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Sept. 27, 2005 While U.S. Government agencies from the CIA and FBI to Homeland Security scour the globe for bin-Laden, his frenetic followers and other terrorist operatives, there might very well be terrorist activity taking place on American soil. I’m not referring to the right-wing anti-abortion zealots and members of groups like Posse Comitatus, but unknown persons preying on and abducting American children. Non-family abductions are rare and therefore difficult to estimate, but the statistics are that between 3,200-4,600 children are abducted by non-family members annually. 59% of these kidnapping victims are between 15–17 years old. Girls are the predominant victims of non-family abductions, at 65%. Most kidnappings are committed by persons known to the child, for example a friend, long-term acquaintance, neighbor, person of authority, or a caretaker or babysitter, strangers account for 37% of this total. Most of these victims are returned. It is the ones who don’t that I speculate about. When it comes to missing women and children, it is sometimes difficult to determine if an actual abduction has occurred, especially when there is no eyewitness. So what is happening? Suppose this is the work of a terrorist network—not necessarily a domestic group, but say the work of Al-Qaeda or a similar organization? While this article is purely speculative, I hope it will garner dome debate and dissemination. An example of a non-family kidnapping is exemplified by the following case: Two 14-year-old girls spending the night together were on their way home from the store when two men jumped out of a car, grabbed them and forced them into their vehicle. The men then drove to a closed State park and sexually assaulted one of the girls. The girls were missing overnight and police were contacted. However, the next morning a county deputy patrolling the park noticed the men’s car and was able to rescue the girls and capture one of the abductors. These men were not foreign terrorists, and the young ladies were returned home. Butu in far too many cases, women and children vanish and are never heard from again. In this case, the victims were found and the perpetrators had to connection to any terrorist group. But what about the women and children that aren’t found? Though I have no documentation of this being the work of terrorists, I can’t rule it out completely. After all, the goal of a terrorist is to instill fear, and what is more frightening than one’s child disappearing? Are these children being sold and enslaved? Raped and murdered? Donna Leinwand writes, "Perhaps the innocence and vulnerability of younger children ensure more publicity and greater notoriety for these cases." She added, "Advocacy groups tossed around alarming numbers that suggested tens of thousands of children went missing every year and fueled parental panic that there was a national epidemic of abductions." This helps promote the paranoia and fear prevalent among today’s parents. A terrorist would know this. In an Insight magazine article, Timothy W. Maier wrote, "The FBI charged that reporters were distorting the facts with fear-driven stories about monsters preying on children." Maier cited the Chandra Levy, Elizabeth Smart and Danielle Van Dam cases as examples. He further noted that George W. Bush believes Americans are not only under attack from international terrorists, but in the President’s words, "face a wave of horrible violence from twisted elements in our own communities." There are no iron-clad facts here. This is just a little food for thought and I believe the government should pay closer attention to those who are taking away our young people. I close with this story from the files of NISMART (the National incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Throwaway children): "A 12-year-old girl left home for a short jog, telling her mother she would be back in 20 minutes. That was the last time she was seen alive. The police were called to report her disappearance. A few weeks later, the body of the victim was discovered accidentally by a man and his son, who were walking their dog. Police believed that the perpetrator used a blitz attack and grabbed the victim while she was jogging to sexually assault her." Be careful out there. Sources: NISMART Bulletin: Non-family Abducted Children: National Estimates and Characteristics, October 2002. Timothy W. Maier, "Elian, the big Clinton Reno lie, Feds do little to retrieve American children who are abducted to...", Insight, March 2000. Donna Leinwand, "Kidnapping problem 'impossible' to quantify", August 14, 2002, USA TODAY. ------------ About the author: Timothy Stelly is the 46-year old author of "Tempest In The Stone" and the soon to be released, "The Malice of Cain". His third novel, "Darker Than Blue" is under consideration for publication. Mr. Stelly currently resides in Pittsburg, California with his three youngest children Dante, Kimberly and Lawrence. Excerpts from The first two books and the first two chapters of his anthology, "Frankenigga--And Other Urban Tales" can be viewed at: stellbread0.tripod.com Email: stellbread@sbcglobal.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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