The mix of jubilation and relief many felt after hearing that Osama bin Laden had been killed was short-lived when the country was put on high alert in anticipation of a potential attack of retribution.
“A senior Pentagon official said late Sunday that military bases in the United States and around the world were ordered to a higher state of readiness,” The New York Times reported. “The State Department issued a worldwide travel warning, urging Americans in volatile areas ‘to limit their travel outside of their homes and hotels and avoid mass gatherings and demonstrations.’”
Everyone from politicians to pundits sent the same divergent messages: ‘Hallelujah, Osama is gone,’ quickly followed by, ‘Watch out, there are more like him!’
“I believe the public announcement of the fear of such an attack was a political tactic in some way,” said South Loop resident Hannah Knipping. Keep people afraid or on guard so that if the U.S. government needs to take quick and drastic action, it’s justifiable, she said. “I feel like the same thing happened with the Bush administration after 9/11.”
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security wrote in a bulletin, “Bin Laden’s death may provide justification for radicalized individuals to rapidly mobilize for attacks here.”
The fear of radicalized, homegrown terrorists is unfounded, said Christina Abraham, the civil rights director at CAIR-Chicago.
“The trend in the American Muslim community is integration not extremism,” she said. Officials need to “look at real identifying factors when investigating terrorism in the U.S., not indict the Muslim community as a whole.”
I too thought the conversation around retaliation was a bit hysterical. Couldn’t we just enjoy a moment of peace and calm after catching the big bad wolf supposedly to blame for much of our national security anxieties? Apparently not.
Chicago armored up, just in case: “While there is no known terrorist threat in the City of Chicago,” read a press release, “public safety personnel will continue to remain vigilant, monitor the City’s extensive surveillance camera network and maintain a visible presence to protect residents and visitors.”
The Chicago police department, fire department and department of aviation were put on high alert. “The police are still on high alert and in full uniform until further notice,” said Roderick Drew, the director of the Chicago police department’s office of news affairs.
I asked Drew if, with all the increased security, there were any real, identifiable threats in the days following bin Laden’s death.
“No, absolutely none,” Drew said.
