Questionable or not, Osama bin Laden's most recent message should ring an alarm for not only the government, but Americans as well, according to professors at The University of Memphis.
Wednesday bin Laden broke nearly a year of silence when he warned of plans to attack The United States if a truce was not met over the rebuilding of Iraq and Afghanistan. Nine days before the Arab language television network al-Jazeera received a tape of what The Central Intelligence Agency believed to be from bin Laden, Michael Ledeen, a close contact to the Bush administration, pronounced the al-Qaeda founder dead from kidney failure.
However, his recent threat, regardless of the released tape's authenticity, should spark urgency in U.S. defense and security, said Francis Gabor, a professor of international law. He said despite other ongoing and possible terrorist plots, ignorance would be a great mistake on the United States' behalf.
"There is a timeline and an ability to relate to terrorist attacks. I would not say the sources are irrelevant," Gabor said. "He (bin Laden) has advisors who help him get more and more precise on a particular truth. The threat is real."
Gabor also said the terrorist alert does not need to hit a peak, but precautions should be taken.
"His (bin Laden) tapes aren't keen to cry wolf, but they help," said Lee Harris, an assistant professor of law.
Bin Laden also proposed negotiating a truce as one of several conditions for avoiding an attack, but the government objected.
Gabor said such suggestions should almost entirely be refused considering the terrorists' state and position.
"Negotiation is out of the question," he said. "There is no way to have full protection against terrorist attacks. Terrorists are non-state actors and you can't tell who they represent."
Harris said there are also too many other current factors which help erase the option for negotiation.
"We're not likely to leave Afghanistan anytime soon or Iraq as long as Bush is in office," he said. "Policy will be based on the needs of the American people."
Harris said the war in Iraq has hampered the Bush legacy and the nation's internal problems give more reasons for negotiations to be impossible. The government has to first withdraw the troops, help rebuild Iraq, call on domestic pressure and set up clean objectives before it can do anything else, he said.
"Negotiating with terrorists would put us in danger. If you do that, you'll have to negotiate from now on," Harris said. "We don't negotiate on hard line and let bin Laden call the shots."
However, professors said awareness of possible attacks and activities should still be present, considering the amount of American deaths in the Middle East and the built up of larger and more threatening terrorist organization.
"Bin Laden and terrorists are using our occupation of Iraq as a recruiting tool," Harris said. "They were able to recruit a lot of young and disenfranchised folks in the Middle East."
David Lacey, an assistant professor in the department of communication, said being aware and knowledgeable about current issues is the foremost important thing for the American people. This fact ought to be stressed, especially in cities like Memphis, where circulation, water and gas departments can become easy targets, he said.
"(The) American public does not have the information that security is privileged to," he said. "I think we should really stay alert during these critical times, so we can prepare American citizens for any kind of attack. We should play our part to minimize the threat in any way we can."
