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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>December 15, 2015 <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/12/15/a-conspiracy-of-fear-mongers/">A Conspiracy of Fear-Mongers</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>by <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/author/sheldon-richman/">Sheldon Richman</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>“ you are <b><i><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=155+divided+by+17&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a" target="_blank" title=9>9</a></i></b> times more likely to be killed by a law enforcement officer than by a terrorist.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><img border=0 width=510 height=383 id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D1394F.EB264B10" alt="Description: CNN-report-criticised"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Over the weekend CNN breathlessly reported as “Breaking News” — it breathlessly reports everything as “Breaking News” — a new poll indicating that people are increasingly frightened about terrorism. The accompanying web story <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/11/politics/terrorism-top-problem-poll-isis/index.html">stated</a>, “Terrorism has eclipsed the economy as voters’ top pick for the biggest issue facing America, a New York Times/CBS News <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/us/politics/fear-of-terrorism-lifts-donald-trump-in-new-york-times-cbs-poll.html">poll</a> has found. Last month only 4% of Americans said terrorism was the most important problem, according to the New York Times. Now nearly one in five — 19% — believe it is.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The story goes on:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Following terrorist attacks in Paris and in San Bernardino, California, the poll said Americans are more fearful about the likelihood of another terrorist attack than at any other time since the weeks after Sept. 11, 2001….<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>More than four in 10 Americans — 44% — believe an attack is “very” likely to happen in the next few months. And 70% say that ISIS is a major threat to America’s security.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Nearly 60% of people are “very” concerned about the threat of terrorism against Americans committed by elements entering the U.S. from other countries. And 63% are “very” concerned about the threat of terrorism against Americans committed by people currently living in the U.S. who are inspired by foreign extremists.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>How likely is an American to be a victim? Curiously, CNN never bothers to say.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>In fact, the likelihood is <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/09/youre-68-times-more-likely-to-be-hit-and-killed-by-lightning-than-murdered-by-a-terrorist.html">so low</a> that the saturation coverage — which is better described as fear-mongering — looks ridiculous. Commonplace things are <i>far</i> more likely to kill Americans than terrorism — from any source — yet you won’t learn that by watching TV or reading the daily newspaper.</span><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The odds of being killed by a terrorist attack is about the same as being hit <a href="http://politicalscience.osu.edu/faculty/jmueller/HARRIS.PDF">by an <i>asteroid</i></a> . Which is <b>a 1 in 22 million chance. </b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>being struck by lightning</span></b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'> at 1 in 5,500,000. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>In other words, in the last five years you were <b>four times more likely to be struck by lightning than killed by a terrorist <o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>drowning in a bathtub</span></b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'> 1 in 800,000; <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>dying in a building fire 1 in 99,000; <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>I</span></b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>n a car accident 1 in 19,000;<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt'>you’re <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=6%2C000+americans+fall+roof+ladders&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#client=firefox-a&hs=3et&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aofficial&sclient=psy-ab&q=6%2C000+divided+by+17&oq=6%2C000+divided+by+17&gs_l=serp.3..33i29i30l4.204956.206861.0.207772.14.13.0.0.0.0.271.2555.0j6j7.13.0...0.0...1c.1.11.psy-ab.KkA-Eo8gW1I&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or." target="_blank" title=353>353</a> times more likely to fall to your death than die in a terrorist attack.</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt'>you are <em><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><a href="https://www.google.com/#output=search&sclient=psy-ab&q=4%2C609+divided+by+17&oq=4%2C609+divided+by+17&gs_l=hp.3...688.4044.0.4767.15.15.0.0.0.0.241.1722.7j7j1.15.0...0.0...1c.1.11.psy-ab.2GReJwDoZOA&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.45645796,d.cGE&fp=4fb34227f337626b&biw=933&bih=43" target="_blank" title=271>271</a></span></em> times more likely to die from a workplace accident than terrorism.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>You </span></b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><a href="http://www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/" target="_blank">are <i>110</i> times <i>more</i> likely to die</a> from contaminated food than terrorism <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>you are <b><i><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=155+divided+by+17&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a" target="_blank" title=9>9</a></i></b> times more likely to be killed by a law enforcement officer than by a terrorist. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>It’s not as though qualified interviewees would be hard to find. <a href="http://www.libertarianism.org/media/free-thoughts/what-are-risks-terrorism#.byinjba:hedN">John Mueller and Mark G. Stewart</a> have been putting the terrorist threat in perspective for years. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0190237317counterpunchmaga"><i>Chasing Ghosts: The Policing of Terrorism</i></a> is their latest attempt to cool things down.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>“Although the yearly chance an American will be killed by a terrorist within the country is about one in 4 million under present conditions,” Mueller and Stewart write, “around 40 percent of Americans have professed, in polls taken since late 2001, that they worry they or a family member will become a victim of a terrorist.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Of course. The media work overtime to make them afraid. But getting killed by an <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/10/13/death-by-meteorite/">asteroid</a> is more likely. Richard Jackson of the <a href="http://www.otago.ac.nz/ncpacs/staff/otago029983.html">National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies</a> in New Zealand <a href="https://richardjacksonterrorismblog.wordpress.com/2011/05/25/the-threat-of-terrorism/">says</a> we have more to fear from bathtubs and vending machines.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>After the attacks, American officials from the president on down sounded repeated alarms about how many al-Qaeda operatives (2,000-5,000) and sleeper cells were in America and about a coming second wave of terrorism. The lack of evidence was considered evidence. No operatives or cells were found and no second wave took place, yet no official apologized.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Thus the U.S. government’s expenditure of trillions of dollars since 9/11 is shown to be outrageous.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>We’ve been through this before. In the 1980s a group of right-wing “experts,” aided by the media, tried to scare Americans into believing that Soviet-trained terrorists were among us. If so, they preferred living here peacefully to creating mayhem.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Why do the government, the media establishment, and an assortment of consultants traffic in fear?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>It’s not a hard question. Many people profit from fear-mongering about terrorism. Politicians and bureaucrats gain more power. They also gain access to more money (through borrowing, that is, taxation of future generations). That money ends up in the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Top-Secret-America-American-Security/dp/0316182206/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450120394&sr=8-1&keywords=dana+priest">terrorism industry</a>, a constellation of firms that sell the government endless quantities of goods and services.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>No presidential candidate dare tell the truth because rivals will portray him or her as a weak-kneed, head-in-the-sand appeaser. Fear-mongering brings the worst to the top.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Finally, the news media and the <a href="http://www.salon.com/2012/08/15/the_sham_terrorism_expert_industry/">“sham ‘terrorism expert’ industry”</a> it fosters have every incentive to exaggerate any danger. Fear-mongering attracts viewers and builds circulation. Why would CNN report something that might prompt viewers to change the channel?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Regular Americans pay a heavy price — in stress (which is a killer), in lost liberty and privacy, and in prosperity forgone. Fear of terrorism also makes people more willing to support American militarism in the Middle East, which creates more would-be terrorists than it destroys and keeps the scam going.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>What will it take to change this perverse system that thrives on power, war, and fear?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>