US Troops Near Afghanistan: Officials Warn of Terror Response

About a thousand soldiers from the US Army’s elite 10th Mountain Division were expected to arrive in Uzbekistan over the weekend. At the same time, the coalition building process that has preceeded military action appeared to be nearing completion.

This means that military action against the Taliban and Osama bin Laden must not be far off, and US officials are issuing warnings that additional acts of terrorism are highly likely in the United States. It is also possible that US coalition partners may experience terrorist attacks as well.

At a Senate briefing Tuesday, one intelligence official stated that the chances of another attempt at a terror attack in this country were “100 percent,” and that it is likely to come when we attack Afghanistan.

Egyptian, Somali and Pakistani elements of the Al Quieda network are believed to be involved. Senator Richard Shelby, (R-Ala.) said, “we have to believe that there will be another attempt by a terrorist group to hit us again.”

Yesterday, a Florida man came down with pulmonary anthrax, but as yet there appear to have been no additional cases, and it remains possible that this rare event (only the first case in the US in 25 years) was a bizarre coincidence. However, government buildings in Washington, most notably the Capitol, are utilizing special air filtration systems designed to prevent bioagents from moving through their air conditioning systems.

The public remains woefully uninformed about this threat, and there is, of course, no way to know if the next attack will involve biological or chemical weapons, or take some other form.

To help in the education process, we have found a discussion forum for first responders, microbiologists and others on the front lines in any such attack. It is closed to nonprofessionals, but the public may read the posts. To do so, click here.

Thanks to listener Wes Thomas for information about this discussion group.

For CNN’S story about US troops on their way to the war zone, click here.

For the Washington Post article on the terror attack danger, click here.

NOTE: This news story, previously published on our old site, will have any links removed.