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Why I am not and have not been afraid of terrorist attacks on American soil
Originally posted by Vesayen
The terrorists never "hated our freedom" either. How in the hell could anyone be stupid enough to believe that?
Uh, maybe if they read Sayed Qutb?
"A person cannot approach the divine by reaching beyond the human. To become human, is what this individual person, has been created for.” Martin Buber
I'm not much afraid of terrorist attacks, but living where I do, I can't be so naive as to discount the fact that I'm in the general vicinity of AQ's crosshairs. AQ has hit us several times already, demonstrating its wherewithal to operate in the US. AQ was casing the IMF and other building relatively recently, f.e.
Furthermore, Washington attracts all sorts of crazies who have, from time to time recently, created general havoc -- e.g., anthrax and shooters in the congress.
I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891
Your risk of dying in a car crash is much higher.
Heck, your risk of dying in a plane crash is higher.
A gay person's chances of getting killed in the US from a car crash are much higher than their chances of being lynched by a couple of red necks. Nonetheless the gay community gets more upset about lynchings, and rightly so.
Statistical comparisons of death by accident to death by violence (esp, IMO, political violence) are not particularly meaningful - violence is bad not only because of its material consequences, but because it subordinates us to the violent actor. A woman can decide she "can live" with a wife beater, and may even be materially better off than leaving. But she subordinates her soul, and her freedom, when she decides to "just live with it".
I am not afraid. I work in Washington, DC, and go every day through a metro station that would be a prized target for Al Qaeeda. But I will NOT just "live with it". I will support the effort to counter this threat. Which doesnt mean I will support ANYTHING the govt thinks is advisable.
"A person cannot approach the divine by reaching beyond the human. To become human, is what this individual person, has been created for.” Martin Buber
Originally posted by DanS
I'm not much afraid of terrorist attacks, but living where I do, I can't be so naive as to discount the fact that I'm in the general vicinity of AQ's crosshairs. AQ has hit us several times already, demonstrating its wherewithal to operate in the US.
Furthermore, Washington attracts all sorts of crazies who have, from time to time recently, created general havoc -- e.g., anthrax and shooters in the congress.
My first read of this went like this:
Washington attracts all sorts of crazies... anthrax, shooters, Congress...
Originally posted by lord of the mark
A gay person's chances of getting killed in the US from a car crash are much higher than their chances of being lynched by a couple of red necks. Nonetheless the gay community gets more upset about lynchings, and rightly so.
Statistical comparisons of death by accident to death by violence (esp, IMO, political violence) are not particularly meaningful - violence is bad not only because of its material consequences, but because it subordinates us to the violent actor. A woman can decide she "can live" with a wife beater, and may even be materially better off than leaving. But she subordinates her soul, and her freedom, when she decides to "just live with it".
I am not afraid. I work in Washington, DC, and go every day through a metro station that would be a prized target for Al Qaeeda. But I will NOT just "live with it". I will support the effort to counter this threat. Which doesnt mean I will support ANYTHING the govt thinks is advisable.
Agreed 100%
You're not afraid. That was the point I was making. Outside of Iraq, they don't pose a sufficient threat that one should be afraid in his daily life. And it's a good thing that you're not afraid, because mass-fear can have really really bad consequences.
Besides, not being afraid is a big "**** you" to terrorists. Terrorism is all about instilling fear. By not falling for it, you are already on the winning side
"I have been reading up on the universe and have come to the conclusion that the universe is a good thing." -- Dissident "I never had the need to have a boner." -- Dissident "I have never cut off my penis when I was upset over a girl." -- Dis
Washington attracts all sorts of crazies... anthrax, shooters, Congress...
It works!
-Arrian
I keep saying DC has the craziest homeless people in the United States
"I hope I get to punch you in the face one day" - MRT144, Imran Siddiqui
'I'm fairly certain that a ban on me punching you in the face is not a "right" worth respecting." - loinburger
You're not afraid. That was the point I was making. Outside of Iraq, they don't pose a sufficient threat that one should be afraid in his daily life. And it's a good thing that you're not afraid, because mass-fear can have really really bad consequences.
Besides, not being afraid is a big "**** you" to terrorists. Terrorism is all about instilling fear. By not falling for it, you are already on the winning side
My not being afraid has more to do with a general approach to life and death, at this stage - it was NOT my intent to disparage the fears of others based on statistics.
I DO, when riding the metro, try to keep an eye out for unattended bags, and "suspicious looking behavior".
"A person cannot approach the divine by reaching beyond the human. To become human, is what this individual person, has been created for.” Martin Buber
Re: Why I am not and have not been afraid of terrorist attacks on American soil
Originally posted by Vesayen as far as we know.
Originally posted by Vesayen we are not aware of
QFE
What makes you so certain the feds and .mil would publicly announce every active terrorist captured and every plot foiled? Perhaps the details of many successes remain classified to protect HumInt sources, SigInt methods, etc.
Haven't the administration publicly announced successes that weren't really threats? While the obvious assumption is that they would jump on the chance to announce serious threats I suppose you could make a case that for various reasons they don't want people to know about these and use the lesser successes to appease those who don't look beyond the headline.
Re: Re: Why I am not and have not been afraid of terrorist attacks on American soil
Originally posted by Darius871
QFE
What makes you so certain the feds and .mil would publicly announce every active terrorist captured and every plot foiled? Perhaps the details of many successes remain classified to protect HumInt sources, SigInt methods, etc.
Because in the last month they have anounced 2 planned "attacks" which were NOT attacks or threats then played it off as if they had saved the lives of thousands.
3 months ago I would not of had much proof for my gut feeling, now I do.
Thedrin, you could also make the case that they are so desperate to show they are "protecting the homeland" they will show EVERYTHING they can as a possible success, as a success.... which means they call incompetant idiots terrorists and if they foil ACTUAL terrorists, anounce it.
Re: Re: Re: Why I am not and have not been afraid of terrorist attacks on American so
Originally posted by Vesayen
Thedrin, you could also make the case that they are so desperate to show they are "protecting the homeland" they will show EVERYTHING they can as a possible success, as a success.... which means they call incompetant idiots terrorists and if they foil ACTUAL terrorists, anounce it.
This seems far more likley.
This is exactly what I meant by "obvious assumption". It is what I suspect but I can't rule out the possibility of something else going on.
Perhaps they are reporting on the laughable wannabes we've seen in recent months (Seeds of David in Miami, etc.) because doing so would compromise no intel sources.
Now say - hypothetically - CIA agent Zaid infiltrates an 8-man cell in Yemen planning to steal a truck full of ammonium nitrate and topple the Sears Tower. After the operatives make their way into the U.S., regroup, and reach the final stages of the plot, Zaid finally calls in an FBI raid that nets the whole cell along with their laptops, cell phones, documents, etc. which provide a plethora of clues that could lead to their bosses (if any), financiers, recruiters, supportive sheikhs, forgers, smugglers, and so forth. Interrogations might provide even more information about said individuals.
In such a scenario, do you (not you personally, but anyone here following Vesayen's logic) seriously think we'd see Michael Chertoff on CNN the next day proudly announcing it? If he did, then every single individual linked in any way to the plot would immediately sever every connection. They would relocate, change aliases, change appearance, dump phone numbers, dump email accounts/chat rooms/websites if any, close bank accounts, change message couriers, burn documents, burn hard drives, etc. etc. et ****ingcetera. We're not dealing with amateurs here. Also keep in mind that Zaid and everyone loosely associated with him would be stigmatized in the enemies mind, so they would no longer be useful as HumInt assets. The incident might also cause a general crackdown against informants in the organization that would jeapordize other assets.
Does anyone here actually think all that excellent intel on a silver platter would be thrown out the window for a miniscule PR boost?
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