Al-Shabaab Video Threat Means Heightened Security at Mall of America

Reuters and other news outlets carry the news that the Minnesota's gigantic Mall of America is under heightened security after a video threat posted online by terrorist group Al-Shabaab. Also at CNN and CBS News. According to Reuters' version of the story: The U.S. homeland security chief said on Sunday he takes seriously a threat made by Somali-based Islamist militants against shopping malls, including the Mall of America in Minnesota, and urged people going there to be careful. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson was reacting to a video released by al Shabaab appearing to call for attacks on Western shopping areas, specifically mentioning Mall of America, the West Edmonton Mall in Canada and London's Oxford Street. ... Mall officials issued a statement about the threat made by the group, saying they are monitoring events with the help of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. "Mall of America has implemented extra security precautions, some may be noticeable to guests, and others won’t be," the officials said.

Comments

Re:visibility doesnt matter.

[Anonymous Coward]

The government should be posting videos of its own MOCKING them.

That cannot happen as long as the Obama administration refuses to call our enemies by their true name, Islamic Extremist Terrorists . The first rule in any propaganda war is to identify the enemy so that both their persons and their values can be attacked. Unfortunately, Obama isn't doing either right now. We shouldn't be concerned about "inflaming" the situation in the middle east. It's already inflamed! That ship has sailed. Now, were losing the propaganda war online because Obama refuses to fight them there. By projecting weakness he draws aggression which only makes the terrorist problem worse. What's needed here is a clear message to the terrorists of Isis and Boko Haram that their behavior will not be tolerated. We need to target both of these groups with a relentless drone campaign and hit their infrastructure with targeted attacks. First we should knock out their electrical power generation facilities and cut their distribution lines. Next, we should hit water and sewage treatment plants and cut off the supply of clean water. Finally, we should destroy their farms and prevent, to the extent possible, any resupplies of food, medicine, ammunition, etc into Isis or Boko Haram occupied territories. Refugees who make it out must submit to detention and internment, as we did with the de-Nazification at the end of WWII, so that we can determine who they are and what their affiliations are. The internment must continue until the entire occupied territories are completely depopulated. When that's done, the refugees can be released back into the ruined cities, minus their weapons or anything else of military value, to rebuild with our assistance and under our control with the now occupied territories being maintained indefinitely as disarmed populations who pay taxes to us for the costs of their continued occupation until such time as we feel that such measures are no longer necessary and that they are ready to rejoin modern western civilization.