Israeli Expert Warns Americans

This email REALLY got my attention. I checked it with snopes.com and they can't say for sure if its true or false BUT they do have a lot to say about it.
I'm posting this at the risk of being labeled a fear monger; but I feel responsible to get this word out. Maybe some authoritative source can inform us better as to what, if anything, can be (or is being) done.

Israeli Counterterrorism expert, Juval Aviv, met recently with reporters at Fox News and revealed information, which he believes is accurate, concerning an imminent Al Qaeda attack on five to seven American cities simultaneously.

"I predict, based primarily on information that is floating in Europe and the Middle East, that an event is imminent and around the corner here in the United States. It could happen as soon as tomorrow, or it could happen in the next few months. Ninety days at the most," said Mr. Aviv.

Mr. Aviv knows of that which he speaks. He is a former Israeli Counterterrorism Intelligence Officer and has also served as a special consultant to the U.S. Congress on issues of terrorism and security. He is best known as the source of the 1984 book, Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team by George Jonas, on which Steven Spielberg's film Munich was based. He is also the author of The Complete Terrorism Survival Guide: How to Travel, Work and Live in Safety (2003); and Staying Safe: The Complete Guide to Protecting Yourself, Your Family, and Your Business (2004). Currently, Aviv is the president of Interfor, Inc., a corporate investigations firm in New York City.

Considering Aviv's background and experience in global terror and its operating methods, it would be foolish to ignore or minimize this veteran's expert prognosis. Mr. Aviv told Fox that, from what his sources have been relating, sleeper cells already positioned inside the continental United States are on the verge of carrying out major attacks.

"What they're going to do," he explained, "is hit six, seven or eight cities simultaneously to show sophistication and really hit the public. This time, which is the message of the day, it will not only be big cities. They're going to try to hit rural America. They want to send a message to rural America: "You're not protected. If you figured out that if you just move out of New York and move to Montana or to Pittsburgh, you're not immune. We're going [to] get you wherever we can and it's easier there than in New York."

While this prediction leaves most Americans feeling helpless, fearful and frustrated, Aviv recommends that we at least do what we can. He suggests that for the next few months, if you are traveling by public transportation, equip yourselves with a bottle of water, a hand towel and a flashlight. He reminds us that many fatalities in the London tube and Madrid train attacks occurred from victims who breathed in the lethal fumes from bomb components and burning gasoline. Had these people had wet towels to cover their mouths and noses, they would have had a much better chance of survival.

In particular Aviv very strongly urges a policy of "If you See Something - Say Something". He reminds Americans that a great number of potentially lethal terror attacks in Israel have been - and still are - thwarted by the intelligent actions on the part of alert, aware and watchful citizens. Americans must do the same, he advises. The global war on terror is not "somewhere over there in the Middle East." It is here on our own soil. If ever there were a time to be especially vigilant, the time is now.

Let us hope and pray that these vicious enemies and their depraved plans will be prevented, and the perpetrators apprehended. US law enforcement, military, counter-terrorism and intelligence personnel have thus far done an outstanding job. Keep in mind, however, that the stakes are very uneven. Law enforcement and counter-terrorism agents must succeed 100% of the time in order to protect a population. Terrorists only have to succeed once to snuff out thousands of lives.

THEREFORE, please do not naively dismiss this article. Stay alert - stay away from crowds - and if you see something, say something! You could be the one to save hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.

The prudent man prepares for eventualities. The fool laughs it off until something happens and finds himself completely unprepared.

Which one are you?

Dean