Untitled Document

Alert Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TERRORISM ANALYST WARNS OF AL-QAEDA MISDIRECTION
URGES DISCRETION BY MEDIA

August 1, 2004 - Counter-Terrorism specialist Ilana Freedman warned today that even while the federal government responds to the higher level of threat in New York, New Jersey, and Washington, DC, companies throughout the financial and industrial sectors are also at heightened risk as well.

“The enemy has a long history of using communication channels to misdirect us regarding their intentions,” Freedman said.

She warned that the identification of specific sites that may be targetted in the northeast region does not eliminate the threat to financial and industrial icons in other locations throughout the country. “We cannot afford to be complacent. High profile companies in major metropolitan areas are also at heightened risk”, she said.

Freedman is known for her incisive analyses of developing trends. “Terrorism is premeditated, and therefore its trends can be tracked and, to a considerable extent, anticipated," she said.

She agrees with Secretary Tom Ridge that the use of car and truck bombs is a technique that may be favored. "The
organizations that have pledged to destroy our way of life often try out their techniques in other parts of the world. The accelerating use of car bombs in Iraq, for example, combined with the ease with which a car bomb can be deployed here, would suggest that this could well be a method of choice for future attacks in the US.”

Freedman also warned that the media needs to be much more mindful that their transmissions are being closely monitored by our enemies and that the release of sensitive information in the interest of audience building may put the country at increased risk.

“In today’s coverage alone," she said, "I have heard several ‘experts’ releasing information which could compromise our security. One actually revealed the approximate location in Washington DC on which homeland security officials will converge when the alert level is raised. This is irresponsible and dangerous.”

Ilana Freedman is Managing Partner of Gerard Group International, a leading provider of counter-terrorism preparedness consulting and intelligence analysis for industry and government.