I read the following article about the wildfires in Australia.
The discussion involved whether terrorists started, or could have started many of the fires. The conclusion of the experts interviewed was that terrorists probably were not involved, but were capable of it. An extremist website called on Muslims to launch a "forest jihad" in Australia, Europe, Russia and the United States. They may not have been involved in Australia's current disaster, but they certainly could be involved in future disasters.
The year is 1992 and the Rodney King riots are in full swing. I am flying a law-enforcement helicopter over Los Angeles in the evening. The scene is as surreal as anything out of Apocalypse Now. Scattered fires burn around the city, spewing columns of black smoke nearly straight up into a sky almost devoid of wind. It's a sight I'll never forget.
Thinking over the events of the riot later, I realized that a small, well-organized group could wreak havoc throughout the city and stretch emergency services to the breaking point. All they would need is a few dozen molotov cocktails or pipe bombs and a half-decent plan.
Similar thoughts cross my mind every fire season in Southern California. It's bad enough when we have multiple individual arsonists. I hate to think what would happen if a terrorist cell were to implement a mass arson plan. So far, it appears that the call for “forest jihad” has not been answered. But how long will it be until somebody answers the call? What can we do to prevent it? Sadly, not much. It's possible to harden small targets like banks and government buildings, but not vast expanses of forest. All we can do as individuals is to remain alert, especially the sheepdogs among us.
I didn't know you flew over the riots, feel free to share more stories with your kids!
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