Obama: Biggest terror fear is the lone wolf
Situation Room anchor Wolf Blitzer sat down with President Barack Obama in Iowa on Tuesday. The Situation Room blog has more on the interview.
BLITZER: I've covered the Middle East for a long time. I've covered terrorism for a long time. And I have to tell you, I'm worried, that on the 10th anniversary, approaching the 10th
of 9/11, al Qaeda, or what's left of al Qaeda or their supporters, will try to do something to seek revenge for you killing bin Laden.
How worried should we be about that? How worried are you about that?
OBAMA: Well, look, we are vigilant and constantly monitoring potential risks of terrorist attacks. And I think that men and women in our intelligence agencies, as well as the FBI, have done a terrific job, and the Department of Homeland Security.
But the risk is always there. And obviously, on a seminal event like the 10th anniversary of 9/11, that makes us more concerned. It means we've got heightened awareness.
The biggest concern we have right now is not the launching of a major terrorist operation, although that risk is always there, the risk that we're especially concerned over right now is the lone wolf terrorist, somebody with a single weapon being able to carry out wide-scale massacres of the sort that we saw in Norway recently. You know, when you've got one person who is deranged or driven by a hateful ideology, they can do a lot of damage, and it's a lot harder to trace those lone wolf operators.
So we're spending a lot of time monitoring and gathering information. I think that we generally have to stay vigilant. There may be a little extra vigilance during 9/11.
On the other hand, keep in mind the extraordinary progress we've made over the last couple years in degrading al Qaeda's capabilities. They are a much weaker organization with much less capability than they had just two or three years ago.
BLITZER: So what I hear you saying is we don't have to worry about a spectacular 9/11 kind of event, more like a lone wolf could do some damage, kill a lot of people, but not a nuclear, radiological or anything like that?
OBAMA: No. Look, as president of the United States, I worry about all of it. But I think the most likely scenario that we have to guard against right now ends up being more of a lone wolf operation than a large, well-coordinated terrorist attack. We still have to stay on top of it, though, and we're never letting our guard down. That's part of our job.
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Lone wolf terrorist? You mean like Major Nidal Malik Hasan?
Am I the only person who doesn't live "in fear of terror?" The likelihood on being killed in a terrorist attack are almost zero. Let's keep it in perspective before we give away all our rights.
I have so much to say but like old Russia, new America will just put me in the looking glass. I am more scared of my own country right now than any ONE else...
100% agreement
People who need a magic book with an imaginary friend to scare them into behaving like decent human beings are frightening. Ditto for those who confuse morals and ethics with religion. Here's to looking forward to the next stage of humanity, free from all such absurdity. There, how's that for taking the bait? Stir up the trolls...
Well said Brian!
America should repent and return to the Biblical principles to be normal again. Teach kids the right things based on the existence of the Creator God. Without that, it's impossible to find the ultimate reason to respect or value any human life including self's.
Lone or multiple, one cannot expect much from the present moral-less young generations in the West. What did they learn other than shooting fellow humans and destroying structures and glorifying perversion in games and movies? Do they ever recall the normal world that once existed? A society gets what it sows. Collective responsibility. Selfishness never works.