DHS Spread Fear of Al-Qaeda Attack on Lollapalooza 2013

Over the weekend, the US closed embassies in 22 countries due to an alleged threat by senior Al-Qaeda operatives, which the Obama administration refuses to specifically cite. When no attack occurred, the embassy closures were extended throughout the week. The source of the intel was supposedly an intercepted message, which could suggest that the embassy closures were a form of security theater aimed at justifying the National Security Agency’s email spying program. In fact, the terror threat’s credibility is so suspect that even Fox News is questioning whether or not the embassy closures were an overreaction.

Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security warned Chicago area officials that Al-Qaeda could attack the Lollapalooza 2013 concert using surgically implanted bombs. As a result, city officials ramped up security at the three-day event, which was attended by record crowds. No terrorist attack took place at the concert. Was Al-Qaeda really planning an attack on US embassies and Lollapalooza 2013, or was this all just a ruse aimed at providing the first example of a threat “thwarted” by the NSA’s email spying program?

Al-Qaeda Versus Vampire Weekend

It sounds like the plot of a blockbuster Hollywood movie — vicious Al-Qaeda terrorists, located deep in a subterranean compound, draw up a plan to unleash surgical bombs on Lollapalooza 2013, potentially harming thousands of concertgoers and artists like Nine Inch Nails, The Cure, Vampire Weekend, and The Killers. However, the concert was attended by record crowds, and, other than the occasional streaker, nothing remotely terrifying took place.

The US embassy closures didn’t inspire much fear in the American public, nor did any attacks occur. The original message that allegedly justified the extra security has not been published and may not even exist. The US did, however, carry out a drone strike in Yemen today, just as American personnel were being evacuated from the country. People in Yemen might reasonably believe that the US has just launched a full-blown war against them, given the circumstances.

Threat Rationale: Calendar Dates

Officials believe that Al-Qaeda might attack sometime during the week, since Ramadan ends on August 7th, which is also the anniversary of the launch of Operation Desert Shield and 1998′s East Africa embassy bombings. This means that the terror alert is still in full force throughout today and tomorrow.

Could it be that intelligence officials are getting a little creative with excuses to ramp up security? Those are certainly significant dates in history, but is it realistic to think that these decades-old events are symbolically important enough to inspire terrorists to attack alternative rock festival concerts in the US? Meanwhile, the government continues providing Al-Qaeda with a recruitment tool by punishing third-world nations with erratic drone strikes that often kill innocents, including children.

The United States is, from a military standpoint, the most powerful nation in the history of the planet Earth. It’s high time we stop living in fear. Terrorist attacks do occur, and always have throughout history, but very rarely. Now that the National Security Agency is spying on Americans’ emails and people are being felt up for Al-Qaeda implanted surgical bombs on their way into Lollapalooza 2013, it’s time to ask ourselves, did the terrorists already win?

The best way to beat terrorism is to live free of fear.

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