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Experts say terrorists eye your local school
3 years after Beslan slaughter, U.S. educators still unprepared
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 20, 2007
WASHINGTON - Three years after Muslim terrorists attacked a school in Beslan
in North Ossetia-Alania within the Russian Federation resulting in 396
deaths and 437 injuries, terrorism and law enforcement experts say most U.S.
schools have not prepared at all to deal with the possibility of such an
assault.
More disturbingly, they say, such attacks are most definitely being prepared
and rehearsed in Islamic terrorist camps around the world.
In videotapes captured in Afghanistan, al-Qaida terrorists practiced the
takeover of a school - issuing commands in English, separating children into
manageable groups and killing anyone who offered resistance. Some hostages
were take to rooftops, dangled over the edge, then shot for the sake of
cameras and onlookers.
In Iraq, the floor plans of several schools in Virginia, Texas and New
Jersey were found in the possession of captured terrorists.
Meanwhile, in the U.S. law enforcement authorities have uncovered what
appear to be probing missions by terrorists attempting to get jobs as school
bus drivers and making inquiries about armed security personnel in schools.
Lt. Col. Dave Grossman
Lt. Col. Dave Grossman has been attempting to get local law enforcement
training for what he considers to be these inevitable attacks in the future.
He points out how U.S. schools all have regular fire drills despite the fact
that not one child has been killed by fire in an American school in the last
25 years.
"We need to treat the threat of violence like the threat of fire," he tells
those willing to listen.
Grossman and Todd Rassa, a trainer with the SigArms Academy, say the most
likely targets of terrorist attacks in the U.S. are rural schools where
response time by law enforcement is slow. The targets will probably be in
states "with no concealed-carry laws and no hunting culture" and in
communities where police do not have rifles.
Even though they say U.S. law enforcement can learn much about such attacks
by studying Beslan, attacks in the U.S. will probably be different in some
ways.
Some 100 terrorists were involved in that attack, nearly half of them
embedded in a large crowd of parents, staff and children who showed up for
the first day of school. Others arrived for the surprise attack in SUVs,
troop carriers and bigger sedans.
Experts predict smaller groups of terrorists at any single location in the
U.S. But Grossman expects simultaneous attacks at multiple school
locations - at least four. Middle schools are the most likely targets
because girls are old enough to rape but students are not big enough to
fight back effectively.
They say the attackers will kill everyone they see - students, teachers and
parents alike - as they move in to seize the school. They will plant bombs
throughout buildings, while raping and murdering and throwing out bodies as
they did in Beslan.
The pair of trainers say the most effective deterrent to such attacks is to
ensure there is an armed presence within every school. They recommend armed
security as well as encouraging teachers and administrators to carry
firearms.
"Even one or two armed teachers in a school can make a difference," says
Grossman. "One man or woman with effective fire from behind cover inside the
school can hold off a group of attackers for five minutes."
That could be enough time for police, or other help, to get to the scene.
They say it's also important to be vigilant in watching for reconnaissance
efforts by terrorists. They will never attack a target without probing it
first, say the experts. This could involve photographs and videotape.
In March, the FBI and Homeland Security Department distributed a bulletin to
law enforcement across the country warning that Muslims with "ties to
extremist groups" are signing up to be school bus drivers. They also noted
"recent suspicious activity" by foreigners who either drive school buses or
are licensed to drive them.
"The enemy is infiltrating us at all levels, and certainly school bus
drivers are one area to look at," warned Grossman, president of Killology
Research Group, an anti-terror consultancy that trains the FBI and other law
enforcement. "And how about high school, middle school and elementary school
cafeteria workers? Janitors? Delivery people?"
Grossman believes some of those involved with future terrorist attacks on
U.S. schools are already working inside the system - scoping out their
targets.
"Islamic terrorists are already in place in the U.S. and, yes, that includes
bus drivers, cafeteria workers and also airport workers," said Grossman, a
former Army Ranger and West Point professor.
Simultaneous attacks on schools in multiple states would follow Osama bin
Laden's goal of crippling the U.S. economy. If multiple schools were hit,
Grossman says, parents would drop out of the work force en masse to protect
their children. A prolonged labor disruption would cost businesses billions
of dollars in lost revenue.
The 9/11 mastermind now in custody at Gitmo recently suggested al-Qaida may
be targeting school children. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed said in his confession
before a military tribunal that while he may not like killing kids, they're
fair game in jihad. He claims U.S. forces bombed and killed the children of
bin Laden's top deputy, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, and arrested and "abused" his own
children.
Recent events come on top of several other school bus-related incidents
involving Mideast men that raise suspicion of terror activity.
They include last year's surprise boarding of a school bus in Tampa, Fla.,
by two Saudi men dressed in trench coats. Authorities suspect they were
making a dry run to see how easy it would be to hijack or blow up a school
bus filled with innocent American students.
Previously, an Arab man from Detroit was caught trying to obtain a job as a
school bus driver in New York using fake Social Security documents.
Experts also worry about terrorists operating independently of al-Qaida.
"There are many lone wolves and self-starters out there who could attack at
any time," Grossman warned.
Muslim gunman Sulejman Talovic was loaded for bear in February when he
opened fire on shoppers in a Salt Lake City mall. He was armed with a
shotgun, a .38 pistol and a backpack full of ammunition. He killed five and
would have kept killing if an alert off-duty police officer hadn't returned
fire and helped stop him.
"The time may come when that one cop will have to keep several adults at
bay, preventing them from prosecuting their assault plan on our kids until
support arrives," said John Giduck, president of Archangel Group, an
antiterror training service.
Experts say terrorists eye your local school
3 years after Beslan slaughter, U.S. educators still unprepared
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 20, 2007
WASHINGTON - Three years after Muslim terrorists attacked a school in Beslan
in North Ossetia-Alania within the Russian Federation resulting in 396
deaths and 437 injuries, terrorism and law enforcement experts say most U.S.
schools have not prepared at all to deal with the possibility of such an
assault.
More disturbingly, they say, such attacks are most definitely being prepared
and rehearsed in Islamic terrorist camps around the world.
In videotapes captured in Afghanistan, al-Qaida terrorists practiced the
takeover of a school - issuing commands in English, separating children into
manageable groups and killing anyone who offered resistance. Some hostages
were take to rooftops, dangled over the edge, then shot for the sake of
cameras and onlookers.
In Iraq, the floor plans of several schools in Virginia, Texas and New
Jersey were found in the possession of captured terrorists.
Meanwhile, in the U.S. law enforcement authorities have uncovered what
appear to be probing missions by terrorists attempting to get jobs as school
bus drivers and making inquiries about armed security personnel in schools.
Lt. Col. Dave Grossman
Lt. Col. Dave Grossman has been attempting to get local law enforcement
training for what he considers to be these inevitable attacks in the future.
He points out how U.S. schools all have regular fire drills despite the fact
that not one child has been killed by fire in an American school in the last
25 years.
"We need to treat the threat of violence like the threat of fire," he tells
those willing to listen.
Grossman and Todd Rassa, a trainer with the SigArms Academy, say the most
likely targets of terrorist attacks in the U.S. are rural schools where
response time by law enforcement is slow. The targets will probably be in
states "with no concealed-carry laws and no hunting culture" and in
communities where police do not have rifles.
Even though they say U.S. law enforcement can learn much about such attacks
by studying Beslan, attacks in the U.S. will probably be different in some
ways.
Some 100 terrorists were involved in that attack, nearly half of them
embedded in a large crowd of parents, staff and children who showed up for
the first day of school. Others arrived for the surprise attack in SUVs,
troop carriers and bigger sedans.
Experts predict smaller groups of terrorists at any single location in the
U.S. But Grossman expects simultaneous attacks at multiple school
locations - at least four. Middle schools are the most likely targets
because girls are old enough to rape but students are not big enough to
fight back effectively.
They say the attackers will kill everyone they see - students, teachers and
parents alike - as they move in to seize the school. They will plant bombs
throughout buildings, while raping and murdering and throwing out bodies as
they did in Beslan.
The pair of trainers say the most effective deterrent to such attacks is to
ensure there is an armed presence within every school. They recommend armed
security as well as encouraging teachers and administrators to carry
firearms.
"Even one or two armed teachers in a school can make a difference," says
Grossman. "One man or woman with effective fire from behind cover inside the
school can hold off a group of attackers for five minutes."
That could be enough time for police, or other help, to get to the scene.
They say it's also important to be vigilant in watching for reconnaissance
efforts by terrorists. They will never attack a target without probing it
first, say the experts. This could involve photographs and videotape.
In March, the FBI and Homeland Security Department distributed a bulletin to
law enforcement across the country warning that Muslims with "ties to
extremist groups" are signing up to be school bus drivers. They also noted
"recent suspicious activity" by foreigners who either drive school buses or
are licensed to drive them.
"The enemy is infiltrating us at all levels, and certainly school bus
drivers are one area to look at," warned Grossman, president of Killology
Research Group, an anti-terror consultancy that trains the FBI and other law
enforcement. "And how about high school, middle school and elementary school
cafeteria workers? Janitors? Delivery people?"
Grossman believes some of those involved with future terrorist attacks on
U.S. schools are already working inside the system - scoping out their
targets.
"Islamic terrorists are already in place in the U.S. and, yes, that includes
bus drivers, cafeteria workers and also airport workers," said Grossman, a
former Army Ranger and West Point professor.
Simultaneous attacks on schools in multiple states would follow Osama bin
Laden's goal of crippling the U.S. economy. If multiple schools were hit,
Grossman says, parents would drop out of the work force en masse to protect
their children. A prolonged labor disruption would cost businesses billions
of dollars in lost revenue.
The 9/11 mastermind now in custody at Gitmo recently suggested al-Qaida may
be targeting school children. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed said in his confession
before a military tribunal that while he may not like killing kids, they're
fair game in jihad. He claims U.S. forces bombed and killed the children of
bin Laden's top deputy, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, and arrested and "abused" his own
children.
Recent events come on top of several other school bus-related incidents
involving Mideast men that raise suspicion of terror activity.
They include last year's surprise boarding of a school bus in Tampa, Fla.,
by two Saudi men dressed in trench coats. Authorities suspect they were
making a dry run to see how easy it would be to hijack or blow up a school
bus filled with innocent American students.
Previously, an Arab man from Detroit was caught trying to obtain a job as a
school bus driver in New York using fake Social Security documents.
Experts also worry about terrorists operating independently of al-Qaida.
"There are many lone wolves and self-starters out there who could attack at
any time," Grossman warned.
Muslim gunman Sulejman Talovic was loaded for bear in February when he
opened fire on shoppers in a Salt Lake City mall. He was armed with a
shotgun, a .38 pistol and a backpack full of ammunition. He killed five and
would have kept killing if an alert off-duty police officer hadn't returned
fire and helped stop him.
"The time may come when that one cop will have to keep several adults at
bay, preventing them from prosecuting their assault plan on our kids until
support arrives," said John Giduck, president of Archangel Group, an
antiterror training service.
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