These days American and foreign terrorists are being encouraged by other terrorists to be “leaderless” which helps them escape detection by law enforcement and government agencies worldwide. Under this scenario, leaderless terrorists acts would be committed by small groups (cells) and/or individuals without direction from others, in effect, making every terrorist a potential “leader”.
Additionally, terrorist acts against Americans may too often have come with prior warnings days in advance. However, the public, as well as company employees, in and around the areas threatened by the terrorists may never hear about or be aware of the threats or warning signals.
Making matters worse, certain government employees may actually be tipped off that a terrorist act may occur, but the “tip” may not filter down to the employees working in or near the site of a potential terrorist act. Then when a terrorist act does occur the government’s official spokesperson can claim there were no prior warnings.
SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCES: ABC-TV 20/20 1/17/97 and NBC-TV NEWS 8/1/97