DARIEN, CT, June 27-
A worldwide terror cartel may be
maintaining a covert protective
shield over America's homeland, 
preventing unwanted attacks.

Yes, that's right. 

The world may be teeming with
violent terror cells bent on the
destruction of America’s global
reach, but if experts who wager
big money on such things can be
believed, right now, and for the
foreseeable future, none of these
deadly groups have a taste for
another 9/11.

"Big Terror" is looking elsewhere,
according to a near-consensus of 
the nation's leading 
supercatastrophe insurers.

The industry's top risk analysts
have been gathered here for the
past week to discuss the outlook 
for the upcoming underwriting
year.

"Yes, no falling towers ahead,"
says Thomas Calzone of Forecast
Alert, who describes
supercatastrophes as the impacts
of nature's worst tempests and
man's "evilest ingenuity." 

"Mother Nature's on her
own again." 

This surprising view on domestic
terror prospects was rolled out
at a closed-session briefing
conducted for the insurers here
yesterday by various
intellligence specialists. 

"After last afternoon's
eye-opener, most of us don’t see
another 9/11 anytime soon," says
Blanton Collier of Eagle Vision,
a leading independent risk
assessment group.

Why so confident?

Apparently, word is out of a
major strategic pact reached
inside the world of Big Terror. 
According to multipule sources, 
all the globe's larger "terror"
organizations, after sometimes
arduous negotiations, finally
agreed among themselves last fall
to stay away from America’s
homeland.

"Seems they decided that given
present global conditions it’s
in all their best interests to
stick to overseas American
targets," says Calzone, who was
one of yesterday's briefers.

"We can confirm this seven ways
to Sunday," he adds.


"Yep, that's right, the word is 
'Lay off the US homeland or we’ll
shut you down,'" says Collier, 
"and believe me, this will work. 
They’re doing their own policing,
and you don’t want to cross some
of those boys."

This agreed-upon, voluntary ban
appears to include all the known
groups capable of large-scale
coordinated attacks like the Twin
Trade Tower strike in New York.

"from Al Quaida to Shining Path
by way of Jihad, Hamass, the IRA,
the ETA and the FARC," says
Forecast’s Calzone, "it's across
the board."
 
"Now that we know this, it could
reduce SuperCat premiums by
millions, even billions of
dollars," says Eagle’s Collier. 

The insurance sector calls policies 
written to cover 9/11-type
supercatastrophes "SuperCats."

Even today, nearly two years later,
no one can say what the Twin Towers
collapse will ultimately cost the
underwriters involved. However it
comes out, it will certainly mean
tens of billions of dollars in
payouts, according to several
experts close to the process.

How effective could a bombing ban 
like this be?

"Very effective. Very effective,
indeed," says Buffet Group's Neil
Talbot, a renowned expert on
global terror. "After all, why get
the American people into this
thing any more then you have to?"

"Looking back on it, 9/11 was
probably a one-off.

"They got too much- really way
more than they expected," says
Talbot. "The buildings falling
so fast and without major escape-
they never figured on that. It was
way over the top. Too much of a
good thing, really."

"These people are after symbols,
not substance," says Talbot. 
"Killing thousands of innocents-
that was beyond their expectations,
beyond their desires. They wanted
to strike at a two-headed monster:
Corporate America and the US 
Military. The Pentagon strike was
aimed at the Military's HQ, and,
unfortunately, to the ill-informed
minds of the Third World Street, 
the Twin Towers were the Pentagon
of high finance."

Now, it seems, the Arab terror
rings are looking to consolidate 
their operations. According to the
experts, they plan to keep the
strikes local; in Talbot's words,
"closer to the scene of the crime."
 
"After all, it's only sensible,
really," Talbot adds. "The big
shows should be overseas if it's
really transnationals they’re after 
and not Baby Snoots or Mrs. Bloody
Doubtfire."

How long could the lock down last? 

"A long time, maybe," says Eagle’s
Collier. "They got themselves kind
of an OPEC of terror out there now,
and while covering eachother's
backs, they can kick a few 
out-of-line butts, too."

Talbot, despite sharing the
consensus view, hastens to add one
"caveat."

"Big Terror is not all that’s out
there," he says. "Remember
Oklahoma."
  
"Lone rangers and assorted stray
dog packs, says Talbot, "roaming
around with nothing to lose...
Goodness, they have, by their
very nature, a perfect genius for
slipping under the radar and 
pulling  off one variety of nasty
business or other." 

"Like the poor and the hungry," he
says, "the Lee Oswald’s, the Abdul
Reeds and the Timothy McVeighs of
this world are, and always will be,
with us."