Bomb Threat Fallout

Bomb threats seemed to be happening all over the country a couple of weeks ago. The University of Texas received a bomb threat at approximately 9:45 a.m. local time on Sept. 14, while NDSU received one at 9:04 a.m. central time. Later in the morning, Valparaiso University issued an “alert for unspecific threats to campus,” said The Huffington Post.

Earlier the week before, “two-other bomb threats were reported this week in the region, closing the Hector International Airport in Fargo,” said the Forum. “The other was reported at the Grand Forks Airport.

Bomb threats have happened every now and then in the past in America, some hoaxes and other intentional. As always, under procedure, bomb threats are to be taken as very serious; however, is there a need to take them even more seriously?
The University of Texas stated, “UT’s public affairs department released a statement which said, ‘a male with a middle eastern accent claiming to have placed bombs all over campus.’”

NDSU has not confirmed or released any information on the details of the phone call.

Lt. Vettle of the Fargo Police Dept. told Valley News Live that the caller “kept the details of the call brief.”

It is as President Bresciani said, “grasping it is broader than the country.”

“As more officials have investigated, they have found that there has been conclusive evidence that some of the threats were just copy cats. The others, however, did have a distinct initiator and were connected. The evidence has also suggested that the person who maintained the threats has moved on,” stated Brescaini.

Based on the new updates, what do NDSU students need to know about the bomb threat? That is not just a fluke. There is very serious turmoil going on in the Middle East right now. We need to stay informed on what is going on there just as much as what is going on over here.

The rapid escalation of tensions in the Middle East over the past few weeks has made many Americans uneasy, which has led to an unusually serious response to the bomb threat on campus. Much of these tensions are blamed on the anti-Islam film that was produced by an American and posted on YouTube. However, there is one situation, maybe even a more serious one, which the mainstream media has not shed much light on: the possibility of war with Iran.

For years, Iran has been seeking nuclear capabilities. Lead by their president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran claims these nuclear facilities will only be used for the production of energy for the civilized population. However, the Western nations believe that Iran is only seeking nuclear capabilities in order to produce nuclear warheads.

Now students might be wondering, why is this bad? America has nukes, right? Well the leadership of Iran has a much different agenda: to wipe the state of Israel off the map. In the last few years, President Ahmadinejad has frequently expressed his goal of destroying the nation of Israel.

According to the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA), the first mention of this goal was made in 2005 when Ahmadinejad said, “Our dear Imam ordered that this Jerusalem-occupying regime must be erased from the page of time. This was a very wise statement.”

The JCPA also quotes him saying, in 2011, “The origin of the Zionist regime…is a cancerous infested tumor; even if one of its cells remains in the region it will be infested, and this situation will go on. This is why these cells must be extracted.” The situation has escalated incredibly in the past year.

Iran has finally begun refining nuclear materials, much to the defiance of the world. Many nations have put in place massive sanctions on Iran, trying to make them stop their nuclear programs.

Iran continues to defend that their efforts will not be used in weapons and has allowed UN inspectors to tour many of their facilities. However, according to U.S. News, the inspectors have not been granted access to the Parchin military complex where officials believe Iran may be conducting secret work on atomic weapons.

Iran has also covered this complex with plastic sheeting in an attempt to block out the vision of spy-planes and aerial surveillance. In response, the nation of Israel seems to be preparing for war. According to France 24, Israel has set up a text-messaging system in order to alert their citizens of incoming missiles.

Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu has been continually talking of an ensuing war and is seeking the support of America. On September 16th, HAARETZ reports Netanyahu claiming that Iran would be on the brink of nuclear capabilities within six to seven months. He has pressured the U.S. to take a stronger stance against Iran, requesting that President Obama set a clear “red line” for Iran. Netanyahu said that Israel would attack without help from the U.S. if they feel that any further delay would make them incapable of stopping the nuclear programs.

The question is, should America join forces with Israel in a unilateral strike against Iran? According to the New York Post, an attack by Israel would not only result in a combined missile attack on Israel from Iran, the Hezbollah, and the Hamas, but Iran said Sunday that they will also “...definitely be at war with American bases [in the region] should a war break out.”

Not only will our bases be threatened, but Israel has their own nuclear missiles, and if they feel their country is losing the war, who’s to say they won’t use them as a last ditch effort? Should America stand up with its ally and prevent a possible nuclear war? Which raises the ultimate question: how does this affect NDSU and the F-M area?
With the recent bomb threats these past few weeks, it has brought a heightened awareness to what is actually going on around the world. These threats need to be taken serious not only at a procedural level, but also on where, who and what is the cause of these threats.

Students and residents need to be informed about what is happening not just on campus, around town, or in the Cities but what is going on around the world as well.

Morgan is a sophomore majoring in journalism.