Several times since the news of Edward Snowden’s “leak” of classified NSA surveillance programs first made headlines, I’ve received email alerts from various sources indicating that certain radical Islamist terrorist organizations — most notably Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) — have issued orders (via Internet posts) for lone wolf jihadis in America to “continue attacks within the United States.”
Qassim Al Rimi (a senior military commander of AQAP) reportedly stated in one Internet post that recent attacks like Boston and attempted attacks like the Ricin letters — regardless of who is behind them — show that the attacks on American soil “have taken off and cannot be stopped.”
Al Rimi called out directly to radicalized individuals living in America, telling them that bomb designs like those used in Boston are “within everyone’s reach.”
Some of these recent declarations (like Al Rimi, above) are a continuation of the “chatter” which surged in the days and weeks following the Boston bombing attacks, but the additional uptick I’ve observed in the past week (since the Snowden news broke) should not be ignored.
The 8 Pre-Attack Indicators
While the various talking heads do their macro-level hand-wringing about the merits (and there are many) versus the minuses (there are a few) of those surveillance programs, American law enforcers have to continue to concern themselves with the micro-level activities of keeping us safe.
Now is as good a time as any to quickly review the pre-attack indicators you should keep in the back of your mind. Be sure to communicate with your local Fusion Center or JTTF offices anything that seems even vaguely out of place.
1.) Financing Activities — Watch for transactions involving large cash payments, deposits, or withdrawals. Collection/solicitation of financial donations and “white-collar” criminal activities are potential warning signs.
2.) Convert Surveillance — Not just glassing a target, this can include timing the movement of vehicles and persons within an area, as well as simply transiting the area at various times of day and recording the activity levels at the target.
3.) Active Elicitation — Advise administrators at your known “soft targets” that they should watch for spoof “surveys” — conducted in-person, by phone or via email — with questions about security, numbers of employees, hours of operation, and other operational elements.
4.) Probing Security — Abandoning packages in a target area, breaking and entering a target building, or simple trespass on the target’s property are all examples of this. Watch for “false alarms” called in to a location — the bad guys may be watching the response times and tactics of the arriving first responders.
5.) Acquiring Supplies — In addition to the acquisition of conventional weapons like guns, ammunition, and knives, terrorist cells and individual lone wolves want to obtain explosives or precursor ingredients. Legally-obtainable hazardous materials include pool chemicals, fuel, and fertilizer.
6.) Suspicious Persons — Just as a lone adult at a children’s playground screams for attention, a student enrolled in a chemical engineering class — and no other courses — could indicate nefarious purposes.
7.) Dry Runs — Dry runs can be as simple as mapping routes and timing the sequence of traffic lights, or as complex as the frequent-flier miles racked up by the 9/11 terrorists as they counted numbers of passengers and determined the best stage of the flight to mount their attack.
8.) Deploying Assets — By the time the personnel and materiel are put into motion for a terrorist attack, stopping it becomes considerably more difficult. However, there are still viable opportunities to intervene during the final moments before a terrorist act occurs. Never give up!
Not “Somebody Else’s Job”
America’s cops are a counterterrorism force multiplier, especially when we’re entering into times of heightened concern. Attackers seem to place great importance on dates they believe to be meaningful in the minds of Americans (Independence Day immediately comes to mind), but as the Boston attack demonstrates, so does the average “Anytown U.S.A.” event — a fun run, a county fair, minor-league baseball game, a college graduation ceremony, or... you get the idea.
“Every day you will be hit by the unexpected,” the abovementioned Al Rimi reportedly declared in one recent Internet rant.
The publishers of Inspire magazine — the English-language publication providing motivational messages as well as practical, tactical tips for carrying out terror attacks — has issued at least one special edition (that I know of and have in my possession) since the Boston attacks.
These people are a serious as a heart attack, and we cannot assume that “somebody else” is tracking them and apprehending them.
They’re too many, too quiet, and too dangerous to be underestimated.
Stay safe out there my friends.
