# US Orange (High) Terror Alert - Real? Or Way to Get the People Ready?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-orange-high-terror-alert-real-or-way-to-get-the-people-ready/153705>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [February 8, 2003, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-orange-high-terror-alert-real-or-way-to-get-the-people-ready/153705 "2003-02-08T14:39:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![il\_Topo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eb9ed0/32.png) [@il\_Topo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/il_Topo)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2003, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-orange-high-terror-alert-real-or-way-to-get-the-people-ready/153705/1 "2003-02-08T14:39:37Z")

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Is the hightened alert status in the US real (e.g., based on real information)?

Or is it merely a way to make people a little nervous, and therefore better prepared mentally for an imminent war with Iraq and the casualties that will produce?

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**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2003, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-orange-high-terror-alert-real-or-way-to-get-the-people-ready/153705/2 "2003-02-08T15:54:06Z")

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Cynicism is like mana to the terrorists. We as a people must strive, in these difficult times, to become ever more credulous. Only by living in a constant state of fear can America be truly free.

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**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2003, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-orange-high-terror-alert-real-or-way-to-get-the-people-ready/153705/3 "2003-02-08T15:59:04Z")

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I think it’s more like a CYA situation. They raise the warning level, so if something _does_ happen, they can say, “Hey! We warned you!”

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**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2003, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-orange-high-terror-alert-real-or-way-to-get-the-people-ready/153705/4 "2003-02-08T16:50:19Z")

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I was just talking about this with a friend a few minutes ago…I think it’s because they know they’re about to do stuff which will produce a certain inevitable response which would justify the “Orange” rating. Diplomats have been recalled from the Middle East, too (I don’t know exactly which countries yet).

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**Author:** ![Lostboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Lostboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lostboy)\
**Post date:** [February 9, 2003, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-orange-high-terror-alert-real-or-way-to-get-the-people-ready/153705/5 "2003-02-09T00:33:44Z")

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We are told the terrorist alerts are based on increased traffic of terrorist communications-I see three posibilities.

1. There is a threat.

2. The government is trying to frighten us.

3. The terrorist organizations, realizing that we monitor their Communications, have simply started using them to attempt to frighten us.