Will this be another pro forma New Year’s Eve? According to reports, the U.S. has issued a warning that there are fears tonight could be marred by the same scourge that has cursed this most unhappy of decades: terrorism:
Terrorists may be planning a New Year’s Eve attack on the Indonesian island of Bali, Indonesian and US Embassy officials warned today. In an Embassy email to US citizens, the island’s governor said, “There is an indication of an attack to Bali tonight.” Tourism authorities in the popular resort destination distributed the warning widely, urging Westerners to remain alert, AP reports.
With a clear cut warning such as this, it’s more likely that the event won’t come off since it’s now publicized that terrorists plans are known. Which means they could find another venue and reschedule it — to a time and place no one is watching. This decade 2000-2010 will not go down in history as the most joyous one: it has been a decade peppered with personal and financial grief for nations — and famliies.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.