For most Americans, terrorism is something experienced at a distance — through television images, newspaper headlines, casualty reports, and political speeches.
asserted
terrorism → experience → images
For me, it became personal.
asserted
it → become → me
On the night of May 12, 2003, I was participating in a training exercise with the Saudi Arabian National Guard approximately 40 kilometers east of Riyadh.
uncertain
I → participate → Riyadh
At about 23:24, I heard a distant explosion, followed by several more.
asserted
I → hear → more
At first, we assumed Saudi artillery units were conducting night training.
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units → assume → training
We soon learned otherwise.
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We → learn → ?
Terrorists had launched coordinated attacks against three Western residential compounds in Riyadh.
asserted
Terrorists → launch → Riyadh
One of them was ours — the Vinnell-Arabia compound where American trainers and their families lived.
asserted
trainers → live → them
Peter Berg’s 2007 movie, The Kingdom, was based on terrorist events at my compound.
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movie → base → compound
The attackers came prepared.
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attackers → come → ?
They used automatic weapons and grenades to penetrate the entrance.
asserted
They → use → entrance
A second vehicle carrying a massive explosive charge then entered the compound and detonated near the principal American living quarters, High Rise No. 1.
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vehicle → carry → quarters
I was in the desert when the terrorists attacked.
asserted
terrorists → attack → desert
When my training team and I returned at daylight, the destruction was devastating.
asserted
destruction → return → daylight
No building in our six-block compound had escaped damage.
asserted
building → escape → damage
Windows were shattered.
asserted
Windows → shatter → ?
Walls and roofs had collapsed.
asserted
Walls → collapse → ?
My own living quarters were badly damaged, and my roof had collapsed, my front door had been blown across the room and was lying on top of my bed, while my window was impaled in the wall above my bed.
asserted
window → live → bed
My office, only a block from the center of the explosion, had been gutted.
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office → gutte → explosion
Incidentally, the Vinnell Compound was originally built by the Saudi Binladin Group, which was founded by the al Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden’s father.
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which → build → leader
But buildings can be replaced.
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buildings → replace → ?
Seven Americans and two Filipinos working with Vinnell were killed, and more than 100 people were wounded.
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people → work → Vinnell
Among the dead was retired Marine Master Sergeant Herman Diaz, with whom I had served decades earlier in Vietnam with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion.
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I → retire → Battalion
That made the attack particularly personal.
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attack → make → ?
This was not some random explosion caused by a handful of disorganized fanatics.
asserted
This → cause → fanatics
The attackers appeared to know the compound.
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attackers → appear → compound
They knew where and how to penetrate its security.
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They → know → security
Most importantly, they knew where to strike to inflict maximum casualties.
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they → know → casualties
That distinction matters.
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distinction → matter → ?
It requires intelligence, reconnaissance, planning, training, and preparation.
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It → require → intelligence
And frequently, it succeeds because terrorists identify something else: Complacency.
asserted
terrorists → succeed → something
They look for the gate that isn’t adequately protected.
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that → look → gate
The security procedure has become routine.
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procedure → become → ?
The reaction force that hasn’t been rehearsed.
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that → rehearse → ?
The warning that wasn’t taken seriously.
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that → take → ?
The assumption that because nothing happened yesterday, nothing will happen tomorrow.
asserted
nothing → happen → ?
The Riyadh attack changed the way I thought about security.
asserted
I → change → security
Afterward, it became my responsibility to help ensure that our new Vinnell compound would not suffer the same fate.
asserted
compound → become → fate
We reconsidered security arrangements, reaction forces, and defenses intended to stop attackers before they could reach their primary targets.
uncertain
they → reconsider → targets
With $4.6 million and months of work, my team and I made our compound impenetrable.
asserted
compound → make → work
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
