The news hit pretty close to home very late last Thursday or perhaps very early Friday – I didn’t check the clock. I was working on the computer and listening to the radio, as I always do, and heard an ABC news report about government warnings to schools concerning possible terrorist attacks. One of them was very near me.
According to the network news, a man described as an Iraqi insurgent had been arrested in that country. He was found to have in his possession a computer disc on which he’d downloaded details of floor plans and safety guidelines for certain American schools. The information concerned middle and high schools.
The report listed the six states and some of the cities involved: Salem, Ore.; two cities in New Jersey, including Rumson; Birch Run, Mich.; Gray, Ga.; Fort Myers, Fla.; and two cities in California, one near Los Angeles and the other, Pleasant Hill.
That got my attention, since Pleasant Hill is in my neck of the woods, just outside of San Francisco. I had no doubt that would be a big local story and it raised the hair on the back of my neck.
The vivid memories of the horrific attack on the school in Russia are all too fresh in my mind, and they’ll remain that way for a very long time. The utter brutality of the killings and maimings reflect the nature of the Islamist terrorists who are intent on destroying the West and all it represents, anywhere in the world. Their growing trail of death is a testament to their unbridled hate and willingness to sacrifice anything in their belief of their superiority and righteousness.
So when I heard that a nearby community was among those considered by terrorists for some kind of school mayhem, the reality of the dangers we face was made all the more real. Sept. 11, after all, was three years ago, and it happened across the country from California. Despite the reality of it and the ongoing war in Afghanistan and Iraq, we Americans tend to have short memories.
I wanted more information about the Pleasant Hill school threat, but the story disappeared and morphed into two Southern California school districts in San Diego and Los Angeles.
Why the change? I have no idea.
Then, despite the fact that warnings were sent to schools across the country, as well as those specifically mentioned on the disk, the next news cycle downplayed the whole story.
According to FBI officials, there was no threat. In fact, Jan Caldwell, speaking for the FBI in San Diego said, “This is really a non-story.”
Oh?
We’re told the disc contained the U.S. Department of Education’s report on crisis planning for schools and communities as well as specific school plans – something we’re told is on the department website.
Caldwell is quoted as saying “You can download the floor plan of Nordstrom’s because you want an evening cocktail dress. It doesn’t mean there was something sinister.”
Uh, when was the last time you got a store floor plan to buy a dress?
Pardon me, if I don’t believe a word of that. What a royal crock!
We’re told the man who had the disc and who apparently had downloaded the information was just a so-far unidentified guy in Iraq. In Iraq?
Who was doing research. Research?
Uh-huh.
You’d think some intrepid American reporter might ask why an Iraqi, in Iraq, is doing “research” on the safety plans of American schools? What kind of research. For what purpose?
Don’t ask.
The FBI says the man has no connection to al-Qaida or to the militant Iraqi insurgents who are fighting coalition forces.
Oh. Now I feel better.
However, the FBI does say the man has “links” to Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party. They assure us that’s not unusual because such “links” are true of many former Iraqi government officials and what are described as “community leaders.”
Dear FBI, Please define “links.”
This is the same FBI that keeps telling Americans to keep their eyes open, to report suspicious people or actions. They keep reminding us that we have to do our part in the war on terrorism.
I’ve done it. In fact, I’ve made several such reports to the FBI and they’ve been most diligent about following up on them and getting back to me with an update on the case.
I’ve been quite impressed with how they handled the issues in question. In fact, they assure me that even if the instance in question seems insignificant, it could be important and it’s better to report it than to ignore it.
Given that, I’m not reassured that research in Iraq, on American schools, by a man linked to Hussein’s party, is regarded as nothing.
Somehow, I have a feeling if that man were “researching” U.S. nuclear reactors or military bases or chemical plants or bridges or tunnels or landmarks or financial headquarters or government buildings – the FBI would take it seriously.
Don’t our schools and our children deserve the same concern?
Or do they think we’re stupid?
