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The terrorist nuclear weapon next to your kid's elementary school
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Anonymous
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Definitely think about it, and it is a "when" question, not "if". You know that's their ultimate goal, and they are actively pursuing the means to carry it out.
Sorry to be a downer, but if I had the opportunity to rethink and act upon where we live, I'd live in the middle of the US somewhere. But people in CA live everyday with the possibility of a catastrophic earthquake, too. So, when it's your time.... |
Anonymous
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I think about this too. But, really, where can you go. No place it 100% safe. Like the PP said, 'when it's your time, it's your time'. That's true to some extent.
I can see how people might consider living in the middle of the country safer, but we've been through tornados in Nebraska and Iowa, and those are pretty scary also! Things can happen anywhere. |
jsteele
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I doubt that there is any place in the US in which its residents cannot rationalize why that location is a prime terrorist target. This seems to be an aspect of human nature. I remember growing up in Illinois and being told by a very serious civic leader that our town was an obvious target because it produced machine tools. Yep, without machine tools, you can't build anything so machine tools are the Achille's Heel of US manufacturing. 
Similarly, I remember being told that Rochester, MN was a prime target because of the Mayo Clinic. Our enemies would clearly want to attack our medical facilities because then we couldn't care for our wounded. Or, something. I admit there are some objective and sensible reasons why DC is a more likely target than some (and, obviously, there is a past history of attacks here). But, I still have to wonder how much of the fear of terrorism in this area is the same sort of thing that affects people in the midwest. I was in DC on 9/11 and, frankly, the recent snowstorms were much more disruptive to my life than that attack. Finally, if you are doing risk calculations, you should plan your next home based on an ability to avoid driving a car given that auto accidents are a leading cause of death for both adults and children (and the leading cause of death for children between the ages of 3 and 14). |
Anonymous
| If you're thinking about risk of death, you might want to move to a place where you have access to high quality medical care. DC is one of the places, as are major cities. Less likely to get good medical care, say, in SD, though probably a less popular target for terrorists. |
SAM2
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I too think about the threat of terrorist attack as a factor to consider in deciding where to live. But then I decide it's really not much different than factoring in things like the risk of shark attacks in NC, or mountain lion attacks in CO, chemical plant explosions in TX/LA, shootings in places with high % of handgun ownership, freeway accident % in places requiring heavy car use, etc. All add to the risk profile. Some are particularly dramatic (like terrorist attack or sharks), but they might not be any more risky on a statistical basis than many other mundane threats.
Perhaps it's all a rationalization on my part to intellectualize the risks, but that's how I think about it. |
Anonymous
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You are far more likely to be a victim of street crime in DC than a victim of a terrorist attack. Wondering whether to jog in Rock Creek Park and issues like that are more rational considerations, IMO. Those are daily threats to me, which cause me to alter my behavior by either not walking alone, or parking my car in well-lit areas, etc. But maybe that's because I'm a woman and I've always had to think about those things.
I do worry more about energy grids (or whatever they are called) being taken down in a terrorist attack and having to figure out how to survive for weeks without power, or live like they do in Iraq when it's only on for a few hours a day at best. But other than that, no. |
Anonymous
| I grew up as the daughter of an AF fighter pilot (during the Viet Nam/cold war era). As a young adult, I remember someone saying something about living in DC and being the target (this was waaay pre-9/11)... It hadn't really registered with me, since everywhere I lived growing up (fighter bases) had a missile pointed at it. |
Anonymous
Was all of this just so you could promote "Dirty War"? 
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Anonymous
What you are talking about is a Black Swan -- an event that is difficult or impossible to predict based on the past. There is always a chance of something unexpected, but even so you have to put some boundaries around it. The possibility of a terrorist attack is real. But a real hiroshima-sized nuke? I don't think so. Dirty bombs are more likely, but they are much more limited than you would imagine. It was a small concern to me when I lived near State Department. Could an attack on a significant target affect me now that we have moved to Arlington? It's pretty far off and to the west. Maybe. We share a water supply, food, and winds can always shift. Fairfax? I would have real trouble believing that a terrorist attack would be so widespread as to affect that big an area. And I don't see terrorists picking Fairfax as a target any more than Topeka. So my recommendation is to consider the geography of the metro area. Maybe you cannot get comfortable that a Black Swan is not out there. But you can at least think about whether you consider it possible to affect the entire metro area. |
Anonymous
I love living in the DC area, but I feel the same as PP. We've been thinking about moving somewhere else, mostly for other reasons, but fear of a terrorist attack is a small factor, too. P.S. Given my nervousness on this subject, your posts are freaking me out a bit, OP. 
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Anonymous
| Do folks take into consideration if they live downwind from DC? |
Anonymous
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P6,
Yes, we considered it. Anyway, we used to live on Capitol Hill. I lived 3 blocks from the Capitol during the time of 9/11. (gulp). I was a hill staffer for some time before that, as well. I don't mind the meetings but am glad I don't work there anymore. I grew up in the 70s during the cold war, and the fears of a nuclear attack were very pronounced then. I remember being afraid of it in my midwestern hometown. One of the things I think about that quells (or stokes, depending on perspective) my fear is that domestic terrorism is on the rise, and this can hit anywhere. Think Oklahoma City....hardly an urban epicenter. We did ultimately move off the Hill and we joked around, at the time, about wanting to be out of "dirty bomb" range. But for all our worry, we've yet to stock up on canned goods, duct tape, and plastic, which is probably a better use of our time than trying to project and then move out of the way of any imagined blast zone. One thing we will not do, and I don't believe I would ever do in any city anymore, is have my children attend a school that is not within a reasonable (that is to say, not necessarily something you would want to walk but something you COULD walk to in an hour or so) walking distance from our home. We will also develop plans, as our children grow old enough to be away from us, to have emergency meeting places. We'll probably get around to buying that plastic and duct tape, as well. The thing is, the blast zone of a dirty bomb would be fairly limited but the nuclear fallout would get to our house, and everything i have heard is not to try and outrun it, because the roads will all be closed. I hate thinking about it, really..... |
Anonymous
| Growing up in FL during the missile crises was interesting. We did not have fire drills but drills where we got under our desk to protect us from the nukes that might be coming from Cuba. It was quite scary. DC has a much better school plan. They do not scare the children but people I know at private schools keep food and clothing on hand for at least 3 days just in case. Parents know what the plan is and what to do if something happens. I am not sure about the public schools in DC and what their plan is. |
Anonymous
| I think this type of thinking is useful for clearing all of the cowards and yellow-bellies out of the cities. |
Anonymous
You mean nearly everyone, including the politicians and wannabes? |