Chapter 17 -  What You Need To Know About Real Estate & Terrorism Risk

Chapter 18 -  Solutions To New Regulatory Burdens and Risks
Case Study # 10 Inadequate Due Diligence
Case Study # 11  Be Careful When Banking Offshore
Case Study # 12  The Snitch Factor

Section Five - How To Build Safe Protected Wealth

Chapter 19 - New & Enhanced Post 9/11 Wealth Planning & Protection Techniques

Chapter 20 - How To Choose an Investment Or Wealth Planning Advisor 

Chapter 21 - The Swiss Inner Circle

Chapter 22 - Other Global Consultants, Publications & Organizations 

Section Six - You’ve Protected Your Wealth Now Restore Your Liberty 
 
Chapter 23 -  Back To The Articles: Restoring the Republic With the Swiss Confederation Institute     

Chapter 24 – FreedomFest: Where Free Minds Meet  

Chapter 25- Don't Delay: Start Today To Preserve Your Wealth & Liberty  

Chapter 26 - Are You Willing To Pay the High Price For Freedom?  

Case Studies  

Resource Guide  

About the Author  

 

Real Estate Presented By Ronald Holland A Broker/Realtor with Wolf's Crossing Realty. Your mountain home & lot expert for the Wolf Laurel, Preserve & Wolf Ridge Resort areas. Toll Free: (888) 541-1738 Office: (828) 689-5058 Fax: (828) 337-9571 Email Agent  Other Realtor.com Listings Visit Website

THE SWISS Preserve SOLUTION
Ron Holland's politically incorrect guide to defending your wealth & liberty
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Chapter 7 - Consider The Terrorist Threat To U.S. Markets & Your Portfolio

Talking Points:  Islamic terrorists have already targeted Wall Street and the American investment markets. What are the threats to your wealth in stocks, bonds and the dollar, should terrorists hit New York City again, and this time with a weapon of mass destruction?  Learn how to safeguard your investments and liquidity in the event of a future attack. A related section is Case Study # 6 Terrorist Nightmare on Wall Street: learn what could happen to NYC and the US financial markets with a dirty bomb attack on Wall Street.

"In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way."   -- Franklin Roosevelt

       The United States has clearly shown the political will to retaliate against Islamic terrorists both in our ongoing War Against Terror and in our military invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. There is no doubt that our enemies feared the overwhelming military technology and fighting superiority of the United States-- at least until our recent failure in Iraq.  But this fear and our recent defeats have only intensified their hatred for us. Now, since the conventional military victory in "Operation Iraqi Freedom" has been followed by the dramatic setbacks against the insurgency, America has become one of the two most hated nations in the world by a majority of the one billion plus Moslems. It is not our objective to debate whether this hatred is due to our global foreign policy, the need for Arab politicians to find scapegoats for their leadership failures, religious fanaticism, or a combination of the above. The point is that Moslem hatred of America is creating a fertile field of converts for militant Islam and, more importantly, for terrorist groups. 

       There has been much speculation and discussion concerning the future threat of terrorist attacks with weapons of mass destruction against Israel, Western Europe, and the United States. If terrorist groups have weapons of mass destruction we must take an objective look at all the potential targets of opportunity for an attack and the availability of these weapons. 

"Terrorists have not only long memories, they have infinite patience. They certainly learn from their mistakes."  --Edith E. Flynn, professor of criminal justice at Northeastern University.

       The conventional news media and our political leadership have been less than forthcoming on this issue, either to avoid a public panic or at government direction.  Nevertheless, this question still must be asked. The 9/11 terrorist attacks on Washington and New York was an operation that took years of planning and was certainly not a one-time strike on America. Although Washington's massive response in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as against terrorist cells around the world, does appear to have caught our enemies off guard, this reprieve will not last forever. Eventually they will react with a massive counter attack designed for maximum public effect, U.S. humiliation, and economic destruction.  

       To determine the target, we must first explore the probable goals of the anti-Western players in this conflict. While they can not hope to destroy the United States as the world's only remaining superpower, they are obviously interested in replacing all the existing "moderate" Arab governments with fundamentalist, Islamic regimes. Their long-term objective is to topple the existing governments of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, the Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Turkey, and replace them with fundamentalist Islamic governments that are anti-American and will cooperate in destroying the nation of Israel. 

Neither Israel Nor Most of Europe Is A Probable Target

       The Islamic fundamentalists goal is to unite the Moslem world.  Therefore, it is unlikely that they would pursue a nuclear, biological, or chemical attack against Israel. There was some concern that Saddam would launch isolated attacks against Israel when invaded by the U.S., but this did not happen.  Our intelligence turned out to be completely wrong about his military capabilities.  Still, I believe there is little danger of a mass, unilateral attack against Israel by Arab terrorists for the following reasons:

       A weapon of mass destruction attack against Israel, when they obtain the capability, would by its very nature kill many hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. This would hurt the support for their cause from other Arab nations and peoples. Moreover, an attack here would probably destroy or render unusable the Moslem holy sites in Jerusalem and on the West Bank. Killing a large number of the Jews in Israel, along with the Palestinians, is too high of a price to be paid for the immediate destruction of Israel. Plus, an attack against Israel would be counter productive due to Israel's nuclear arsenal and stated intentions. Every Arab terrorist leader knows that if weapons of mass destruction are used against Israel and they suffer a massive loss of lives or are even defeated, then no nation in the Middle East will avoid a final Doomsday attack with total annihilation and ultimate destruction by nuclear weapons.

       The opportune terrorist target certainly is not Western Europe, with the exception of the United Kingdom and the other few remaining European supporters of American foreign policy. Most of Europe is on the sidelines in the current conflict and due to oil or geo-political considerations often side with the Arab states regarding America’s Middle East policies. Therefore, with the exception of London, I do not feel Europe is at risk of a terrorist weapon of mass destruction attack.

Washington DC Is Not the Prime Target

       The primary target of opportunity is not Washington D.C. either. Although home to many military installations and commands, national intelligence, and hundreds of thousands of politicians, lobbyists and bureaucrats, America's military might and capabilities are far too widespread around the world for an attack on Washington to cripple our military.  If they had the means to hit two targets in the U.S. at the same time with weapons of mass destruction, Washington could be the shared target, but this is unlikely.

       The military power of the United States’ armed forces is such that terrorists can have little impact on our capability to wage war and retribution in the event of an attack. Yes, they could target Washington.  Yes, they could destroy maybe an aircraft carrier task force.  And yes, they could conceivably deliver a short-term tactical defeat against us if we proceed to occupy more nations in the Middle East, but they cannot hope to defeat us as a military power. As the Japanese learned with their attack on Pearl Harbor, and as bin Laden found out after 9/11, it is not a wise course of action to provoke the United States when we can target the enemy.

The Dirty Secret: Wall Street and the US Markets Have Been Attacked Before

       Terrorism’s effect on the economy and personal security has been of major concern since 9/11.  In a survey among affluent Americans, terrorism, the struggles of the next generation, and the stock market downturn are their biggest worries.¹

 

Concern	Percentage Worried
Terrorism here and abroad will have a negative   effect on the economy and securities market	76%
The next generation will have a more difficult time financially than your generation has had	73%
Stock market gains will be lower than they’ve been in recent years	68%

It is time to discuss a very taboo subject in the establishment press.

       What is the next probable target of Osama bin Laden or other Islamic militant terrorists here in the United States? We have heard over and over again that they targeted the World Trade Center because this building was the symbol of American strength, pride, and capitalism. My first question is why the World Trade Center in New York City, and not the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty? What about the U.S. Capitol Building, the Washington Monument, the White House, the Super Dome filled with spectators, or San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge? Also, why did they not wait for the Salt Lake City Olympics broadcast on world-wide television, or bide their time until a national political convention where they could have taken out half the leading politicians of the Democrat or Republican Parties?

       Why did Moslem terrorists twice target the World Trade Center? Surprisingly, with all the news articles, TV talking heads on the nightly programs, and pronouncements from politicians, there has been little discussion on why this particular target was chosen above all others. Have you considered just maybe there is a reason for the code of silence and blackout on all such discussions?

       What if our politicians, Wall Street, and the media fear the real reason for the terrorist targeting of the World Trade Center Towers, but our establishment has decided not to go public and disclose the risk for fear of public and financial panic?  Shouldn't we know the truth so that the citizens of New York City, specifically those working in the financial district, can judge any future risk for themselves?  What about American investors? Is fear of a market panic or a wholesale withdrawal from the U.S. markets and the dollar by foreign investors another reason why there has been little press coverage of the threat? 

       I fear the real target of both prior attacks was Wall Street and our financial system - not just some tall buildings. Could the terrorists have been trying both times to actually bring down the World Trade Center towers on the New York Stock Exchange and Wall Street? The answer could be yes. One thing is for sure-they were trying to disrupt the U.S. financial system and discover our countermeasures against this type of attack.

       Those who do not want to explore this risk will claim that this is merely talk to generate panic.  They will say that there is no risk of terrorist attacks to the financial markets. They will allege that our financial markets are immovable and invulnerable to such attacks. They will assure you not to worry about the terrorist risk to your portfolio, liquidity and retirement funds.  Unfortunately, the experts have been wrong before.

"Well, don't worry about it….It's nothing."      -- Lt. Kermit Tyler (Duty Officer of Shafter Information Center, Hawaii), upon being informed that Private Joseph Lockard had picked up a radar signal of what appeared to be at least 50 planes soaring toward Oahu at almost 180 miles per hour, December 7, 1941

       Thanks to the repeated financial and news channel press reports during the 9/11 market closure, the location of the offsite back-up and record systems for Wall Street was revealed. I fear that terrorist networks could be in a position with a weapon of mass destruction to destroy the back-up systems as well as targeting Wall Street. This could be catastrophic to your investment records, liquidity, and portfolio values in the event of an attack. 

       Could the reason that no one is talking about the threat be that our politicians and the financial establishment really are deathly afraid of what could happen to the American stock and bond markets, the NYSE, NASDAQ, and the dollar, should this veiled threat become public knowledge?  I feel the risk is certainly worth considering if you have the majority of your portfolio undiversified and only in the American dollar and US-based investments like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, US variable annuities, or insurance products.

       It is entirely possible that if another terrorist attack took place against Wall Street or the Stock Exchange, financial panic and a substantial market meltdown would ensue. But like the earlier tech stocks collapse that finally ran its course, no one in authority is willing to warn the citizens of New York City or investors to be aware of the risk to their stock and dollar denominated investment holdings. Remember in the conventional investment business, no one ever says sell or cries fire even if the theatre is filled with smoke.

       Now is the time for some straight answers for the citizens of New York City who have already suffered so much. What is the chance of a third attack on Manhattan with a weapon of mass destruction, and how many hundreds of thousands could die in this attack? Every investor deserves a realistic appraisal of the terrorist risk to his or her portfolio values. However, it will be up to you to do the research, since you will hear nothing from Wall Street or your financial professional until it is too late.
  
       These are the tough questions that our politicians, Wall Street, and the media should be asking and planning for. This is their responsibility and if they fail to do their duty, then they should be held accountable when the attack comes. Their delay and hesitancy in confronting these risks are reason enough for Americans to consider some additional diversification of their portfolios into non-U.S. dollar and quality foreign equity investments. Still, rest assured most Americans will trust "the experts" until it is far too late. Maybe George Santayana had the vast majority of American investors in mind when he said, "People never believe in volcanoes until the lava actually overtakes them."