Survival Planning Begins at Home (and in the Car)

Also from USA Today:

Clearly more worried than at any time since Sept. 11, 2001, officials recommended that citizens stockpile enough food, water and medicine to last at least three days, and have duct tape and plastic sheeting to seal windows and doors. They advised that Americans educate themselves on how to survive a possible attack with a weapon of mass destruction.

A classified FBI advisory sent last week to 56 field offices warned that "al-Qaeda is set to attack." Since then, law enforcement officials said Monday, suspected al-Qaeda operatives have been using disposable cell phones, one-time e-mail accounts and different languages and dialects to communicate.

In its advisory last week, the FBI said al-Qaeda is "moving forward with plans for near-term attacks in multiple locations." It said the attacks "appear to be timed to coincide with the period immediately after the end of the Hajj," the annual Muslim pilgrimage to the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca. The climax of the holy period was Monday.

Dozens of telephone and e-mail intercepts of al-Qaeda operatives have indicated that an attack against Jewish-owned businesses or other high-profile targets is "imminent," law enforcement officials said. The attack could come in New York or Washington in the form of a radiological "dirty bomb" or biological or chemical attack, they said. Dirty bombs use conventional explosives to scatter radioactive material. Hundreds could be killed by the blast; thousands more could face increased odds of contracting cancer.

"This one's for real," said terrorism expert Neil Livingstone, chairman of GlobalOptions, a crisis management company based in Washington. "Al-Qaeda has been licking its wounds for a long time now, and they want to hit us where we live."

That all looks pretty unpleasant.

"Q: What should I do in a radiological attack?

A: Seek shelter below ground and stay there until told otherwise. If you're caught outside, lie on the ground and cover your head."

Hmmmmmm.

um and its been over 6 months since Bush has mentioned Osama?

Almost like Y2K all over....
Really had me frustrated - I'm 27 miles from home, and if something went wrong because of geography it could take me - 2-3 days to get home. Then trying to make plans for your teens - this is staggering.

Maybe all this time and energy wasted marshaling a fruitless attack on Iraq might have been better spent hunting down Al Qaeda.

Upon further reflection, another major attack will probably send Shrub's approval ratings through the roof again, so maybe there's a certain method in this madness. Assuming one believes this administration is capable of such cold-blooded realpolitik....