国际英语资讯:News Analysis: U.S. braces as IS vows violence during Ramadan holidays_时事

国际英语资讯:News Analysis: U.S. braces as IS vows violence during Ramadan holidays

The United States has ramped up security in unforeseen ways since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when radical Islamist group al-Qaeda launched an attack that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York and Washington.

Now, the threat is less from hijacking airplanes, the method used in the Sept. 11 attacks, but rather from threats such as running over pedestrians with cars, mass stabbings and shootings and other means.

"Any and all means are possible: vehicular, bombings, shootings, stabbings or combinations of these," he said.

Still, IS may hold back certain attacks, as security worldwide will be ramped up during the Ramadan holidays.

"Since IS and its acolytes know communities will now be far more alert, some attacks may be held back for less symbolic times when security will be less daunting," White said.

Alarmingly, there may be targets that are very difficult to protect, he said.

"Around the globe, including the U.S., IS still has access to a host of soft targets that simply cannot be shielded effectively by available resources," White added.

The United States, some experts argue, may have an advantage in protecting its citizens. While police cannot be everywhere at all times, many U.S. citizens are legally permitted to carry fire arms, which could thwart a terror attack.

But that may not be so simple.

"Some believe that many American civilians bearing arms gives the U.S. an advantage, but in confusion or crossfires associated with a terrorist attack, such individuals can accidentally shoot innocents, be shot by police mistaking them for attackers, or even have their guns seized by alerted attackers," White said.