07-28-2005, 11:52 AM
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Guru
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Florida
Age: 42
Posts: 16,229
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Common people are easy to kill
http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2005-07-10-1.html
Quote:
Killing the Common People
When the bombs went off in London, you could practically feel the relief on the part of those who hate the war in Iraq. Of course they regretted the deaths of so many innocents, and of course they were outraged at those who committed the act.
But they also felt vindicated, and some of them said so. They gloated a bit that Rumsfeld had recently said that Al Qaeda was on the ropes, so to speak. Here was proof positive, they believed, that our war in Iraq, far from limiting terrorism, had created new recruits and spread it farther.
It is proof of no such thing; but at the same time, Rumsfeld's comment was unjustified. His wishful thinking is no better than anyone else's.
As long as Al Qaeda remains unpenetrated by spies capable of learning their current plans and overhearing their current conversations, we have no idea what condition they are in. We can only guess.
Still, the ability to bring off four explosions in London within an hour or so hardly means that Al Qaeda (or any of its disciples) is thriving.
It's So Easy to Kill People
Our leaders and all experts have agreed all along that there is no way to prevent any terrorist acts from happening, if someone wants to commit them.
We can make it more difficult for them. We can intercept some, or many, or perhaps even most potential acts of terror through vigilance of many kinds.
But as long as we have enemies who are willing -- even eager -- to die in the act, so they don't require a getaway plan, it is impossible to guarantee that someone, somewhere, won't set off a bomb in a crowd.
How many malls, how many train stations and subway stops, how many buses would we have to watch? As the DC sniper showed us, if you don't care whom you kill, you can always kill somebody.
Airplanes were the easiest things to protect -- we have a limited number of airports, just a few funnels through which all passengers must pass. Making them secure is do-able.
But add all the bus and train and subway stations, all the malls and department stores, all the amusement parks and hotels and motels and convention centers in America and Britain and Australia, and you would have to have a significant percentage of your population involved in active law enforcement.
We simply couldn't pay for that many security officers; nor could we find that many people who could do the job well, and would want to do it.
So the slaughter in London was not a sign of Al Qaeda's cleverness, or of any government's laxity in protecting us. Nor was it caused by the war in Iraq -- they were murdering people this way before we lifted a finger against them.
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....essay goes on a good bit, and is well worth a read. Plus, i'd read him just because OSC is a (*)(*)(*)(*) fine writer and the author of a couple of my favorite sci fi books.
Catz
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I'll get nicer when you get smarter.
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