Merry Terror?

By Justin Edwards

The holiday season each year routinely raises alert levels among counter-terrorism agencies, but with the failed plot by the underwear bomber last Christmas day and numerous foiled plots in Europe and the United States in 2010, authorities have their work cut out for them over these next couple of weeks. What's more, Iraqi authorities are reporting that al Qaeda is planning suicide attacks in the United States and Europe during the Christmas holidays.

Drudge is running a major headline from the Associated Press that two insurgents have confessed these planned attacks to Iraqi senior officials. The Iraqi government has reported these claims as "critical threats" to Interpol and the U.S. Security Council this week. Allegedly among these plots were the suicide bombing in Sweden last weekend claimed the insurgents, who insist to be part of a cell taking its orders directly from al Qaeda's central leadership. Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani told the Associated Press,

Several members of this terrorist group have direct links with the central leaders of the al Qaeda organization.  Those captured represent the main structure of the al Qaeda organization in Iraq (source).

Having recently attended a counter-terrorism conference in November, I am confident that al Qaeda operatives are entrenched on American soil. For years our borders have given criminals and terrorists easy access to the U.S., using coyotes (smugglers) to import weapons, money, drugs, and people, including terrorists and parts for WMDs. In his book, The Day of Islam: The Annihilation of America and the Western World, Paul Williams details how Hezbollah and HAMAS have positioned themselves with Mexico's narcoterrorist groups and high profile gangs, such as MS-13, to smuggle these goods and terrorists into the United States. In his August 2009 article, MS-13 Smuggles Muslim Terrorists into the United States, Williams writes:

In the wake of 9/11, Mara Salvatrucha attracted the attention of top al Qaeda officials, who realized that the gang could be used to smuggle operatives and weapons into the United States. An agreement was forged between the terrorists and the gang-bangers. In exchange for safe passage across the border, al Qaeda – through its cells in South America – agreed to pay the Maras from $30,000 to $50,000 for each sleeper agent they managed to smuggle into the country with bogus matricula consulars.

Hearing this information come from a renowned Islamic terrorism expert like Paul Williams is one thing, but to hear the stark reality from U.S. government officials and private defense contractors (like I did a few weeks ago) of our broken borders and the ease by which major terrorist organizations are able to infiltrate our land  makes this information all the more real. Most alarming was the amount of "OTM's" (other than Mexicans) entering through the borders. The following two videos will shed light on OTMs and their ease of access into the United States: 

Chances are you had no idea about this, right?  It's not exactly something the liberal media widely reports as they condemn such bills as Arizona's Senate Bill 1070, which sought to fight illegal immigration. No doubt from these two videos you can understand how serious our border situation is. Because of our government's complacency and outright refusal to protect its citizens, we Americans stand at great risk of being attacked, even this Christmas season.

I'm posting this information here on the blog to warn you to be vigilant these next few weeks. There are people here who want to harm you and your families in order to bring this nation down. I'm also telling you this to remind you how fragile life is, and not one of us knows when our time will come to leave this earth. As the world grows more volatile with threats of terrorism and rumors of major war, the day is all the more urgent to secure your place in eternity and proclaim the name of the Lord Jesus Christ ever so loudly.

Instead of walking in fear, however, we may go forth confident that no one can stand against us since God is for us (Romans 8:31). We can rest knowing that nothing can happen to us unless it goes through the throne room first, for God is sovereign over all things (Romans 8:38). We can also use this type of information in our witnessing encounters, especially in crowded places where terrorists are likely to carry out their planned attacks using explosives or biological, chemical, or radiological weapons, or acts like the 2008 Mumbai attacks or the 2004 Beslan school massacre by Islamic Chechen terrorists. The day of judgment could come a whole lot sooner than anyone ever anticipated, and it usually does.

So my dear friends, as we enter into this last half of December and into the new year, be sensitive to your surroundings and never be afraid to report suspicious activity. Packages or bags that seem out of place on buses, trains, or sidewalks very well may have deadly purposes. People and vehicles can also seem out of place, so if you ever suspect anything or feel uneasy about a situation, report it to a police officer or call 911. Trust me, police and emergency response agencies are on standby for such reports and you shouldn't feel embarrassed or hesitant to make that call.

I strongly believe we are in the season of Christ's return, so we can expect events like this to happen sooner rather than later. Quite frankly, I'm surprised we have not witnessed a suicide bombing yet in the U.S. I believe it is imminent, and we need to be ready for it. In the meantime, bolster your efforts to share the Gospel as much as possible, and may the Lord Jesus Christ be glorified as you obey His mandate to go out and make disciples.