In the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, some who worked in Sears Tower couldn’t bring themselves to return to their jobs. The sight of airplanes knifing into the World Trade Center towers was too fresh and horrifying. Some didn’t come back to work for days if not weeks. Last year, finally, the tower began to experience a resurgence in leasing for the first time since the Sept. 11 attacks.
The news Thursday that a homegrown cell of suspected terrorists in Miami allegedly planned to attack Sears Tower won’t help there. That bulletin brought a jolt of deja vu–and queasiness–not only for those who work in the tower, but for all Chicagoans.
The suspects arrested in Miami took an oath to Al Qaeda, a federal indictment said, and planned to build an “Islamic Army” to wage a “full ground war” against the U.S., starting with a Sears Tower attack. The alleged leader, Narseal Batiste, said that he and his “soldiers” sought Al Qaeda training in order to “kill all the devils we can.” He boasted that his mission would “be just as good or greater than 9/11,” the indictment said.
How serious was the threat? “This group was more aspirational than operational,” said FBI Deputy Director John Pistole.
It’s clear from the indictment that the suspects had high aspirations. They were seeking substantial funding and support from a man who they thought was an Al Qaeda operative, but who was actually working for the federal government. In mid-December of last year, the indictment said, Batiste produced a list of materials and equipment needed for his jihad, including boots, uniforms, machine guns, radios and vehicles. A couple of weeks later, he allegedly detailed his plot to destroy the Sears Tower and added to his list these items: binoculars, bulletproof vests, firearms and $50,000. In February he said he also needed a video camera to use on a trip to Chicago and asked the undercover operative to travel with him, the indictment charged.
So how worried should we be? Well, there was no evidence of panic in Chicago on Friday. The Sears Tower was open for business as usual. The observation deck was open too, and had drawn 2,500 people by 3 p.m., almost the same as the previous Friday. But Chicagoans couldn’t help but be yanked back to Sept. 11, when fears of a plane crashing into Sears Tower or another high-rise hit the city.
In the years since the Sept. 11 attacks, many in the Midwest have grown to feel insulated from such plots. Much of the homeland defense focus, and federal money, has been flowing to the so-called high-value targets–Washington, New York, Los Angeles. A Tribune/WGN-TV poll last October found that two-thirds of Chicago voters said they felt generally safe from terrorist attacks.
Will the Miami arrests change that? Probably not. One Tribune poll participant explained why she felt so secure: “There is no real reason to attack Chicago.”
Unfortunately, that’s wishful thinking. What we know, from experience, is that terrorists and aspiring terrorists often make cold and exceedingly rational calculations about where to attack. Some of this is about opportunity and law-enforcement obstacles. But much is about effect, the splash that could be made with a horrifically sensational attack in an unexpected place. Chicago can’t be excluded from that short list.
