News Article: September 17, 2001 - Scarborough says country was spared far worse fate 

Jackson, Tenn. - Terrorism expert Ivy Scarborough said Monday that the country may have been spared a far worse fate than what it received last Tuesday when America was attacked by unknown terrorists.

“Military historians have concluded that if Hitler had only waited three to four years more before he attacked Poland and continued to build up his military in Germany, that he might never have been defeated,” explained Scarborough. “I think a similar principle may apply here – I believe these terrorists, as Hitler did in 1939, became impatient with wanting to strike at us so quickly, and I think that suggests that they do not yet have nuclear, biological or chemical capabilities which they can effectively deliver. I believe if they did have them, they would have already used them.”

Scarborough, who has spent a great deal of time in more than eight war zones throughout the world, including Afghanistan with the mujahadeen during the war with the Soviet Union, started predicting 18 months ago that a terrible terrorist attack on America would occur.

“Our country has grown complacent in our responsibilities and interactions with the rest of the world and about terrorism in general,” said Scarborough. “The planning for this tragic attack on America has, without doubt, been going on for a long time. But the indicators of the terrorists' intent, as well as their growing capabilities, have been apparent even longer.”

Scarborough said he believes the U.S. administration is handling the country’s response correctly. “The first objective is to make sure we know what the situation is. This was the blunder we’ve made before, by not being aware of what was taking place with these groups,” explained Scarborough. “We should focus on learning everything we can about the terrorist network and the countries that support it. And I believe that’s what Bush and his administration are doing.”

Scarborough predicts that early findings will show a “multiplicity of terrorist groups that are working in concert. Almost certainly, we will find that Osama bin Laden will likely be a key initiator, but his group will be only one of many that actually executed the plan.” He also believes that one or more governments will also be tied to the attack, with Iraq at the top of the list of suspects.

Mr. Scarborough, an attorney from Jackson, Tennessee, holds significant expertise on a variety of current issues, including international terrorism, foreign affairs, national defense policy and American government. He has done extensive freelance reporting and observation in various countries including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Somalia and Kosovo and is widely used by the military as a lecturer on topics including the Afghan war, international crises, and terrorism. Most recently, he was asked by the Tennessee National Guard to brief guard units statewide on the situation in Afghanistan.