One Man’s Opinion, “Be Alert, Be Aware…Save Lives,”

I was a senior in high school when the Shah of Iran fell. In the aftermath of that revolution, a ragtag group of Iranian revolutionaries captured the American Embassy and 62 American hostages. That small group of Iranians held the compound for 444 days, securing their release on the day President Ronald Reagan was sworn into office. Fellow Georgian and then President Jimmy Carter had a White House tenure filled with many challenges: an economy stuck in the woes of stag-flation, a deepening energy crisis, the nation’s first nuclear power plant accident and perhaps nothing more politically damaging than the Iranian Hostage crisis, other than a failed military mission and rescue attempt to end the same.

I have waited for and wanted regime changein Iran for each of the 47 years since. But I know enough to know a detailed plan is required, and that creating a power vacuum may deliver a new leader and a situation even worse than before. But I am not here to second-guess the current Commander In Chief. An attack on Iran is well underway. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, is now dead. Much like the Ayatollah who led in 1979, this one can also be replaced. Israel and the United States have eliminated many other key Iranian military and government leaders, along with Iran’s Internet and much of the nation’s communications systems. It still remains to be seen if the two nations successfully eliminated Iran’s ability to build nuclear weapons.

Yet despite an extremely challenged economy and significant turmoil from Iranian citizens in the streets for months, there is no opposition party or organized resistance in place to take the country over from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG), which has ruled the country for nearly a half century now.

Iraq Attacks Foes & Former Friends Alike –

And we can see, in the drone and response missile attacks by Iran on five different countries in the region—including several of Iran’s formerly close Muslim led allies in the Middle East—that we have not yet ended that regime’s ability to fight.

Declared or not, we are at war. Among the blessings we often overlook and take for granted as Americans, is that no major military conflict has been fought on American soil (at least across the contiguous 48 states) since the Civil War. American armed forces have participated and fought all across the globe in dozens of wars and conflicts since, but for more than 161 years, with the exception of terrorist incidents and attacks like 9/11 and the prior bombing of the Twin Towers subway station…Americans have gone to war…versus war coming to America.

The Iranian clerics and IRG government leaders have wanted to end America for close to five decades now. In the time since, they have built one of the world’s largest standing armies. Although depleted by old armaments and less sophisticated Soviet weaponry in recent years, their current fleet of drone weapon systems is proving quite effective, collapsing the roof of the American Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (causing its evacuation and temporary closure), and catching one of the world’s tallest and most famous hotels, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, aflame. Even with their economy in freefall, and talk of a revolution in the streets, Iran can still inflict damage and pain on foes and former friends alike.

Will This War Come Here?

And this time, I believe they will bring this war back home to us. I don’t say this to be alarmist, but they have had 47 years to plan, to assimilate and billions in oil revenues to back them. I am not suggesting an ICBM missile strike or traditional invasion. I am suggesting instead more actions of intentional, domestic terrorism. Although our intelligence gathering and intra-agency information sharing has thankfully improved in the decades since 9.11 as well… We cannot rely on the Department of Homeland Security, the F.B.I. or even the world’s most powerful armed forces to protect us daily here at home.

We have a stake in this, and we need to sit our families and friends down and talk. Be alert. Be aware of your surroundings. Put down you phone or your tablet, and take out the Ear Buds. Look up, out, and pay attention to your surroundings. As with 9/11, they will again attempt to break the American spirit while waging this war.

Airline Passengers Saved Themselves Following 9/11

In the months immediately following 9/11, the TSA had not yet been formed. There were no Air Marshals flying our friendly skies, on foreign or domestic flights. During December 2001, Richard Reid, a British-national, boarded American Airlines flight 63 in Paris, destined for Miami. Reid had 10 ounces of plastic explosives in his shoes—explosives that the metal detectors and security systems of that day could not detect.  His home-made shoe bomb had enough explosive material to blow a huge hole in the jet fuselage and down the craft, killing all onboard.

Over the Atlantic, an attentive flight attendant and other passengers noted a sulphur smell while Reid was attempting to light matches, apparently for a fuse in his shoes. In-flight smoking had long been banned. Quick action by the passengers and an attentive attendant resulted in them tying up Reid with headphone cords and restraining him with seat belts. A medical doctor on the flight sedated Reid using supplies from the in-flight medical safety kit. Crisis averted, and nearly 200 lives saved, including Reid’s.

When taken into custody at Logan Airport in Boston where the flight was diverted, Reid claimed to be a member of Al Qaeda. As one of the fuses was lit but the bomb did not detonate, experts speculated that Reid’s sweaty feet compromised the fuse and the explosives. But either way, a pedestrian, predominantly American airline passenger, and one astute steward saved the day.

More To Come?

There will likely be more Richard Reid‘s in the coming months. Reid was sentenced to consecutive 110-year terms without the possibility of parole in a federal penitentiary in Colorado. It took nearly two decades to develop and deploy the technology at U.S. airports to end the practice of removing shoes during security screening, a practice prompted by Reid’s bombing attempt.  Expect smaller, but equally heinous attempts to harm us. Infrastructure and places where large numbers of people gather—concerts, stadiums, airports, transit centers, large outdoor festivals or sporting events are particularly vulnerable—and all bring together thousands of strangers in often highly insecure spaces.If you see something, say something. I am NOT suggesting profiling or random acts of violence or hatred against American Muslims. I AM saying be careful, pay attention, be alert and vigilant. Pay attention to your surroundings.

We have enemies in this world. Not unlike the Japanese awakening a Great Sleeping Bear with their attack on Pearl Harbor, we have knocked a Great Snake from its nest and killed many of its eggs. That snake can still bite. Their success and ability to cause serious wounds, injury or deaths may well depend on people like you and me being ready, able, and participating in protecting our family, community, and our nation. Get ready.