Terrorist Activities

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Forgive me for trolling and not thinking that the sky is going to fall. I have been following this forum off and on since Feb of 1998 and have watched the group go from thoughtful debate to something a little less than that.

Why are "doomers" so skeptical that terrorist activities may be coordinated in conjunction with the date change. Any official reference to terrorist activities on and around 1/1/00 is considered "cover". This is THE most unpredictable day that modern history can create. Military, police and civil defense systems will be very precarious, to say the least. I hope that my government is on the lookout for potential crazies. I have been saying for months that I am more afraid of terrorism than I am computers crashing. The military, the national guard, etc. are all going to be on standby in case something bad does happen. Contingency planning is all that it is.

An example of terrorist (not quite) activity coordinated with 1/1/00 is the upcoming onslaught of computer viruses. Our company is delaying the transfer to the Exchange/Outlook e-mail system because many viruses target the Microsoft e-mail user. By not running this system we will miss out on some potential problems.

Thoughtful responses only. If you feel I should go back to lurking, I respect the opinion, but don't waste everyone else's time by sucking up the bandwidth.

Prediction: y2k a 4.76 with inconsistent power for a week, some supply shortages for 6 months with an economic downturn coinciding with all of this.

-- Slick (probably@not.com), December 13, 1999

Answers

Slick,

Your government says the possibility does exist. And all the while I thought they were in the "polly' grouping. Not trying to be sarcastic but that is the case. Also, have you asked yourself why there has been NO NATIONAL MILLENIUM CELEBRATION ? You would think that if all were going to be OK, our nation would want to commemorate this as a turning point and benchmark in American history. That may in itself not be an indicator of anticipation of terrorist activity, but we don't know that either.

Even Slick Willie is gonna be huggin' close to the ranch on that eve. I imagine he doesn't want to be hanging out hosting some celebration when the tensions are the highest in recent history.

Just my take on the matter.

Pucker factor 4.0 to 5.0 in the first five days with a 10 being herniated. After day 3, your guess "may" be better than mine. Only speculation.

-- Rob (maxovrdrv51@hotmail.com), December 13, 1999.


I think terrorism is a genuine possibility. Having said that, I also think there may be incentive for organizations to blame their (preventable through due diligence) failures on malicious attacks. This might be similar the old trick of using arson to collect the insurance on a piece of property. Of course the world may be full of "good honest terrorists" but I haven't a clue how many there will be-- only that the news dripping down from on high seems to be priming the population for some nasty stuff.

-- coprolith (coprolith@fakemail.com), December 13, 1999.

For the record, I've always felt very strongly that terrorism around the rollover was a possibility (if not an eventuality). I also have no difficulty with the notion of viruses taking their toll around that time as well. I think the main argument is one of accountability. Just as most private companies out there are being intentionally vague to avoid the fallout and litigation, so is the government (national and otherwise) doing their best to pre-discount the possible resulting chaos as something other than their own missed opportunity to deal with the matter in a coherent and timely manner. Y'see.

John Ludi

-- Ludi (ludi@rollin.com), December 13, 1999.


Slick,

Good post...don't lurk!

I agree with most everything you say. As to the "I'm more afraid of terrorism than computers crashing," I'd probably put that (for me...) as "I'm very very worried about terrorism and resigned to y2k problems"...preps prevent fear...in my case, anyway.

But yes: I'm damn worried about terrorism and you're exactly right: It's a situation made for slime to harm the innocent.

And, although I can't speak for the many posters here, I think the majority fall more into the camp of "concerned and prepped" than "doomers," though I admit that the former doesn't have the same "ring" to it -grin-

-- joe (joe@adeveloper.net), December 13, 1999.


As someone trained in computer security for high profile, high target value installations, I can only consider how I would act if I were a terrorist... I would try to hit at the highest impact possible moment, against the highest impact targets. I would also try to hit when the enemy was least prepared...and undergoing the greatest trauma. Now when and where would that be?

When I am defending, I ask those same questions...and protect my assets accordingly.

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), December 13, 1999.



I agree with you Monk. If I were a terrorist, I would hit at the time period where I thought my target would be the weakest and my activities covered up. I would use a multi-pronged offense. Attack computer systems, do some physical damage to targets in the US and also target overseas targets. Big ones that come to mind would be for sure anything in Israel because of the huge number of tourists. The Vatican, and any other hot American tourist spot. Also, energy and oil sites, food distribution locations such as harbors,etc. Now, if I thought of these things, you gotta know that they have too. I think, IMHO, that the year 2000 will be an especially tumultuous time, even without a full Y2K impact.

-- J.Clark (yeasowhat 4@aol.com), December 14, 1999.

Slick, I feel that the liklihood of terrorism during the rollover period is very high. More than a year ago the State Dept. made a statement to the effect that in regards to terrorism, "it's a matter of when, not if". So, when you start thinking about the period of time when this country, as a whole, is most vulnerable,,,,,,it's very clear that the Y2K rollover is that time. Thinking from the perspective of a terrorist, what would be the targets? There are landmarks in this country that are symbols of our national heritage......the Statue of Liberty, the Washington Monument, Independence Hall, the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, the U.S. Capitol, to name just a few. Then there are places of international political power.....the United Nations building in N.Y.C., the World Trade Enter, also in N.Y.C. Abroad, any U.S. embassy could be in harms way. These are places to avoid during the rollover and after. I can't help but think that even though many people aren't preparing, there's a certain awareness and anxiety about this particular New Year's Eve. Most polls find people preferring to stay at home this year.

-- Linda Hitchings (lindasue1@earthlink.net), December 14, 1999.

Been saying for years that the end of the millenium was going to be a strange experience.

Organizations and nations want to be on top at the start of the millenium, wether it is 2000, or 2001. IMO! Psychoillogical!

-- Mark Hillyard (foster@inreach.com), December 14, 1999.


I have heard that recent terrorist activity has been much lower than would be expected. No links or sources, just observations. (what is the normal level?)

However, it is only logical to assume that terrorists wordlwide intend to take advantage of the CDC. Also logical that they would "save up" and concentrate their efforts.

-- MegaMe (CWHale67@aol.com), December 14, 1999.


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