Anniversary of attacks marks year of change for Oklahoma

Saturday, September 7th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A long line of air travelers wound slowly toward a ticket counter at Will Rogers World Airport as Andy Petrisko stood over his luggage and recalled how simple air travel was before Sept. 11.

``Before, you just threw things on,'' Petrisko, a U.S. Postal Service supervisor bound for Houston, said as he shuffled along with a pair of carry-on bags and a large suitcase almost two hours before his scheduled departure.

``They look at everything now,'' he said. ``I leave nail clippers at home now. I used to carry a pocket knife. Not anymore. You're just a little more aware now.''

Tight airport security, long lines and frustrating delays remind Oklahomans that things are different since terrorists struck New York City and Washington, D.C., one year ago.

Attitudes have changed, too. The sense that America was invulnerable to foreign terrorist attack has been replaced by the inevitability of another and worry over whether America will become involved in a wider war in the Middle East.

``I think that's going to be an ongoing concern for the next 10, 15, 20 years,'' said Cliff Berg as he shopped with his wife and two children in Oklahoma City.

``If you walk around and you're not worried about it, you're fooling yourself. You've got to live your life like you always have, but you've got to be aware.''

Oklahomans, more than most Americans, know the horrific impact of a terrorist attack following the Oklahoma City bombing, said Mary Margaret Myers of Alva.

``No one is immune,'' Myers said. ``I think it's a possibility. I'm not particularly worried about it. Maybe that's being overly optimistic.''

Threats and violence against Muslims shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks have been replaced by a new interest in the religious faith the terrorists shared, said Saad Mohammed of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City.

``We feel that people have become more curious about Islam,'' said Mohammed. ``I think the curiosity is what has risen, not the ridicule or stereotypes about Muslims.''

Mohammed said about 600 people of Middle Eastern, American and other cultures participate in religious services at a mosque operated by the society that teaches killing is wrong and that the term jihad, interpreted by Islamic terrorist groups as waging holy war, means to strive or to struggle, ``not to kill innocent people.''

``Whenever you kill one person, it's like you killed all humanity,'' Mohammed said. ``They think it means to do bad things to people. That's not it.''

Terrorism, including the possibility of biological, chemical and nuclear attacks, is a constant concern for state officials whose job is to prepare for more attacks and, if possible, prevent them.

``This is something that we spend an enormous amount of time being prepared for,'' said Dr. Leslie M. Beitsch, Oklahoma's commissioner of health.

In April, thousands of people lined up in McAlester to take fake doses of medicine as part of a three-day simulated bioterrorism attack. The drill was one of the most complex bioterrorism exercises ever held.

State Rep. John Nance, R-Bethany, spearheaded efforts in the Legislature to give state homeland security officials sweeping powers to respond to terrorist attacks.

``Al-Qaida is alive and well and they're still getting a lot of money,'' he said.

``I still think Oklahoma is very vulnerable. Other than anxiety among the people, I don't see where we've made many strides. We haven't closed the door locally or nationally. I'm very concerned about it.''

The state Department of Health was deluged with requests to test powdery substances after envelopes containing anthrax spores were mailed along the East Coast in the weeks following the Sept. 11 attacks. None of the material tested positive for anthrax.

``Everybody's very concerned about what will happen a year later,'' Beitsch said. ``I do think there tends to be complacency. But the fears return if events reintroduce the same factor.''

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol has worked to secure federal funds to equip those who would be first to respond to a weapon of mass destruction, said, who heads homeland security efforts at the state Department of Public Safety.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Kerry Pettingill said Oklahoma authorities are more experienced in responding to terrorism than their counterparts in other states because of the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which killed 168 people, injured hundreds more and caused millions of dollars in damage to downtown Oklahoma City.

``We as Oklahomans know what it's like to have something like this happen in our backyard,'' he said.