At 9/19/16 10:44 AM, BrandonIsNear wrote:
I feel like throughout the last year or so, every attack (in America) has been kinda small scale compared to attacks in other countries.
I mean we've all heard about it so I don't really need to explain any of them, especially in the last few days, but I guess I have some questions on your opinions of the attackers/ ISIS.
1. Do you think these are actually ISIS attacks, or is ISIS just using them to hype themselves?
Personally I think an 'organized' terrorist group would be...better at it?
I would say this is mostly ISIS just hyping themselves. Every time in the past year that a terrorist attack occurred in the world and it was reasonably well covered ISIS took credit. There is no way they are responsible for all of them, seeing as they're having their own problems holding territory in Iraq and Syria. They may have inspired a few, but that is a far cry from being actively involved.
At 9/19/16 10:44 AM, BrandonIsNear wrote:
2. Do you think American law enforcement is just really good at preventing loss of life, or is it just luck/ a mess up on the attacker's end.
American Law enforcement may be a bit better at preventing terrorist attacks then in other countries, but I tend to think we also have a more contained problem then in other countries. Countries, like France and Belgium are closer to Islamic Terrorist hotbeds in the Middle East, have a larger percentage of their population from that region, and more sustained migration. Also any organization, even a terrorist organization, is going to operate more competently closer to home where it is easier to resupply their operations. Europe is closer to the Middle East than the USA.
Countries in Europe, specifically Western Europe, where most of the recent Islamic terrorist attacks have occurred are also relatively small countries compared to the USA, China, and Russia so they have more limited resources to bring to bear against a problem like this. I'd like to think our law enforcement is more competent and perhaps they are, but it is also partly based on luck they we haven't had more fatalities in the terrorist attacks in the USA.
At 9/19/16 10:44 AM, BrandonIsNear wrote:
The New Jersey attack or whatever happened minutes before a marathon would've been ran. It's either pure luck that the bomb went off early, or the bomber is just completely stupid.
The bomber failed to kill or mortally wound anyone even though he set up some half a dozen bombs. I would say that is mostly due to the bomber's stupidity, but also in part due to luck. If that bomb had went off on time this could have been a very different story.
At 9/19/16 10:44 AM, BrandonIsNear wrote:
3. People overreact to very 'small' attacks, like ones that don't even injure people- do you think this works against us?
Personally I think so because it distracts us. Not in some conspiracy way, it just actually distracts people from other issues.
Terrorist attacks meant to kill and injure, but they also meant to terrorize. To the extent that they change people's actions through fear they are at least partially successful, which is part of the reason why we're seeing more of them lately. 24/7 media coverage doesn't help either as fame and infamy have a lot of the same results and copycat bombers will look at this one and think that maybe this is something they could do.
4. Are you personally worried about terrorism where you live?
Whether you live in the US or not, there's plenty of stuff going on without terrorism to worry about- so do you really even think about it?
I think about it more than I used to. Before September 11th the most deadly terrorist attack in the United States was the Oklahoma City bombing. Afterwards the threat of another large scale Islamic terrorist attack became the bigger, or at least the scarier threat. Still, I don't think about it that often. It's not like there is much of anything I can personally do to make a difference either way. You can drive slower and safer to reduce your chances of dying in a car crash. You can reduce your late night hours or avoid more dangerous locations to reduce your chances of getting shot or stabbed. You can eat healthier and exercise to reduce your chances of a heart attack or other health issues. What can you do to reduce your chances, however small of dying in a terrorist attack? Not much.
