I work just down the street, but luckily, we always have Patriot's Day off as a company holiday. Strange to see so many National Guardsman and state police keeping watch in the subway stations today.
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I work just down the street, but luckily, we always have Patriot's Day off as a company holiday. Strange to see so many National Guardsman and state police keeping watch in the subway stations today.
Bae, what you've said is why I think this bombing was done by a crazy person, non-affiliated. Kinda like the Olympic Park bombing.
What sort of bothers me is that these sorts of things are often meant to incite fear and demoralize. I wonder if there aren't other people of groups that see this as an opportunity to drive the wedge a little deeper.
What ever people might say about the high cost of Homeland Security or the inconveniences like long lines and inspections in airports, or certain perceived loss or privacy, some of which are probably valid, it does seem like there has been a degree of effectiveness in catching or deterring similar things.
Eric Rudolph was anything but some lone nut. From Wikipedia:
Eric Robert Rudolph (born September 19, 1966), also known as the Olympic Park Bomber, is responsible for a series of bombings across the southern United States between 1996 and 1998, which killed two people and injured at least 150 others in the name of an anti-abortion and anti-gay agenda. The Federal Bureau of Investigation considers him a terrorist.[1]
As a teenager Rudolph was taken by his mother to a Church of Israel compound in 1984; it is connected to the Christian Identity movement.[2] He has called himself a Roman Catholic in "the war to end this holocaust" (in reference to abortion).[3] He has confirmed religious motivation, but denied racial motivation for his crimes.[4]
He was cut from the same cloth as Timothy McVeigh (anti-government militia movement), Kevin Harpham (white supremacist Movement), and the assassins of law enforcement personnel in Texas and Colorado, thought to be members of the Aryan Brotherhood.
I've had no where near your level of training bae, but even just from basic OSHA training on how to safely handle some materials you can get a pretty good idea of how to cause a commotion. Even so, the relatively small and inefficient IEDs in Boston have caused quite a disruption in that city and drawn a massive amount of national attention. I'm guessing that is mission accomplished for whoever set them up.
I agree that our (foreign) enemies are not particularly motivated to actually attack the US inside our borders. The primary emphasis, at least in the middle east, seems more geared toward pushing us outside of their borders. If our leaders follow through with the proposed military exit strategy there may be even less reason for most foreign terrorist cells to target us.
My take on my BIL's information is that we should be more worried about domestic terrorism similar to what he has to deal with. The Taliban in Pakistan is, after all, a domestic group. The level of training you and so many others have received only seems to amplify the potential threat. Sooner or later there will be someone with that knowledge who will find the motivation to use it in a negative way.
Isn't that really just the definition of terrorism?
I agree. I haven't heard the news today (yet) so there are probaly tons of new info but I also think it was some "lone gunman (bombman) in the watchtower" kind of thing. Back when I was in my senior year of college for Criminal Justice I had to take a semester long class called "Terrorism and Violence". It went thru all the various domestic and international terror groups of that time - as well as some of the more wacko left and right wing groups - and disscussed their methods and "tools" commonly used. And like both Bae and Gregg said, these kind of bombs, while used worldwide, are generally that of small unsophiticated groups or lone disgruntled people. Like other's here, I too can't even fanthom how wound up a person (or group of people) must get to do something like this to innocent people - unless they have mental health issues. Just boggles the mind. Especially if it was over something like taxes. Throw some tea in the harbor and protest for change - don't kill people!
You're right but often individuals - or a couple of individuals - will splinter off from the main group and act alone rather than acting on the groups behalf. Usually in a more violent fashion then the main more political arm of the group would act. Often times those groups deny any current connection to the individual (and their acts of violence) even if they had been a member at one time.
The Saudi Marathon man...
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blog...athon-man.html
IBEW Local 103 has a billboard in Boston. I like how the brotherhood's sign says: COWARDS; and, Pray for Boston.