Are you concerned about a terrorist attack during Barack Obama's inauguration?

Question US

Are you concerned about a terrorist attack during Barack Obama's inauguration?

by MT Chris Posted January 04, 2009 05:35:33

18 answers
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+3 raves

I apologize if this has been asked earlier, as it seems a likely consideration. I am attending the inauguration, but it is not without the fear of something potentially terrible happening. There seems to be many vulnerabilities including potential terrorists toting in bombs, dirty bombs, suitcase nukes, chemical weapons, etc. into a crowd of millions and much of our entire federal government. How concerned are you?

For example, I'm not the only one concerned. See this article:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-na-obama-in...

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	I am highly concerned about a terrorist attack at the inauguration event in Washington DC.
	I am concerned about a terrorist attack somewhere else to distract from the events of Washington DC.
	I'm not concerned about a terrorist threat, but another threat to persons at the inauguration (please explain)
	Dude! You worry way too much Madtown Chris. Take a chill pill.
	All of the above

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+1 raves
jeff January 14, 2009 14:05:13

Answered: I am highly concerned about a terrorist attack at the inauguration event in Washington DC.
I believe that Obama's special day will be a undeniable attraction for alot of radicals who want to cause chaos from racist radicals to Islamic radicals. If nothing happens on that day then we can reasonably believe these groups are impotent and we are safe from attack for the distant future.
MT Chris to jeff January 14, 2009 17:40:55

While I hope the second part of your answer is right, your premise that this is the number 1 terrorist target (which I agree with you) is not comforting. It appears Obama is not off to an easy start, with posters of Obama being burned on the streets of Iran and Al Qaeda calling for jihad against Obama since Obama hasn't taken sides in the Israeli/Palestinian bloodshed. Then, yes, there are plenty of domestic groups unaffiliated with radial Islam that would love to see Obama go down. Good job security for Secret Service in the near future.
mikebyrd January 07, 2009 05:19:39

Answered: All of the above
moderated...
+1 raves
YoungGrasshopper January 05, 2009 17:00:59

Answered: All of the above
I'm concerned of a threat, but I'm sure that the Secret Service and everyone else are on it like Spencer for Hire.

Plus, aside from being a suicide bomber, would you want to be the guy holding the gun in front of 1,000,000 hardcore Obama supporters? He'd be fortunate if they started by ripping his nuts off...
+1 raves
MT Chris to YoungGr... January 05, 2009 17:14:32

LOL!
+1 raves
concerned January 05, 2009 01:08:03

Answered: Dude! You worry way too much Madtown Chris. Take a chill pill.
most of the terriost are looking at israeli righ t now ...and if it dose happen it will be one of our own ...the repubulicans are the only ones mad ..right now
YoungGr... to concerned January 05, 2009 17:01:43

Don't put it past them.
concerned to YoungGr... January 06, 2009 03:27:34

who the repubulicans ....
+1 raves
cathy~COB "Love One Another" January 04, 2009 21:26:17

Answered: Dude! You worry way too much Madtown Chris. Take a chill pill.
Just enjoy the amazing event, Chris. It's impossible to predict the future.
+1 raves
skull January 04, 2009 20:51:29

Answered: Dude! You worry way too much Madtown Chris. Take a chill pill.
I more worried about American killing Obama .
+1 raves
Warren - Novus Ordo Seclorum January 04, 2009 16:14:16

Answered: Dude! You worry way too much Madtown Chris. Take a chill pill.
Your concerns are probably valid, but you should just go to the inauguration and enjoy yourself. Don't let fear consume you. Easy for me to say, but if I were in your shoes I would try to do the same.
+1 raves
Ally January 04, 2009 09:03:53

Answered: I am highly concerned about a terrorist attack at the inauguration event in Washington DC.
Yea, I'm concerned. It's not just his inauguration, but I'm also concern for the people who will be attending the inauguration. Innocent people could be at stake, and well, let's hope for the best.
Faith ~American Patriot~ January 04, 2009 06:56:44

Answered: I'm not concerned about a terrorist threat, but another threat to persons at the inauguration (please explain)
Why would terrorists attack one of their own? obama has already shown that he will befriend them, they have nothing to worry about, he'll let them do whatever the hell they want. He doesn't care about this country, why should they?
MT Chris to Faith ~... January 04, 2009 07:00:05

Ok, I'm not going to argue your points, but putting your personal dislike of Obama aside, do you really think the terrorism threat is over? And do you really think Obama's foreign policy team would change all that much from the Bush administration (for better or for worse)?
Faith ~... to MT Chris January 04, 2009 07:19:07

I think that the terrorism threat will only get worse once obama is in office, but I don't think they will attack him directly. I don't think obama's team will make much of a difference once obama is done with us.
+1 raves
MT Chris to Faith ~... January 04, 2009 07:36:16

I guess we are both worry worts, but for different reasons. I suspect Obama, based on his foreign policy team (Robert Gates, James Jones, Clinton, etc), will not be a wimp. In fact, my concern, as a self-described liberal myself, is that he'll be quite hawkish and follow many of the same neo-conservative policies that have pervaded American foreign policy for decades. I suspect terrorists will get no free ride, but since one can argue that American foreign policy is often inflammatory towards terrorists causes, that this may continue to be a concern during the Obama administration. For example, Obama has an ambitious agenda in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and many potential future NATO countries in the Caucases and Asian territories adjacent to Russia and China. One need only consult our agenda in Afghanistan against the Soviets in 1980 to recognize all of the future decades of job security we gave our security, intelligence, and military operations.
Faith ~... to MT Chris January 04, 2009 07:48:20

I think that his team may be strong, but obama is a wimp. He is friends with terrorists and has family, who he has supported, who are terrorists. I just don't see him being hard on these kind of people.
MT Chris to Faith ~... January 07, 2009 02:22:09 (edited)

Ummmmm.....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20...
Faith ~... to MT Chris January 07, 2009 03:50:35

What is your point?
MT Chris to Faith ~... January 07, 2009 04:28:08

You have repeatedly claimed Obama and terrorists are a bit of a team, including the statement "Why would terrorists attack one of their own? " Yet, the reality of the situation, according to the latest tape from Al Qaeda #2 is as follows:
"This is Obama whom the American machine of lies tried to portray as the rescuer who will change the policy of America," al-Zawahiri said, according to SITE. "He kills your brothers and sisters in Gaza mercilessly and without affection."

Later al-Zawahiri calls for jihad against all of these "perpetrators". In other words, that doesn't look like a friendship to me.
Faith ~... to MT Chris January 07, 2009 04:36:46

Uh, you do know that there are different terrorists in different countries, and they aren't all friends...right?
obama's friends are awful, some are terrorist and some are not. Either way, they are NOT people POTUS should be friends with
Tony Rezko
Nadhmi Auchi
Allison Davis
Raila Odinga
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga
Abongo “Roy” Obama
Abdulkader Al Bakri
Frank Marshall Davis
Bernardine Dohrn
William Ayers
Saul Alinksy
George Soros
Rep. Jan Schakowsky
Robert Creamer
Rev. Jeremiah Wright
Louis Farrakhan
Mohammar Kaddafy
Bernie Sanders
Mike Kruglik
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
Saul Mendelson
Khaleel Ahmed
Zubair A. Ahmed
Talat M. Othman
Rashid Khalidi
Cornell West
Malik Zulu Shabazz
Robert Malley
Harold Koh
Frank Davis
Al Sharpton
MT Chris to Faith ~... January 07, 2009 04:45:46 (edited)

If we played guilt by association with every single person in politics, or every single person in the world, there wouldn't be a single person left standing. Guaranteed. But back to the names above. Most of the names listed above, allegedly close associates of Obama, actually have tenuous connections, and a lot of the accusations and charges leveled against many of them are blown out of proportion. This, in my opinion, is not a fair way to treat a human being, nor do I think it is an accurate portrayal of Obama. Back to the terrorist links. The terrorism links in the above list are extremely tenuous and not fair in my opinion. Just because Khalidi is pro Palestine or because neighbor Ayers did some rather major vandalism acts in the late 60s doesn't imply Obama is friends with terrorists, in fact in the words of Republican-funded Ayers himself, they aren't close friends. That aside, let's face it, the most pressing terrorist threat to the US (that we're obviously thinking about in this poll) is Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda and Obama are obviously major enemies.
Faith ~... to MT Chris January 07, 2009 04:50:29

Keep making those excuses. If you have an original thought of your own, let me know.
MT Chris to Faith ~... January 07, 2009 05:01:58

Just trying to have a healthy debate!
Faith ~... to MT Chris January 07, 2009 05:16:51

No, you are making excuses. If McCain was friends with ANY of these people, all hell would break loose. obama has made excuses for everything that has come out. Rev. Wright, a man who was his mentor was thrown under the bus. His grandmomther was thrown under the bus. Ayers was thrown under the bus. Odinga was thrown under the bus. Any friend of obama's that we find out about, he throws under the bus.
MT Chris to Faith ~... January 07, 2009 05:38:48 (edited)

McCain has plenty of "questionable" associations, but I honestly respect the guy and I don't think it is fair to judge McCain by his associations. In my opinion, we have to judge someone's character primarily on who they are. I believe both McCain and Obama are quality individuals, although neither two are perfect (actually, far from perfect), but I feel either one has the ability to lead the country. I disagree that Obama threw his grandmother under the bus - I thought his example was actually a valid and good one. But you might be right on Wright (rhyme not intended), in my opinion. That was an unfortunate situation, but I do think Obama played the politically safe option on that. As for Ayers, I still don't think Obama necessarily did anything wrong. If you haven't heard any of the recent interviews by Ayers since the election ended, I recommend them. They are quite eye-opening, and it was especially clear to me after hearing Ayers that those two really were never close and what Obama said was largely true. I mean, if Ayers was thrown under a bus, wouldn't Ayers be a little pissed and more candid about his feelings in his post-election interviews? That all said, Obama has been a little too "political" at times on his dealings with associations, and I can see why th...

McCain has plenty of "questionable" associations, but I honestly respect the guy and I don't think it is fair to judge McCain by his associations. In my opinion, we have to judge someone's character primarily on who they are. I believe both McCain and Obama are quality individuals, although neither two are perfect (actually, far from perfect), but I feel either one has the ability to lead the country. I disagree that Obama threw his grandmother under the bus - I thought his example was actually a valid and good one. But you might be right on Wright (rhyme not intended), in my opinion. That was an unfortunate situation, but I do think Obama played the politically safe option on that. As for Ayers, I still don't think Obama necessarily did anything wrong. If you haven't heard any of the recent interviews by Ayers since the election ended, I recommend them. They are quite eye-opening, and it was especially clear to me after hearing Ayers that those two really were never close and what Obama said was largely true. I mean, if Ayers was thrown under a bus, wouldn't Ayers be a little pissed and more candid about his feelings in his post-election interviews? That all said, Obama has been a little too "political" at times on his dealings with associations, and I can see why that irks people (myself included), so I don't want to religiously defend him at all costs. He's definitely not perfect, but I honestly believe he's a quality leader.
(more)
Faith ~... to MT Chris January 07, 2009 06:13:30

McCain had ONE shady friend and he got torn apart because of it. His friends SHOW his character!! obama has no experience and has never led ANYTHING!!!! Calling his grandmother a typical white person is racist and throwing her under the bus. obama and Ayers have been friends for years. HE HAS NEVER LED ANYTHING AND HAS NO ACCOMPLISHMENT IN CONGRESS!! He is a liar, a racist and a sorry excuse for a "man".
+1 raves
bookfan to Faith ~... January 05, 2009 22:52:08

Well said. Although I wouldn't put ANYTHING past terrorists-even killing one of their
own. After all, they think they're doing them a favor by sending them to paradise
with what, 70 or 72 virgins?
Faith ~... to bookfan January 06, 2009 03:52:10

Very good point. Terrorists die for "the cause" all the time.
MT Chris to bookfan January 07, 2009 02:21:43

You can't be serious. Just this today:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20...
+1 raves
Lynn \m/ January 04, 2009 06:41:42

$Lynn \m/$
Answered: Dude! You worry way too much Madtown Chris. Take a chill pill.
maybe later in his reign....
+1 raves
~ Health Care~ Success to A... January 04, 2009 06:32:00

Answered: Dude! You worry way too much Madtown Chris. Take a chill pill.
When Osama bombed the WTC, he stated that he would bring the US to its knees.
That one single act will keep us in fear of another attack for a hundred years, and we will spend ourselves into bankruptcy trying to prevent another attack that will never come. The inauguration will be safe, and this country will be safe, fear not.
+1 raves
MT Chris to ~ Healt... January 04, 2009 06:35:26

The whole concept of letting fear ruin my plans is exactly why I will be defiant and attend. It is fear that is evil and letting fear win will let terrorism win. Good points and thanks for the answer.
frankie January 04, 2009 05:39:14

Answered: Dude! You worry way too much Madtown Chris. Take a chill pill.
The terrorists seem to like him too much. They probably are happy he is in so they can see what they can get away with while he is in office. I think the inauguration will be safe.
MT Chris to frankie January 04, 2009 05:59:36

I don't think terrorists discriminate on partisan politics. I would imagine Americans are just as much in danger of a terrorist attack as they were before Democrats assumed control of two branches of government. Little has changed in US foreign policy toward anything less inflammatory. Little has changed in the minds of extreme ideologues that wish harm upon Americans. I would imagine the inauguration is a golden opportunity for terrorists, but I obviously hope their dream is not realized.
+1 raves
frankie to MT Chris January 04, 2009 06:14:44

Well, here is what I was thinking. No matter how many times Barack Obama says he isn't a Muslim, there are going to be people out there who don't believe him. I'm not talking about just Americans not believing him. I am talking about other countries not believing him either. For this reason, those countries who are majority Muslim and dislike America, could see this as an opportunity to set in motion any future plans they may have to attack America. I really think they will try to see what they can get away with first, before they go attacking again. You're right though. The inauguration would be the prime spot for an attack, but I think it would be too obvious and expected. Terrorists aren't usually that obvious. They seem to have a habit of getting us when we least expect it. I just think that if they plan on attacking us at all during his term, they will wait a bit to see how he proves himself.

I live in a DC suburb, so even though I don't believe there will be an attack, I am certainly still praying that there won't be. I'd be more concerned with how the heck they are going to get that many people in the city! I think they will eventually stop letting people in, that is how crowded it will be. The metro (DC's subway) has been practicing for about a month now to see how they will be able to handle it. Now THAT is something you should be concerned with!! :)
+1 raves
MT Chris to frankie January 04, 2009 06:18:49

Cool. Thanks for your answer and I think that's a well reasoned line of thinking.

Now, I hope more people participate in this poll because I'm curious to see what a large number of people think.
+1 raves
frankie to MT Chris January 04, 2009 06:26:02

I hope so too!

Have a good time at the inauguration! You are much more brave than I am! It wouldn't matter who was getting inaugurated, I still wouldn't brave that crowd!! :)
No More... to MT Chris January 04, 2009 06:17:43

The only difference I see is the terrorist have already made it know they are not afraid of Obama. They are glad that George " I'll Kick Your Ass " Bush is gone.
Looking at whats going on it seems Hamas has gotten a large portion of Israel army at the Gaza Strip. Does this make them vulnerable to attack from others? The days following Jan 20 will certainly be stressfull. Hopefully nothing happens.
MT Chris to No More... January 04, 2009 06:23:47

That's a valid aspect you bring up. I know Biden got flack for this, but it is true that many foreign powers, including terrorists, will probably test Obama in a multitude of expected and unexpected ways. We shall see how the response goes. I imagine the terrorism threat will continue. (Personally, I'm more worried about our foreign policy with respect to NATO vs. Russia and Asian energy geopolitics, but terrorism will be nothing to sneeze at either in the coming decades.)