FBI BULLETIN: LOOKOUT FOR SUICIDE BOMBERS INSIDE THE U.S.

May 20, 2004
Drudge Report

Warns Officials To Look for People Wearing Bulky Jackets on Warm Days; Smell of Chemicals; Trailing Wires from Jackets Bombers May Disguise Selves As Pregnant Women

New York - The FBI has disseminated to 18,000 law enforcement agencies an intelligence bulletin advising police officials to be on the lookout for suicide bombers attempting to strike inside the US, TIME's Elaine Shannon reports today on TIME.com. The lightly classsified bulletin, headlined "Possible suicide bomber indicators," and circulated earlier today (May 20) via the FBI's secure Law Enforcement Online (LEO) Intranet, warns local badge-carriers to look for obvious signs of trouble - people wearing heavy, bulky jackets on warm days, smelling of chemicals, trailing wires from their jackets - and, as well, more subtle ones, such as tightly clenched fists. Someone who never shows his palms could be gripping a detonator rigged to go off when a button is released. "If you shoot him, you're still not safe because his hands relax and the bomb explodes," says a counter-terrorism official, TIME reports.

The FBI bulletin also notes that suicide bombers may disguise themselves in stolen military, police or firefighter's garb or as pregnant women, TIME reports.

Commentary:
This is an issue that has long been a concern for citizens in Israel. That country has responded by encouraging citizens to be trained in defensive firearms use. Here is one example of how such action saves lives:

Alert customer shoots terrorist in Efrat supermarket

An alert customer shot dead a terrorist who tried to set off an explosive device in a supermarket a few minutes ago in Efrat. The town is in Gush Etzion, a block of Jewish communities in Judea, south of Bethlehem.

At least one small explosion did take place, leaving one customer lightly wounded but causing no casualties, said Jerusalem Post reporter Margot Dudkevitch. Nails from one of the explosions littered the floor.

Further tragedy was averted when a woman shopping in the packed supermarket
apparently saw the terrorist trying to set off a second explosion and shot
him twice in the head from close range.

The FBI has also issued warnings that terrorists plan to target American shopping malls and city busses. And yet some mall managers would rather disarm their customers than allow a law to work that just might save the lives of countless people should an attacker attempt to detonate an explosive. In addition, some public transportation bureaucrats seem intent on violating state law by extending bans beyond what is allowed by Section 9 of House Bill 12.

Given the fact that the millions upon millions of CHL-holders in our nation are known as the most law-abiding of citizens, while terrorists continue to prove their exhibit their desire to murder innocent Americans at will, why are some Ohioans more concerned about law-abiding citizens than they are about terrorists?

Click here for more on how Ohio's new CHL law is important to protecting Homeland Security.