Terrorist fear takes hold.

[Workingman]

An electronic message costing a few pence - text, email, phone call or similar - shut down all LA schools. A similar event happened simultaneously in New York but was put down as a hoax.

Which city was right in its actions?

This time it was NY, but what if it was wrong; and what about the next one?

LA took it seriously and acted. It might do the same next time, but one day it will follow NY and be wrong.

This is how terrorism works.

[TheOstrich]

I guess the only surprise is that terrorists don't use this ploy more often ...

[Workingman]

But they will.

And as governments know that they (potential terrorists) reside among us they will have to take the threats seriously.

Eventually something will have to give.

Either we will need to eradicate or neutralise them or they will paralyse us.

[Suff]

In the end they will have to punish the hoaxes as harshly as if they had carried out the act. It is the only way to stop it. Then you known that any threat is the Terrorists.

Then you can do a threat analysis. Do they have the capability, are they in place or are they just pulling your chain.

Tough one and there will be a wrong call sooner or later. That is how terrorism works.

[Kaz]

There were plenty of hoax threats from the IRA, is I remember correctly. I lived and worked in London between '76 and '79 and remember them. They were always taken seriously.