure him into their group and how they tried to radicalize him. Without ever voicing the exact terms, one of the most respected members of that group inferred to him very clearly and plainly that Osama Bin Ladin was the Mujahidid, and possibly the Mahdi. I understand from other reliable sources that this is a common recruitment tool. It also tracks with the M.O used by Osama Bin Ladin and his older brother when they were involved in the last “Mahdi” conspiracy with Juhayman ibn Muhammad ibn Sayf al-Otaibi who declared himself the Mahdi and started an armed insurrection against the Saudi government during the Haj. Al-Otaibi and sixty-seven of his followers were executed by the Saudi government after the 1979 siege in Mecca, Bin Ladin and his brother mysteriously were not.

Al Qaeda is not the first radical religious affiliated group to introduce an eschatological (End of Days) prophecy to convince their followers of their right to control the world, their use of one of the six pillars of the Islamic faith known as Yawm al-Qiyamah, or Judgment day, has occurred countless times in Islamic history, just like it has in Christian history. Religion is a strong force when applied with precision, and is a very effective tool to radicalize elements of a group. Much like it was with Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple or David Koresh with the Branch Davidians, cult religion is an effective mind control technique, and the Extremists’ interpretation of Islam easily qualifies as a cult.

This is not so much a religious war between Islam and Christianity, as it is a political war between radical Islam and the secular governments that hold Islamic holy sites or control large Muslim populations. If the radicals control the religious sites, they hold leverage over the greater Muslim population. That must be their goal, because this minority population of radicals cannot hope to convert the general population of Muslims without the leverage such holy sites would provide.

The highest priority of Extremists throughout the world is to topple their own secular governments; a very difficult task with the United States, Great Britain, and the rest of the Western World backing them. But without this backing, (especially if we fail to prevent sustained U.S. attacks and thus economic depression) the US and its allies will fail to project sufficient power and probably fold their commitments to defend these friendly governments (Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, the Philippines, the UAE, Qatar or even Kuwait). Oil and natural gas supplies will be threatened, and the governments of these nations will be at risk of being toppled by the extremists.

So, dear colleague, whether you are a Firefighter or Emergency Services personnel, or a peace officer, you are part of the national team charged with the responsibility to prevent the next attack and avoid a global depression; and through your efforts, you will save lives. Stay alert, do not let people like American traitor Adam Yahiye Gadahn’s win. In his latest statement, which in part said “As the blessed operations of September 11th showed, a little imagination and planning and a limited budget can turn almost anything into a deadly, effective, and convenient weapon.” He then went on to say that American Muslims should emulate the actions of Major Nidal Hassan of Fort Hood infamy and attack. Wreak havoc “by killing or capturing people in government, industry, and the media” not because they are military targets, but to shake “consumer confidence and stifle spending”.

Why is this Al Qaeda thug trying to attack the economy of the United States instead of military targets? It is because he and they understand that America must have a sound economy if it is to continue its ability to project power on the battlefield and provide support to friendly governments. Those same governments that Al Qaeda, and other extremist groups want to replace with their own extremist form of 7th century Islamic rule.
Please be safe out there. Please pay attention to suspicious activity, and continue to expand your intellectual curiosity, and like you did on 9-11, lead the way in the fight against terrorism!
Next month we will talk about specific indicators that could lead to incident prevention and greater firefighter safety.

Keith Harper BIO

Mr. Harper is the President & CEO of the Counter Threat Institute, Interrnational LLC (CTI) in San Carlos, California and is Director of Military Affairs of Henley-Putnam University in San Jose, California , a military officer and the Special Agent in Charge (IMA) of one of the largest Department of Defense counterterrorism units in the world. His opinions recorded here belong to him and are not necessarily representative of the views of his agency, or the United States of America. CTI is the premiere Terrorism Liaison Officer training provider to each of the California Regional Terrorism Threat Assessement Centers (RTTAC), Cal P.O.S.T. and hundreds of US and Canadian Agencies engaged in counterterrorism initiatives. Mr. Harper is a retired California peace officer, a US DoD Special Agent in Charge, and a former Terrorism Task Force Officer and Deputy US Marshall who was assigned to the Federal Joint Terrorism Task Force in San Francisco. He has extensive domestic and international operational antiterrorism and counterterrorism experience. You may contact CTI using their website at; http://www.counterthreatinstitute.com/

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