On Our Guard

America and the West need to be ready for attempted terror attacks on or around the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 al-Qaeda outrage. No nation can defend against every possible contingency, but our security services must try to out think those who would do us harm. There is no blanket defense, but we must examine the threat matrix and take precautions to protect the most likely targets. Every US and Western embassy, consulate, and diplomatic legation in the Arab world, Africa, and anywhere Muslim insurgencies are prevalent must be vigilant. American schools and US cultural centers, upscale shopping malls that draw Westerners, and those institutions intrinsically linked to America like McDonald's need to up their guard in those same countries. New York City and Washington, D.C. must be on guard as fanatics would love to show we are still vulnerable in places they have already so notoriously attacked. Now that at least eleven commercial jets have disappeared in the chaos of Libya, the world must be extra cautious to prevent another human-guided missile attack as we saw in the original 9/11. Individuals should report suspicious behavior to law enforcement right away because a timely tip might prevent a tragedy. The terrorists need only succeed one time to cause great carnage. We need the skill of our intelligence community and our police forces, but we also need a bit of luck. Let us pray the Divine Hand makes the terrorists the unlucky ones.