|
Breaking News Stories
These are news stories filed after the publishing of this Word
from.
Dangerous Holy Men
Pat Robertson Predicts 'Mass Killing'
In U.S.
Shannon McCann
On Pat Robertson's television show "The 700 Club" he predicted that
there would be a terrorist attack that would result in "mass killing" in
the United States in late 2007. He further clarified this position with
"the Lord didn't say nuclear. But, I do believe it will be something
like that." Robertson says that he develops his predictions during
prayer retreats when God speaks to him.
Pat Robertson has a long history of making controversial statements on a
wide variety of subjects. Among some of his more memorable claims: in
1985, he said that he used his powers of prayer to steer Hurricane
Gloria away from Virginia Beach, Virginia and his company's
headquarters. In 1998, he stated that allowing "Gay Days" to occur at
Disney World could result in variety of natural disasters to strike
Orlando, Florida, including the possibility of a meteor strike. In 2005,
He told Dover, Pennsylvania residents "if there is a disaster in your
area, don’t turn to god." This was due to the fact that the school board
in the town had rejected the idea of teaching the intelligent design
theory in its public schools. Also in 2005, he called for the United
States to assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. A statement he
later denied making.
He has regularly made broad statements condemning the Muslim religion,
certain Israeli leaders, and even some denominations of the Christian
faith. He once called Scotland a "dark land overrun by homosexuals."
Possibly, his most controversial statements involve his public support
of Liberian President Charles Taylor. In 2003, Robertson was very
critical of the Bush administration for its support of removing Charles
Taylor from power in Liberia on his television show. During these
criticisms, Robertson failed to mention that he had invested $8 million
in a Liberian gold mine. Taylor is not the only African dictator that
Robertson has supported over the years. In 1993/1994, Robertson
established the African Development Corporation in Zaire. This venture
was supported by the dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.
And, of course, there was Robertson's 1988 presidential bid. His run for
the Republican nomination started off very well when he finished second
in the Iowa caucus. But, he was unable to take advantage of this
momentum and dropped out of the race before the end of the primaries.
Many of his outrageous statements seem to be nothing more than attempts
to focus attention and publicity toward his cable television network and
specifically his show, The 700 Club. He regularly makes predictions
after prayer retreats, but most of these are ambiguous. This is not the
first time Robertson has predicted a coming calamity. In 1996 he
predicted "a great disaster," following up with “I think it's the U.S.,
but, I don't know."
So, should we be more fearful of a terrorist attack this year because
God told Pat Robertson that an attack will occur? On May 17, 2006
Robertson elaborated on an earlier 2006 prediction that "there well may
be something as bad as a tsunami in the Pacific Northwest." Of course,
there was no tsunami to hit the U.S. in 2006. And, even though
Robertson's powers of prayer successfully steered Hurricane Gloria away
from Virginia Beach in 1985, it was not enough to change the path of
Hurricane Isabel which struck Virginian Beach in 2003. Had Robertson
made this "mass killing" prediction at the beginning of 2001 when a
large scale terrorist attack in the U.S. was still inconceivable in most
people's mind, then his current prophesies would be much more chilling.
The problem with discounting completely these predictions is the fact
that both a nuclear attack on a major city in the U.S. and a tsunami
event in the pacific are very real and distinct threats. As witnessed by
the 2004 Asian tsunami, mankind is not prepared to handle an event of
this magnitude. And, although we have spent billions on homeland
security following the 9/11/2001 attacks; the threat of a major
terrorist attack against the United States remains a very real and
credible possibility.
Even more sobering is the fact that the Associated Press reported on
Tuesday that a federal report states that only six American cities are
ready to handle a major disaster. And, two of these cities, Laramie
County, Wyoming and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, are probably not at the
top of a terrorist's target list.
Among the five cities with the lowest scores in this report is Chicago,
Illinois. As one of the nation's five largest cities with a world known
landmark, The Sears Tower, Chicago is a prime target for a major
terrorist attack. Yet, this report rates the city's ability to
coordinate and communicate in the event of a major disaster as one of
the worst in the study.
Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications issued a
statement "we strongly disagree with the results of this study, and feel
that the parameters of the study were inconsistent and limited." Instead
of examining the "parameters" used in the study, the city should instead
welcome all criticism as good in order to continue to improve procedures
and processes. All focus should always be on improvement, no city wants
to be the next New Orleans.
Although, I would love to completely discount Pat Robertson's present
prediction, the bottom line is that it is a very real possibility. There
are thousands of shipping containers entering the United States every
day. Any one of these poses the risk of containing nuclear material.
Unfortunately, the threat of a "dirty bomb" made from nuclear waste is
another very real possibility, although the net result of an attack of
this kind is unknown.
And, as the events of 9/11 and at the Murrah Federal Building in
Oklahoma City have shown, a terrorist does not need to have a nuclear
device or nuclear material to accomplish an effective and devastating
attack on an American city. This coupled with the recent report that
shows that many urban areas are not poised to handle a major disaster,
makes Pat Robertson's recent statement a chilling foreboding of what
could happen at any time.
|