http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/asap/News/asap_N ews_9_11_The_Next_Attack.html
LIVING WITH 9/11 -- The next 9/11: Gauging public vigilance By JONATHAN DREW Much has been made of the government's efforts to prevent another terrorist attack or put response mechanisms in place. The advent of the Department of Homeland Security has been well-documented. So has the distribution of funds to local governments and the training of firefighters and police officers to respond to possible attacks. Perhaps most dramatically, the busting of terror plots before they're executed always makes front-page news. What's less clear: How well-oiled is another important cog in the response mechanism -- the reactions of ordinary citizens? Their responses can mitigate the effects of disaster, physically stop a terrorist or determine how quickly emotional and physical wounds heal. If another attack of the magnitude 9/11 were to happen -- and some say it's just a matter of time -- experts say the reactions of ordinary citizens would be just as important as the government's, if not more so. "Whatever we do, we need to certainly realize that without a strong public response, without resiliency among the public, nothing we do is going to be very successful," said Gary LaFree, director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. Americans have shown some reservations about how the government would respond to an attack: An ABC News poll of 1,000 Americans released over the weekend said 38 percent think the government is doing all it can to prevent another terrorist attack, while 60 percent say it is not. Those fears aren't entirely unfounded, says P.W. Singer, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He said despite the government's efforts over the last five years, another terrorist attack could be just as disruptive as the hijackings five years ago. "It is clear from the recent assessments of the 9/11 Commission, which was disappointed that most of their recommendations were not implemented, and the Katrina fiasco, that we still have many of the same unresolved challenges in disaster response and coordination," he said in an e-mail. If a terror attack -- or any catastrophe for that matter -- were to occur, you'd be just as likely to rely on help from your neighbors as help from the government, argues sociologist Dennis Mileti. While looting and other problems tend to capture the media's attention, Mileti said that as a general rule, disaster victims are helpful and civilized. "Most victims in disasters are rescued by other victims," said Mileti, former director of the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado. Lafree concurred: "Even with the most effective response, you're going to have to depend to a large extent on your neighbors, friends and family." So how well-equipped are people to respond to a terrorist attack? A May study by the American Red Cross found that 52 percent of adults have put together a kit of emergency supplies and 26 percent have practiced a disaster plan with their family. (The phone poll of 1,000 adults conducted in May 2006 had a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.) The good news from the poll: The proportion of those building emergency kits had increased from 45 percent in a July 2005 survey by the Red Cross. Mileti said it's human nature for the memory of a catastrophe to fade as time passes, but added that people are more likely to remain vigilant against terrorism. "After an amount of time, interest in these high-consequence, low-probability events goes down. Terrorism is an exception because the media and politicians keep it in the public eye," he said. Another positive sign: People are better equipped to deal with the psychological trauma associated with a terrorist attack since 9/11, said a psychologist who studies the effects of disasters. "It was a new experience for Americans because we don't feel the impact of wars here," said Anie Kalayjian, a professor at Fordham University. She said she's observed people developing better coping mechanisms, ranging from meditation or conversation with loved ones to medication and counseling. "The stigma about going to a professional to talk about your feelings is a little bit lifted," she said. The problem, of course, with trying to predict the public's response to a future terrorist attack is that no one can know what form such an attack would take. But a good indicator of average citizens' ability to deal with such scenarios comes from the attacks five years ago. "If you look at 9/11, in some ways the only success was the public," Lafree said. "The public brought down the plane in Pennsylvania six minutes before the government knew they'd been hijacked." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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