PhotoDude.com

Sat. Apr 20, 2002

Bank Boomers?

Bank Boomers? – I’m sure you’ve heard of the supposed Al Qaeda threat to attack banks in the Northeastern US. "Sources said the information indicated a possible mode of attack was suicide bombing."

So, what can you do? "Speaking in San Francisco, FBI Director Robert Mueller said people should be suspicious of individuals entering banks who ’normally don’t come into banks’ and of ’trucks parked alongside the building.’ "

There’s a big armored truck outside the bank’s front door about two thirds of the time I visit. It usually says ”Brinks.” As for being suspicious of people who "normally don’t come into banks", I’m having a hard time legitimately filling that category: the homeless? Ted Turner and other billionaires?

I don’t mean to minimize the threat of terrorism or Al Qaeda, but let’s get real. When we last encountered these fundamentalists on our soil, they made suicide attacks that killed thousands, horrified millions, did billions in damage, and made us wonder if we had a new enemy that might be dangerously smart, and fanatic to boot. We worried endlessly about the next wave of terror attacks.

How wrong we were. When that ”next wave” came, it was on the foot on some unfortunately named bozo without the common sense to purchase a Bic lighter. Yes, there may indeed have been other plans, like the rumored assault on western bridges, and as Attorney General Ashcroft says, "We believe that this information sharing disrupts and prevents terrorist activity." I have no doubt that it has done just that.

But this supposed plan to attack banks sounds very flawed at its foundation. Were I an Al Qaeda ”plan curator,” this would never have left the file cabinet. But then, as a life long capitalist who is totally Net connected, I know that the banking network in our country is one of the most widely distributed networks we have. Within a mile of my home, there’s probably a dozen places I can get cash from my checking account. Within five miles, there’s another dozen places I can make a deposit. Within the safety of my home, I can transfer funds and pay bills online.

There are tens of thousands of bank branches in this country, and hundreds of thousands of ATM’s. They might think a dozen or so suicide attacks against bank branches in any area would shut down our capitalist system, but the reality is far different. Even if they do realize that, and think they will succeed by generating fear in Americans who simply want to go to the bank (and generating fear is the foundation of all terrorism), they will still fail.

My observations say we’re past that. We got sucker punched last September, and for a short time we reacted accordingly, somewhat lost and fearful. But we’ve found our way, and delivered devastating blows of our own. We’ve taken their best punch, shook it off, and are now fully prepared for more. Anyone who wants to attack America will find a much different battlefield than 7 months ago. The attitude is not one of fear, like it may have been in mid September, or that of a naive tourist unaware of the danger surrounding them, like it may have been before 9-11. It is now an attitude of ”bring it on.”

We may have been viewed as a soft target, but we now engage in an aggressive defense, and our attitudes have hardened, just as occurred after Pearl Harbor. Those who are too stupid to have noticed that will pay a price. Further attacks on American soil will not be met with fear, but with defiance.