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| Militant stand triumphant at the US Embassy in Benghazi, Libya |
Nearly a year ago, on the
anniversary of one of the most brutal attacks ever to take place on American
soil we were once again the victims of premeditated violence in Benghazi,
Libya. The attack left us with four dead Americans and plenty of questions. The
four dead left us honorably in the service of a country that owes them more
than most are willing to admit and they will go down in history as martyrs for
the American way of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Only a few
short weeks ago numerous credible threats arose in the Middle East from various
terrorist organizations wanting to attack a number of embassies at the same
time. Following the brutal attack in Libya the year before the State Department
took appropriate action and directed the embassies to reassess their security
situations and make the necessary adjustments even up to closing for a short
period of time. Some merely adjusted patrols and gate details while others
closed or limited traffic within their compounds but ultimately the attack didn’t
happen and there was a temporary sigh of relief.
Following
the media announcement of the threat and the potential closures of embassies
throughout the Middle East I was engaged in a heated debate online over whether
or not the State Department’s actions following the threats could be considered
cowardice. Not being one to immediately call Americans, whether they are or
aren’t, cowards I jumped into the conversation to defend our honor. My antagonist
claimed that the actions of the State Department were akin to running and
hiding when we should be standing proudly and boldly against the threat.
Although I share in his enthusiasm about Americans standing boldly against our
enemies in the face of sure danger I believe there is a balance to it. One that
shouldn’t be taken lightly. His jab that their actions were, “inviting the
terrorists to come here [to America] and attack us” was one that embellished
and inaccurate.
I do
not intend to debate about the causes of Benghazi or who was to blame for it since
I have a stronger opinion about the situation than most. What I do intend to do
is clearly explain why the State Department took the proper actions in the face
of these credible threats and why they are not acting cowardly. The difference
between cowardice and preparedness is nothing more than controlling your fear
and understanding the threat. Embassies receive threats on a daily basis and
luckily most of them are benign. These small pieces of American government
operate daily in the face of possible annihilation knowing full well the
dangers involved in being there. They don’t duck and run without good reason so
I would like to explain the typical threat analysis process that most
government agencies utilize and how you as a civilian can apply the same
process.
Most
people call people that prepare for danger “paranoid” or “delusional” until
that moment that their preparation pays off and they are temporarily redeemed.
The biggest difference between an actual paranoid and a person who is properly
prepared is the context of the threat. Paranoids will jump at anything and many
of these people could easily be called cowards. A wise person on the other hand
understands credible threats and incredible threats and how to properly prepare
for them.
Very
few people expect bad things to happen to them on a daily basis. Driving to
work, mowing the lawn, taking a morning job or any other regular event will
often pass without any thought to the potential threats lurking around the
corner. Most think of threats as foreign events outside their local
environment. It’s a “out of mind, out of sight” mentality and although they
might go their whole lives without an incident they will surely regret not
preparing if something happens. The thing about daily routines is that each
event contained in the routine requires a level of preparedness that is proportional
to the likelihood of that threat occurring. Understanding threats, researching
them, planning for them and then reassessing should be done regularly for
anyone one no matter where they are or what they’re doing. This process will
keep them safe and secure in the event of a danger.
1. IDENTIFY THE THREAT
Most daily routines require little preparedness
because the likelihood of that threat is next to nothing. However, if there is
a measureable level of danger then there are precautions that should be made.
Each task should be given a general assessment of potential dangers by
beginning with your own experiences. Driving a vehicle is something that most
people can relate to and in almost every case either you or someone you know
has been in a car collision. Have you or a friend experienced a flat tire, a
car maintenance issue or maybe even something as simple as running out of gas?
These items should be the first items on your list and then you can move onto
items that you know can occur but have never experienced. Once you’ve collected
a list of threats you start to put them in order of most likely to occur;
throwing out the ones that are either impossible or just highly unlikely.
2. RESEARCH THE THREAT
The threat list can then be either
solidified or trimmed with proper research. Take the time to find out the statistics
surrounding the threats. Look for roads, intersections and areas that are
problematic or types of cars that exhibit regular maintenance problems. Identify
manufacture’s recalls and potential weather obstacles to the kind of vehicle
you drive. Knowing how your car works and how to do simple maintenance could be
the difference between being stuck on the side of the road and getting home.
There can never be too much research regarding the dangers around each of us.
Of all the steps this is the one that will be most important because the more
that is done the better you will understand and be able to prepare for them.
Research is also the first step to
taking a real action towards protecting yourself. Upon buying our new house my
wife and I did research on crime rates and punitive statistics in the area. We looked
at recent and past amber alerts as well as identified flagged and potentially
dangerous criminals living in the area. There are a number of places online
that provide regular and up to date statistics. Many government agencies to
include Homeland Security, FBI and CDC come out with annual national reports
that cover a number of different items. For more specific regional issues you
can contact local and state police as well as numerous websites dedicated to
statistics.
3. PLANNING FOR THE THREAT
Once the threat is identified and
researched you can begin to plan a proper course of action. Knowing the
dangerous roads, intersections and areas will give you the opportunity to
either avoid them or be exceptionally aware when passing through them.
Installing general use emergency equipment in your car such as fire extinguishers
and first aid kits will prepare you for a number of potential vehicle dangers. Planning
for flat tires, maintenance problems and similar issues keeps you and your
vehicle rolling down the road.
4. REASSESSING THE THREAT
Reassessing is actually a two part
step and with any luck you will likely only ever have to perform the first part
of it. Once you’ve identified, researched and planned it can’t just be ignored.
Each threat has the potential to change and become a threat again. Statistics,
safety ratings, vehicle recalls and other factors change on a regular basis
requiring you have to revisit and readjust your plans as necessary. Vehicles
age, gain miles and ultimately get worse with time making your daily commute
more dangerous daily. Reassessing that threat regularly at you three, six month
or annual car check-up will allow you to make alterations.
The second part of this step is
usually following an event in which despite your proper planning you’ve ended
up in a bad situation. Unfortunately that happen but the great thing is that no
matter what happens you can use it as a learning experience. Gather as much
data and experience from it as you can and apply it towards the next time so
that you can be better prepared and maybe even prevent it from happening. I
believe this step is the one step that is crucial to preventing repeat events.
It is this very step that adds wisdom to the State Department’s decision
following the more recent threats. They learned from Benghazi and despite the
arguments they made the safe call based on previous experiences.
Identifying the threats,
researching them, planning for them and reassessing regularly is the best way
to keep yourself and your family safe from any threat. This process can be
applied to nearly any potential danger and it is guaranteed to help. Remember
that if you follow these steps you’re acting on credible threats and you are
performing wisely. Cowardice are those that run and hide without thinking and
paranoids are those that can’t control their fears. We are Jack of All Spades
and we are prepared.
