Terrorist Osama

bin Laden made the biggest mistake against Americans since 1941, according

to a specialist in terrorism who spoke here Saturday.

"In both

instances," said Clinton Van Zandt, "neither aggressor truly

understood Americans and that they had truly awakened a sleeping giant."

Van Zandt,

a 25-year veteran special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation,

spoke at the 35 th annual banquet of the Fayette County Chamber

of Commerce.

A hostage negotiator,

he also specializes in threat assessment and behavioral and forensic analysis.

He has been

acknowledged as the team leader of the analytical team that identified

the "Unabomber," and is credited with correctly profiling Oklahoma

City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

In dealing

with David Koresh at the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco, Texas, Van

Zandt said that Koresh had a Bible and Van Zandt had one, with Koresh

flipping through the Bible finding one verse here and one verse there

to prove the Davidian theories were correct. Van Zandt told him that his

own Bible stated it was important to save even one sheep. "You want

to kill your whole flock," Van Zandt told him.

Upon retiring

from the federal government, Van Zandt created his own consulting company,

specializing in investigative support, threat assessment and behavioral

and forensic analysis in Fredericksburg, Va.

He ended his

talk with a reading from the Bible, Isaiah 40: "Every valley shall

be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low, the uneven ground

shall become level Behold, the Lord God comes with might, He will feed

his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms, he will

carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young they

shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary,

they shall walk and not faint."

"This

is who we are as Americans," he said. "God bless America."