INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM Protecting Yourself and Others from a Martial Arts Standpoint By Gary Crawford

     What a world we are living in today!  As the threat of Al-Queda and other terrorists organizations continues to grow, we as Americans are becoming less concerned.

     Why is that?  Could it be because of the national political struggle that seems to get uglier everyday?  I think that has a lot to do with it.  It also has to do with our modern day mental programming.  Those of us who were born since 1950 have grown up with television, and what a marvel of entertainment it has become.  Before we had Television, people had to have real lives, that is not the case today.

     With all the channels available, you don't like what is on, change it.  I believe this choice has confused our sense of reality.  We have learned to dismiss the unpleasant realities of life. We change channels with the remote control without much thought or effort.

     Remember when the fighting first started in the first Gulf War?  We, for the first time got to watch it unfold on TV, since then the news has become entertainment for the most part.  Television media has become a political battle of who's version of the news is correct.  You don't like what FOX is reporting, change the channel to CNN, you don't like that one find another until you find one that suits you.  Unfortunately that's one of our biggest problems, a news story gets your attention, you want to know what really happened?  You have to wade through all of the media for days before figuring it out. Even then it's hard to be sure.

     September 11, 2001, aka 9/11, many of us have already forgotten or we think of it as just an old news story that we confuse with fiction.  It really happened folks!  The news media decided it was in our best interest to stop showing the pictures shortly afterwards.  They felt it was" too damaging" to our nation to continue.  They (the Media) believed we could all get past it and go on with our lives.  It is important to get on with our lives however leaving out the parts of our lives we consider too unpleasant is living a lie.  I would even use the term denial to describe this state of living.

     It is time to re-examine those threats and its sources.  We know terrorists have been taking photo's and videos of possible targets however this could be disinformation.   When it does happen again, we will be, as surprised as we were on 9-11.  The amount of intelligence we have gathered in the last three years is staggering.  We have information concerning possible attacks on industrial, financial, transportation, bridges and shopping centers somewhere in hometown middle America.

     There is intelligence that Terrorist could use these types of attacks.  A strong possibility of terrorists using passenger jets again.  There are several reports from around the world of possible terrorist groups making "dry runs" of assembling bombs on board commercial aircraft.  There is always the threat of chemical and biological weapons being used by terrorist groups.  I think this latter attack is the least likely to be pulled off on our soil.  There is the dirty bomb threat.  I don't think that one is very likely.  What is the most likely scenario?  I believe it to be the Suicide bomber.  This scenario is the hardest one to stop.  Why is this the hardest?  The Terrorist are getting harder to recognize especially since the discovery of "bra bombs".

     What can we as martial artists and regular Americans do?  Keep your eyes open to the fact that it could happen anywhere.  Be ready to react the moment you know what is happening.  When traveling on commercial aircraft there are certain things to watch out for:

• First whenever possible sit in the isle giving you a better chance of physically reaching any possible terrorists.
  
• Second is there an Air Marshal on board?  This could be relatively easy.  He or she will most likely be seated in an isle seat.  Wearing business type attire, clean cut, clean shaven, 35 yrs old or less due to federal regulations on being under 37 years old at time of employment.
  
• Third If the aircraft is taken over.  Do not make a move until he or she does, The Air Marshal may mistake you for a terrorists and shoot you.  If you are going to do something do it before the passengers are re-arranged.

     Terrorists will use fear and intimidation to their advantage.  They will most likely kill an innocent passenger or a flight attendant in front of all the passengers to initiate the intimidation.  They will then make all the women and children sit in the isle seats and the men next to the windows.

• Always look for possible weapons for you to use.   Since airport security won't let you board with conventional weapons, you will have to improvise.  Aboard the aircraft there are some useful weapons available.  There are fire extinguishers, laptop computers, cell phones, ink pens (great stilettos) and airline blankets.
  
• When it happens you must abandon the natural instinct of self-preservation.  Once you have reached to this point of response the "Kill or be Killed" mindset should be your focus.
  
• Don't give into hostage threats.  When a passenger or flight attendant is taken hostage, they should be considered dead.   I know that sounds cold, but if anyone is to survive, that's what has to be.

     So what can you do about backpack and suicide bombers?  Recognize the common behaviors and tactics.  You look for overly dressed people wearing bulky coats or jackets especially during warm weather, backpacks or heavy bags or briefcases.  They will most likely be Muslims.  These Muslims believe they will be rewarded for killing themselves and others in the name of Allah.  They will be nervous, sweating more than usual, darting eyes or keeping head down while mumbling to themselves quietly.  They may be watching out for someone that might think they look suspicious, looking at their watches more than usual and giving signals to people such as eyebrows or nodding of head, using hand signals or code words. They try to act like they don't know why you are watching them.

     When you do recognize one, you should alert the proper authorities if possible.   You should only kill them immediately and evacuate if no other options are valid.  This information is only dealing in possibilities.   Please keep in mind the middle eastern terrorists thinks differently than we do.  They are much more patient than we are.  The war we are fighting against terrorism is a Jihad to them.  1000 years is an acceptable time table for them to win.

     Fact: Terrorism will not be defeated in our lifetimes, but with our continued vigilance, it won't be won by them in our lifetimes either.

God Bless America!

Gary Crawford
Bluff City, Tennessee - USA
August 17th, 2004
gbuzz@chartertn.net

** A note from the webmaster **

     Gary has been a good friend of mine for many years now, so I thought I'd put this article he wrote online to make it more accessible to others - though it originally appeared in Mark E. Weiser's Strike First CSTC (Combat Safety Training Center) Newsletter.  (You can visit his site at strikefirstcstc.tripod.com )

     Gary gives very informative counter-terrorism seminars that are instructive to anyone - not just those involved in Martial Arts.  If you would be interested in possibly having him speak to your group, or perhaps purchasing a VHS or DVD copy of one of his seminars, why not contact him at gbuzz@chartertn.net?

Keep up the good work, Gary!

Mark Corder
McGraphics