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Posted on 04/24/2013 4:34:56 AM PDT by Sir Napsalot
The shutdown of Boston during the search for the Marathon bombers was symptomatic of a country that still has a lot to learn about dealing with terrorism. Shutting down an entire city to find two people is not only absurd and extraordinarily costly, it feeds right into the hands of terrorists, who study our responses and plan their next attacks accordingly.
Yes, to the casual observer, Boston’s reaction seemed to send a message to other would-be terrorists that we are vigilant and seriously committed to keeping America safe. Boston’s initial response to the bombing was excellent, saving countless lives. Then the terrorists were quickly ID’d — and once their pictures were broadcast, they were both caught within 24 hours.
Even here, things hardly went as the FBI had planned. ..... On the other hand, jihadis around the world must have noticed what can only be called a law-enforcement overreaction of gigantic proportions.
When the manhunt began in earnest, law-enforcement officers from all around the region descended on the scene in a massive show of support. They included an estimated 9,000 local, state and federal police, bomb-squad experts and SWAT marksmen, anti-terror specialists and security contractors — with several thousand vehicles of all kinds, from police cars, vans, mobile command buses, ambulances and fire engines to a visible array of heavy military vehicles including armored Humvees and tanks.
Ironically, the area of interest was essentially limited to an area of several blocks in the suburb of Watertown.
This concentration of force — the largest man-hunt in New England history — had the potential for tragedy. When you have so much uncoordinated firepower concentrated in a small area, chaos can quickly turn into catastrophe. ..... (Read it all)
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
We still have a lot to learn about combating terrorism. It doesn’t require a show of force as much as a show of strength of purpose, using men and women who are specifically trained for the job. It isn’t the number of troops that you bring to the battle, but their training and their ability to fight the enemy’s war.
Frame it. However,
Those in charge have a different philosophy.
Shutting down the entire city was a huge mistake, and made some grandstanding politicians look like dumbells in retrospect.
Exactly. Can you say ‘copycat’? Sure you can.
Here in Texas we would have had, literally, a 1,000,000 posse looking for the clowns. We don’t cower in our homes.
Of course, hindsight is 20/20. The level of response was excessive. And shutting down a major city was not done by the terrorists but by our own government. That was as inappropriate as disarming citizens during Hurricane Katrina. Finally, the steadfast refusal of our government and media to call these scum what the are, Muslim terrorists, completes a picture of naïveté.
Kudos to the responders. Mediocre marks to the coordinators. Now we'd better learn...fast! Because our enemies have confirmed a great weakness; how to overwhelm with almost no effort.
It's time to become proficient in dealing with those attacking us on our own soil. It is time for us to become swift and terrible in our retribution on those launching attacks from beyond our borders. It is past time to become proactive in dealing with those plotting such attacks, wherever they may be.
I do wonder how a ‘martial law’ (officially not a martial law) could have been imposed on Texas.
Probably only in large cities, just like most BLUE metropolitan areas.
Impressive-sounding numbers but this army and all their expensive toys were unable to find a fugitive. Half a dozen men in uniform at every intersection in a city where the streets were deserted as the entire populace were bunkered in their homes was futile bordering on silly, especially considering Tsarnaev was caught outside the 'ring of steel.'
Welcome to martial law disguised as security...
They also now know that they need to attack at night to avoid the surveillance cams and crowd pics. Some disguise would also be a good idea.
I think Ilana Freedman who has > 25 years of counter-terrorism experience had it right. (excerpt at my #2 post)
So now we complain when the bad guys are stopped. No matter the police reaction terrorists learn. Some of the bravado here is amusing.
Let's imagine this scenario.
The government has shut down Boston. You are instructed to stay in your home.
One block had talked about this for years and years. There are twenty homes on their little street. Each one of the men and one woman owns a legal "assault rifle". As LE starts to come down the street. The men/woman in the twenty homes step out to the concrete stoop with their rifle across their chest.
What would happen??
Mass has something like a 10% firearms ownership rate. One of the lowest in the country. The hypothesis is not realistic.
Now, in Texas or Utah or Alabama....
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