by MARK POWELL
***
You may have missed it beneath the deluge of political mail pieces and television commercials we’ve all endured lately. But something very important went largely unnoticed last month.
October saw an unusually large spike in official preparedness warnings in Western nations.
Governments urging their citizenry to “be prepared – just in case” is hardly new. Such warnings have been around in one form or another since the days of the Cold War. They’re dusted off and updated from time to time, then largely ignored along with other official reminders to stash some savings for a rainy day or to brush and floss after meals.
What was different in October was the noteworthy nearly simultaneous increase in the type of messaging.
Belgium issued a practical emergency guide, Luxembourg announced a 72-hour self-sufficiency guide tailored to households, and most significantly, Great Britain began a national campaign urging people to prepare for service disruptions.
Before conspiracy theorists leap to conclusions, it should be pointed out that all three of those nations have cautioned their populations for some time now about being ready to ride out emergencies caused by severe weather, power outages and terrorist attacks – especially cyberattacks.
And so it might appear so this time, too. If it weren’t for the Iran War.
***
For its part, Washington, D.C. issued a serious overseas security warning several days ago. Largely ignored by the mainstream media – who are obsessed with the coming midterm elections – on October 23 the U.S. Department of State strongly urged American citizens to leave Iran immediately. The bulletin also ordered non-emergency U.S. government employees and their families to get out of Saudi Arabia.
Then Iran significantly upped the ante on Halloween. Mojtaba Khamenei, the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader du jour, made a statement that went beyond the usual chest-thumping “Death to America” rhetoric.
Iran’s official news agency reported Khamenei informed his top military brass that any perceived threat from the U.S. or Israel would trigger an immediate response “without geographic limits.”
Another Iranian statement made a week earlier even spelled out intended targets. On October 22, 2026, supreme national security council secretary Mohsen Rezaei said oil facilities, undersea cables, data centers and AI facilities would all be legitimate targets if it’s attacked again.
Tellingly, none of the more than one dozen sources in Washington asked about the recent flurry of preparedness warnings were willing to speculate, on or off the record, about what the data suggest.
“Just too many wild cards at the moment to draw a sound conclusion,” one explained.
***
RELATED | FIRE REPORTED AT SAVANNAH RIVER SITE
***
However, it is worth noting that cyber security adds a new wrinkle to the threat scenario facing our country. One military historian put it this way:
“In the 1940s, the danger came from aircraft-carrier-based bombers striking U.S. facilities, as Japan did at Pearl Harbor,” he noted. “By the 1960s and 70s, it came from long-range missiles carrying nuclear warheads, as the Soviet Union tried to place in Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In the early 20th century, it was terrorist-led strikes, as we witnessed in the September 11, 2001 attacks. Now, in 2026, the threat comes in the guise of an attack targeting the computerized central nervous system that powers not only our nation but the entire world. Paralyze it, and we’re all sitting dead in the water. Iran could make it happen from the comfort of Tehran; no military mission necessary.”
This news outlet reported a few weeks back that some political observers were concerned about the possibility of a 60-day window of opportunity for the Trump administration to renew military attacks on Iran. It spans the eight weeks after the November 3 midterms, continuing up to the January 3, 2027 convening of the new 120th Congress.
Among the most intriguing recent developments on the U.S. side: a clandestine Camp David power gathering of top U.S. government elites that included everyone short of president Donald Trump. In what one news outlet called “a highly unusual meeting,” attendees at the October 2 confab included vice president JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, war secretary Pete Hegseth, treasury secretary Scott Bessent, CIA director John Ratcliffe, joint chiefs chairman Dan Caine, and Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff.
It was also noted that the last time those figures had met was in June 2025 – just weeks before the powerful U.S. surprise attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
With November now upon us, speculation mounts, tension grows, and the preparedness tea leaves are scrutinized more closely and carefully than ever.
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
J. Mark Powell is an award-winning former TV journalist, government communications veteran, and a political consultant. He is also an author and an avid Civil War enthusiast. Got a tip or a story idea for Mark? Email him at mark@fitsnews.com.
***
SOUND OFF…
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
1 comment
Lots of possibilities. There is a YouTube video still viewable, of a Lt Col Ritchie (US Army Retired) talking about a recent meeting at Quantico where Trump spoke to a lot of top military brass. Lt Col Ritchie expressed disapoointment that the brass sat or stood stone faced while Trump talked of having them attack Americans here at home. This short video seemed credible. Sadly, Fits does not facilitate posting a link.
On various comment boards, theories run from a planet or asteroid headed our way, to attacks by Iran, to our own Government shutting down everything. I have long said that if we were ever EMP’ed, our Government would probably blame Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, or any combination thereof, while in reality it would be a false flag attack by our own Government and/or Israel to “justify” our attacking one or more of the listed nations, a-la 9-11.
Iran has been issuing threats for decades but sadly, seem unable to defend themselves from the bullying us and Israel enjoy dishing out to them. This kind of proves they had no nukes and that we knew they did not have them. North Korea has nukes and we haven’t seen fit to push them around.