Sleeper Cells a Threat

Thursday, July 27, 2006

We cannot afford to be complacent about the Israel-Hezbollah war simply because it seems far away. Hezbollah’s mission is global and they have made it very clear that it leads right to our doorstep.

Iran's Hezbollah, which claims links to the Lebanese group, said on Tuesday that it stood ready to attack American and Israeli interests worldwide. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has warned that they will "pursue the confrontation without limits and red lines." He has a long record of delivering on his promises.

We have known for a number of years that Hezbollah has been very active in this country. They carry out a wide range of illegal activities and have organized sleeper cells in cities and towns across the US. With a call to arms from the Middle East, it is a small leap from smuggling and money laundering to terrorist attacks against American targets.

This is our wake-up call and we ignore it at our peril. Those who have been putting off terrorism preparedness, in the hopes that our government will protect them, may be in for a rude awakening. As we have seen in London, Bali, Buenos Aires, and other cities around the world, government can be counted on to respond to attacks, but may not always be in a position to prevent them. It has been widely observed that we have to be lucky every time, while the terrorists only have to be lucky once. Everybody with responsibility for facilities, businesses, schools, and municipalities should identify their vulnerabilities, and plan how to minimize their risk and to ensure their operational continuity.

We can no longer afford the luxury of detachment, watching the battle against terrorism in foreign countries on the evening news. We need to recognize that the terrorists have declared war against us, and that they are ready to act. We must therefore do what is necessary now to protect our companies, our critical systems, and our personnel - to ensure that the next time terrorists strike in the United States, we will be prepared.

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