Teacher Assigns Students To Plan Terror Attack

Throughout my 17 years in the security industry and 14 in the military, I have taken more than a few courses in Counter-Terrorism and Terrorism Awareness. The purpose of these courses was to learn about how terrorist attacks are planed as well as how to stop them in a proactive manner.
In some of these courses, as well as the Terrorism Awareness for the Security Professional that we teach, the classes been broken up into groups and been instructed to develop a viable plan for a terrorist attack. One of the big differences between having Security and Law Enforcement professionals do this verses having students do it, is that they are professionals in the industry and a security background check it preformed BEFORE the course begins.
The idea behind it is to teach the student to “think outside the box”. I believe that there are other ways to get students today to think outside the box, than to have them plan terrorist attacks. I am glad to see that the Principal withdrew the assignment as soon as he heard of it.

Published : Wednesday, 25 Aug 2010, 6:16 AM EDT
NewsCore - Students at an Australian school were asked to plan a terrorist attack "to kill the MOST innocent civilians in order to get your message across" as part of a class assignment, Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported Wednesday.The society and environment teacher at Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community High School in Western Australia asked Year 10 students -- aged about 16 -- to pretend they were a terrorist planning a chemical or biological attack in Australia.

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/international/teacher-assigns-students-to-plan-terror-attack-20100825-newscore

Can you help fight terrorism?

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 79% of U.S. voters now think it is likely there will be another terrorist attack in the United States in the next year.

Is this really a surprise? Any time a “terrorist” attack is attempted in the United States, whether it succeeds or not, the public feels threatened. That is the goal of terrorism. To bring terror to people.
The FBI defines Terrorism as:
“The unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a Government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.”

Terrorists do not think of themselves as terrorists. You may have heard the phrase “One mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter”. By the definition of the FBI, some “Patriots” during the American Revolution were terrorists. We need to understand this, to help us understand where some of the attackers are coming from.

Now, if the attack is outside of the US, then our perceived level of threat is much lower yet in some ways, it should be even higher. If a terrorist attack is successful overseas, then the terrorists have found an operation that works. An operation that can now be applied inside the United States.

Due to the recent attempt by a Nigerian suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who attempted to blow up Northwest Airlines flight 253, a Delta-owned Airbus 330, as it approached Detroit on a flight from Amsterdam over Christmas, our perceived threat level has risen. We see the lines at the airport and read about how TSA and the US Government is keeping us safe and yet we still have attempts and successful breaches of our vaunted transportation security. What needs to be understood, is how many attacks have been foiled by our Intelligence agencies. The FBI inside the US and the CIA, NSA and others elsewhere.

One of the greatest assets that we have when it comes to fighting terrorism in the Unites States is YOU. Yes, you. If you keep your eyes and ears open, you might catch the one little clue that will help our Law Enforcement stop an attack. Everyone pays attention once an attack has occurred, or when a recent attack was foiled, but we need to be even more vigilant during times of calm. Listed below are 7 Signs of possible terrorist attack. They are not all the indicators, but they are the basic ones that you can be aware of on a daily basis.

1. Surveillance
The first sign is someone trying to monitor or record activities. If terrorists are targeting a specific area they will most likely be observed in that area during the planning phase of the operation. Terrorists will attempt to determine the strengths, weaknesses, and number of personnel that may respond to an incident. Routes to and from the target are usually established during the surveillance phase. It is important to note suspicious actions such as someone using cameras (still or video), drawing diagrams or annotating on maps, using vision-enhancing devices, and being in possession of floor plans or blueprints of places such as high-tech firms, financial institutions, or government/military facilities. Any of these surveillance type acts MAY be an indicator that something is not right and should be reported immediately. Nothing is too insignificant.

2. Seeking Information
The second sign is the attempt to gain information though inquiries. This includes anyone attempting to gain information about a place, person or operation. Elicitation attempts can be made by mail, fax, telephone, or in person. Examples would be someone inquiring about a critical infrastructure like a power plant, water reservoir or a maritime port. Terrorists may attempt to research bridge and tunnel usage, make unusual inquiries concerning shipments or look into how a facility such as a hospital operates. They may also attempt to place “key” people in sensitive work locations to gain intelligence.

3. Tests Of Security
Tests of security or probing are techniques terrorists would use to attempt to gather data. These are usually conducted by driving past or even penetrating the target, moving into sensitive areas, and observing security or law enforcement response. Specific areas of interest to terrorists would include how long it takes security or law enforcement to respond to an incident, number of responding personnel, or the routes taken to a specific location. Terrorists may also try to penetrate physical security barriers or test the response procedures in order to assess strengths and weaknesses. Vehicles may be parked for unusually long periods of time, sometimes in no parking areas, as a test of security.

4. Acquiring Supplies
This may be a case where someone is purchasing or stealing explosives, weapons or ammunition. It could be the unusual purchasing or storing of fertilizer or harmful chemicals. Terrorists would also find it useful to acquire law enforcement equipment and identification, military uniforms and decals, as well as flight passes, badges or even flight manuals. Terrorists often use false or stolen identification documents including passports and driver licenses. They may try to produce counterfeit identification by photocopying. Any of these items would make it easier to gain entrance to secured or usually prohibited areas. Anyone wearing a uniform should have the proper identification on them.

5. Suspicious People Who Do Not Belong
Another pre-incident indicator is observing suspicious people who just don’t belong. This includes suspicious border crossings, stowaways aboard a ship or people jumping ship in a port. It could be someone in a workplace, building, neighborhood or business establishment who does not fit in because of their demeanor or unusual questions he/she is asking, or statement they make. This does not mean we should profile individuals, but it does mean we should profile behaviors.

6. Dry Run - Trial Run
Another sign to watch is for “dry runs.” Before the execution of the final operation or plan, a practice session will be run to work out the flaws and unanticipated problems. This is especially true when planning a kidnapping but it can also pertain to bombings. A dry run may be the heart of the planning stage of a terrorist act. If you find someone monitoring a police radio frequency and recording emergency response times, you may be observing a dry run. Multiple dry runs may be conducted at or near the target to gain intelligence.

7. Deploying Assets – Getting Into Position
The seventh and final sign to look for is someone deploying assets or getting into position. This is your last chance to alert authorities before the terrorist act occurs. It is also important to remember that pre-incident indicators may come months or even years apart. Therefore, it is extremely important to document every fragment of information, no matter how insignificant it may appear, and forward this information to your state Police Department of Federal Bureau of Investigation.


As the passengers on Flight 253 did, we all need to be ready to act. Taking action could be notifying Law Enforcement if something does not seem right, it could be helping those that are hurt or it could be stepping up and stopping an attack when we see it.

Stay safe!