Obviously, we have already suffered the attack of nineteen suicide bombers on Sept 11th, but what are the chances that we may suffer more?

Is the US doing anything at all to prevent the next round, if any, of suicide bombers?

Joel Mowbray on National Review Online has an article on this possibility:

[size=4]Freelancing in the U.S.[/size=4]
[b]How worried should we be about suicide bombers in the U.S.?[/b]

By Joel Mowbray

A chilling possibility considered credible by many experts, but thus far ignored by the media, is that suicide bombers could be exported to America. All the necessary elements — bombs, bucks, and bodies — could easily come together on our soil to target innocent civilians in crowded public areas.

While President Bush has been pushed to pressure Yasser Arafat in order to maintain a consistent message for the war on terror, [b]there is another reason for not coddling the Palestinian leader that hits much closer to home.[/b]

[b]"If it appears that Arafat was successful with suicide bombings, it will give an incentive to other Islamic terrorists to hit American civilians," warns Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum.[/b] Given the teetering positions of the administration over the past few weeks, it's not entirely clear where Colin Powell will stand during his Mideast trip, but he stated on Meet the Press that dealing with Arafat is inevitable.

Although the rash of suicide bombings — which stopped once the Israeli Defense Force commenced its incursion of Arafat's Ramallah compound — made the media elite in this country clamor for a peace accord, [b]it actually moved the Israeli people firmly into Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's hawkish camp.[/b] The latest Jerusalem Post poll indicates Sharon's military actions enjoy 68 percent support among Israelis. [b]If Sharon backs down, it will not be in response to popular pressure from his own people.[/b]

If Powell forces Sharon to accede to any significant Arafat demands, the secretary of state runs the risk of fostering a perception that the suicide bombings were beneficial to the Palestinian cause. What's to stop other terrorists from reasoning that if America so fears a suicide bombing in Israel, then even greater damage could be inflicted by such an attack in the United States?

See remainder of article at:[url]http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-mowbray040902.asp[/url]

Eric The(IAmCertainTheINSIsTakingCareOfTheProblemNow!)Hun[>]:)]

Yes, we should be worried!

It seems that it will happen here in the US. In fact, because there are not a lot of vehicle checkpoints and limited amount of armed troops patrolling, a terrorist would have an easier time moving around in the U.S. than he/she would in Israel.
Seems like a great reason to either move (further) to the sticks and/or always be armed and ready to respond to a greater threat. I think that we must all have our heads on a swivel, becoming much more aware of our surroundings and be aware that the threat level is increased.

I can sleep better at night knowing that this heightened threat will be dealt with appropriately by the INS and our other law enforcement agencies. Whew, I didn't think I could I could get that all out with out laughing.

Only for the first one or two.  

After that, Arabs residing in this country will be too busy running for their lives to become Not-So-Smart bombs...

[img]http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/smilie/dh.gif[/img]

A few things to consider:

MOTIVE - The suicide bombings in Israel are considered a success because of their effect on the Israelis, and actually in spite of their effect on American public opinion of Palestinians (which is negatively affected). Suicide bombings in the US would work against the Palestinians and undermine the "legitimacy" of their "cause" in the eyes of the Western world, who, with the exception of the US, seem to have a hard on for a Palestinian state. The so-called Palestinians may be incredibly stupid, but they're not that stupid. The motive is not there.

LOGISTICS - Could suicide bombings happen in the US? Of course. Are they likely to become a significant problem as they are in Israel? No way. Israel is a very small country, both in population and geographic size. It is bordered by enemies on three sides - enemies who gladly supply the Muslims with the means to carry out suicide attacks. RDX doesn't grow on trees. While it is arguably pretty easy to get explosives in the US, an effective campaign of suicide attacks costs money and requires manpower. The infrastructure is not available in the US, especially after 9/11 and the intense pressure since then by fedgov on the Muslim community.

And related to both of these factors - Talk to an Israeli - any Israeli - and you'll probably find you're talking to someone who knows someone who was wounded or at least at the location of a suicide attack. My point is, to get that kind of psychological impact in this country, you'd have to have a whole lot more willing Muslim "martyrs" than they are likely to get.

Also, while the idiots in our government complain loudly about the Israelis killing Muslim terrorists, we have no problem doing it ourselves, and in truth we do it alot more brutally than we ever would let the Israelis do. Name the last West Bank town that was carpet bombed by B52s. I don't agree with many of the US tactics in the "war on terror" (because I feel they will be ineffective in the long term), but unrestrained force does have a deterrent effect.

I'm not sure I believe what I'm about to write, I'm still trying to decide.  But, I thought I'd throw it out for discussion.

Suppose we did start to have suicide bombers here.  People that are for military action will be for it even more.  Almost all people that are undecided will then favor military action.  And, then there are the peace freaks that will still want to engage in meaningful dialogue with the terrorist.  

However, there could be a huge push for even stronger military action.  This could be very bad for the terrorists.  Instead of worrying about us being on the side of the Israelis, the terrorists would have to deal with US military forces fighting alongside the Israelis.  US military in Iraq.  Once we finished there, we'd move on to the next place.  Sure, sure, they could put an oil embargo on us.  That won't work.  We're basically at war on our soil.  A majority of Americans would be in favor of invading Iraq and taking over their oil.  Heck, we're fighting them anyway so we might as well get the oil for free.  

Dead Israeli civilians are bad enough for us to see, but dead American civilians wouldn't be tolerated here.  In short, suicide bombings here might just open up a can of worms that the terrorists know they won't be able to deal with.

Misanthrope

If something like this does happen, it's because most Americans have already become WAY too complacent. It's like September 11 was in another century. Too many people have gone back to condition pink.

I think it is a matter of when, not if there will be a suicide bombing.

ARH

Everytime I sit in a long packed lined of cars waiting to get onto post the hair on the back of my neck stands up and I begin to feel like a sitting duck.

The military is about as STUPID as you can get when it comes to security.  They tell you in the briefings to alter your route of travel and then they give CSM's, COL's, IOC's, NCOIC's and General Officer's special parking spots with BIG signs.  They create daily and predictable traffic jams.  Duh!

I think that this is a very real possibilty/probability.

It really doesn't take that much to accomplish, as long as you don't care about getting caught, because then all the normal retrainsts are off. Another Timothy McVeigh-type event could quite easily happen.

I believe anyone in the Secret Service would admit that they would have a hell of a time trying to protect any President against any suicidal assassin.

No matter that we find their actions incomprehensible, we must stop trying rationalize their motives. None of it may not make much sense to us,but, the fact is, it does happen – and it can just as easily happen within the U.S.