July 07, 2005
London Bombings
As the world's attention is focused on London in the aftermath of this morning's bombings, I can't help but put myself into a terrorist's head and think that now would be an ideal time for a second attack on a major target like NYC or Paris. The local news channels in NYC have been running non-stop live footage of the subway system, tunnel entrances and bridges. From a terrorist's perspective, all of these media cameras trained on their potential prime targets can only be a good thing since it helps them spread their message of hatred through the powerful imagery of a terrorist attack. Stop a moment and think about it. Can you imagine the kinds of footage these media cameras would catch should the terrorists do a one-two kind of attack? First, a smaller attack like what happened this morning in London to get the media's attention, and then following that, a larger attack on one of the prime targets that's being monitored by hundreds of television cameras -- thus guaranteeing some kind of sensational footage.
The thought of something like this scares me but I know there is little I can do as an individual to prevent terrorists from succeeding in their plots. I subscribe to the practices put forth by the MTA and NYPD: stay alert, be aware of those around you, and report anything that might be suspicious no matter how silly it may seem.
My thoughts and concerns go out to those families affected by today's bombings in London.
Posted by Cameron Barrett at July 7, 2005 01:13 PMMaybe they're more concerned about laying low or getting the hell out of dodge. At any rate, the armchair quarterbacking and hand-wringing is kind of annoying. We already have enough of that, don't we?
Posted by: Ben at July 8, 2005 09:39 AM
Actually Ben, I am worried about terrorism as much as the next person. But I don't let it change my behavior or interfere with getting on with my life. The work you are doing in Iraq is important and I'm glad that someone as smart as you is there. Good luck.
Posted by: Cameron Barrett at July 8, 2005 10:52 AM
It's just that terrorism shouldn't be seen as a problem with no solution. You can minimize it with common sense, which even after 9/11 the U.S. stubbornly refuses to have.
Posted by: Ben at July 8, 2005 11:58 PM
they'd probably want to hold off till the next time world powers start talking up smack like environmentalism or starvation again.
Posted by: chaizilla at July 10, 2005 01:52 PM
What concerns me is that the U.S. government remains so focused on protecting us from attacks exactly like the previous ones. After the London bombings, I heard that something like $72 has been spent on air safety for every $1 spent making public transit safer. Granted, Sep. 11 demonstrated that a plane attack can be more catastrophic than a subway attack, but there still needs to be some balancing of priorities. The "experts" need to be solving the real problems and not simply make it look like they're making things safer.
Posted by: Benjy at July 12, 2005 11:38 AM
I find it funny that countries with the most sophisticated technology cant find one man they claim to be behind all of this--bin laden. its just ridiculous for me to believe them. i think theyre all involved. after all, politicans never did give a damn about an average citizens blood. There's just so much innocent blood being shed everyday by these countries. And then it happens in theirs too. Its such a shame on humanity. And none of these countries seem to want to address the root cause of it all. It's like they have the most perfect excuse for everything! Blame it on Al Qaeda.
Posted by: BaptizedLucifer at July 17, 2005 06:09 PM
Technology will not find people like bin Laden. Okay, maybe it can help confirm a hit, but what we need are, if you suppose bin Laden is in the mountains in Afghanistan still, a lot more infantry, some CIA/CI/terps/HUMINT/linguist assets, and some commitment to looking there.
And what of Al-Qaeda? Are they really behind all these attacks in London and Iraq? Or are they just trying to turn themselves into the international bogeyman?
Posted by: Ben at July 19, 2005 12:48 AM
