Terrorism

[tombogan03884]

In another Thread  "Love, Tolerance, Peace & Harmony "
http://www.downrange.tv/forum/index.php?topic=7007.0
Some one thought it was BS that the Ark Muslim gunman acted alone. This ignores one of the basic tactics of terrorism. While he MAY in fact not have acted alone there is no evidence of that nor is there any need for him to have had more than intellectual connections to any wider group.
The objective of "terrorism" is terror, the instilling of a sense of overwhelming fear into the target audience, terrorist actions do not have to be spectacular to be successful, small pin prick attacks like this make a point that 9-11 never could, the assholes can strike anywhere, anytime.
There is nothing "New" about the tactics of terrorism, they use the perfectly acceptable methods laid out by Mao, and expanded upon by Ho Chi Mihn, when documenting their methods of guerrilla warfare, concepts that date back to the Vikings and beyond. The only real difference is that they PREFER to target civilians. But that really is not anything new either, when the Vikings raided Lindisfarne Abbey in 795 it was not aimed at defeated a military force, but rather scaring the the crap out of a bunch of Priests and farmers so they would give up the loot.
While I personally think that we should start at the borders of Israel and kill vermin till we get to India, it does not prevent me from understanding the thinking being used, and agreeing that it is in fact the most effective method available to any one who wishes to fight the United States.
 The idea that any one in their right mind would engage us in a conventional war is ridiculous, the only ones with the ability are Russia (Maybe) India, (Who is an ally more or less) and China (who wouldn't want to wreck the collateral on their loans) Then of course there is Iran, and N Korea (both run by nutcases)
Europe is irrelevant, While the EU may have Nukes they are saddled with France and Italy, even if they did feel froggy nothing effective would come of it,
The REAL powers in the modern world, India and China, have far more to gain through trade and diplomacy than war could ever give them and they are aware of it. Besides both lack sufficient sea and air lift capacity.
 Russia may engage in rhetoric and saber rattling but beyond nukes they have nothing, their Army never amounted to any thing more than numbers even during WWII and has never regained it's confidence after Afghanistan, while it's Navy rusts at the pier What ships the do manage to put to sea have beautiful lines and run like shit.
That leaves the nutcases, N Korea my very well attack, maybe Japan, probably South Korea, if they use their nukes we will glaze them over, if not they will cease to exist because the South has been gearing up for this just as long as the North has, and the Southerners are eating regular, and training with their American supplied technology.
Syria, the inheritors of Saddams WMD will not do anything alone and will only act with others if they are forced into it, their forces are destroyed every time the confront the Israelis, as a side note we twice destroyed the larger Iraqi army in a week, the Syrians are aware of this and that they have exactly the same weapons and tactics that failed Saddam so miserably.
That leaves Iran and Pakistan, neither of which will engage us in a conventional war unless we take it to them because they lack the capacity to strike us in any conventional manner.
This is where the theory of unconventional warfare comes into play, terrorist attacks are no longer attributable to a particular Nation, the strike from nowhere by dedicated "fighters" can cause effects that no nation could hope to achieve. 8 years after the actions of 19 hijackers on 9-11we are still feeling the effects on airtravel , a few envelopes of white powder shut down DC and screwed up mail deliveries for weeks.
With the inherent vulnerability of our ports, food and water supplies, fuel supplies, and electrical grid a similar, relatively small group has the capability of causing far worse devastation, and disruption. mean while these minor attacks keep us on edge, always wondering if it can happen in Ark. it can happen in NH, or Kentucky, It has already happened in Co. (anti Qaddafi dissident shot early 80's) Wa. (millennium bomber arrest) NJ. (Ft Dix plot) Fla.(Al Queda cell recently convicted) Ill. (Chicago "dirty bomb plot) and NY. (Buffalo terror cell, WTC bombing, 9-11 and numerous murders such as the assassination of Meir Kohane).
Mean while our security services are trying to protect everything in general and are effectively protecting damn little hampered as they are by such liberal stupidity as bans on "profiling" and an administration composed of fools whose ignorance is made irrelevant by their gutlessness.