question about terrorism...

blackredyellow

I don't get why terrorist targets (or why we are told they have targeted) only trains and airplanes. This latest plot was what, hijack 10 planes, and blow them up over the ocean somewhere? All we keep being told is that these terrorist want to kill westerners and take over the world or whatever. Then why is it that they only go after airplanes and trains? Why go through the work and the risk of creating explosives to get through tough airport security to kill a couple thousand people? You could much easier have people blow up a packed sports stadium and kill 10X more or suicide bomb some suburban malls, and basically create panic across the country. If their goals are to kill us, aren't there much easier and more effective ways?

robbie

yes, anyone can fill a truck with explosives and drive it underneath, or park it next to a sports stadium (providing they could get past that wooden arm that comes down and the security guard), and kill 40,000 people. or hijack a citybus, or a greyhound bus, or open fire in our malls, elementery schools, churches, whatever. the fact is, anyone of us with the funding and the will to do so could kill tens of thousands of people. there is NOTHING this or any government can do to stop a person from killing themselves and taking ALOT of people with them. i cannot imagine why they would go through the planning of getting liquid bombs on airplanes.

gleemonex

Terrorists are stupid. Obviously your plan is going to be found out about if you're trying to get 24 men on 10 flights to blow them up simultaneously. If they really wanted to blow up a plane couldn't they even just send one guy a month to blow up one plane at a time? That way you would have less people involved to spoil the plans, and you wouldn't need to have 24 Arabs all with the same suspicious liquids in bottles.

chopitdown

gleemonex wrote:

Terrorists are stupid. Obviously your plan is going to be found out about if you're trying to get 24 men on 10 flights to blow them up simultaneously.

they had to get there at the same time b/c they didn't want to drive all those cars and contribute to global warming

BinFrog

Blowing up an airplane is the ultimate "gotcha". First off you immediately kill 200+ people. Secondly, it takes a lot of effort to slip past airport security (or at least SHOULD take a lot of effort) with explosives/knives/etc. Hijacking a plane is pretty much their way of saying "we can do what we want when we want and there is nothing you can do about it". Blowing up shoppers in a mall would be too easy for them.

Gremmie95

Instilling fear to the general public.

chopitdown

blackredyellow wrote:

I don't get why terrorist targets (or why we are told they have targeted) only trains and airplanes. This latest plot was what, hijack 10 planes, and blow them up over the ocean somewhere? All we keep being told is that these terrorist want to kill westerners and take over the world or whatever. Then why is it that they only go after airplanes and trains? Why go through the work and the risk of creating explosives to get through tough airport security to kill a couple thousand people? You could much easier have people blow up a packed sports stadium and kill 10X more or suicide bomb some suburban malls, and basically create panic across the country. If their goals are to kill us, aren't there much easier and more effective ways?

i personally think they like the threat of fear. If they can get westerners when they feel safest then they really have a leg up. Think about all the screening that goes on, if they are able to blow up a plane, while making it through security that says more about their capabilities than say if they blow up a building.

The Waiting Trophy Man

blackredyellow wrote:

I don't get why terrorist targets (or why we are told they have targeted) only trains and airplanes. This latest plot was what, hijack 10 planes, and blow them up over the ocean somewhere? All we keep being told is that these terrorist want to kill westerners and take over the world or whatever. Then why is it that they only go after airplanes and trains? Why go through the work and the risk of creating explosives to get through tough airport security to kill a couple thousand people? You could much easier have people blow up a packed sports stadium and kill 10X more or suicide bomb some suburban malls, and basically create panic across the country. If their goals are to kill us, aren't there much easier and more effective ways?

great thread! ya, it makesw me wonder, too. why risk going through security at the world's busiest airport and plan to blow up a bunch of planes?? it sounds too risky and there are too many people involved. you're right, anyone could do more damage by blowing up a mall or opening fire on a large crowd. hell, someone could rent an apartment somewhere, a high rise in downtown LA or new york and fill it with explosives and blow up half or all of the building. or build a car bomb and blow it up in the middle of rush hour traffic on a busy highway. the "terrorists" seem to be trying to go through too much security and talk to each other by phone. they're supposed to be crazy, not stupid.

NCfan

Studies have been done on this. They target planes because it stikes fear in the hearts of Westerners like nothing else does.

Millions of people fly everyday, and flying/traveling is an integral and necessary part of capitalism.

The terrorist are already winning against us and we don't even realize it. Their aim is to get Western influence out of the Middle East, and according to the polls, nearly every Western nation wants its governement to leave.

All these terrorists have to do is keep it up and we will capitulate.

blackredyellow

NCfan wrote:

Studies have been done on this. They target planes because it stikes fear in the hearts of Westerners like nothing else does.

Millions of people fly everyday, and flying/traveling is an integral and necessary part of capitalism.

The terrorist are already winning against us and we don't even realize it. Their aim is to get Western influence out of the Middle East, and according to the polls, nearly every Western nation wants its governement to leave.

All these terrorists have to do is keep it up and we will capitulate.

But wouldn't sending a couple of suicide bombers in a handful of shopping malls basically cripple the retail industry and do more to hurt our economy. There are plenty of people like me who fly like once a year (or people that never do), but everyone shops...

chromiam

Gremmie95 wrote:

Instilling fear to the general public.

we have a winner...

RockinInCanada

blackredyellow wrote:

But wouldn't sending a couple of suicide bombers in a handful of several shopping malls basically cripple the retail industry and do more to hurt our economy. There are plenty of people like me who fly like once a year (or people that never do), but everyone shops...

Thats what I was thinking as well....

NCfan

blackredyellow wrote:

But wouldn't sending a couple of suicide bombers in a handful of several shopping malls basically cripple the retail industry and do more to hurt our economy. There are plenty of people like me who fly like once a year (or people that never do), but everyone shops...

Yeah, I don't really know... that makes sense and it is much easier than hijacking/blowing up planes. Who knows.

It is interesting to contemplate what would happen if the US and Britain completely pulled their troops and interest/influence out of the Middle East. I wonder what would happen.

Cosmo

Would it make everybody happy if the Terrorists were aremed with technologically advanced weapons systems so they can take on our military in a "fair fight"?
If yes... they why don't we just arm them?

Ahnimus

blackredyellow wrote:

I don't get why terrorist targets (or why we are told they have targeted) only trains and airplanes. This latest plot was what, hijack 10 planes, and blow them up over the ocean somewhere? All we keep being told is that these terrorist want to kill westerners and take over the world or whatever. Then why is it that they only go after airplanes and trains? Why go through the work and the risk of creating explosives to get through tough airport security to kill a couple thousand people? You could much easier have people blow up a packed sports stadium and kill 10X more or suicide bomb some suburban malls, and basically create panic across the country. If their goals are to kill us, aren't there much easier and more effective ways?

If UML is as rich as they say he is, why wasn't he lounging on a beach in Cancun somewhere sipping at martinis? Instead he is sleeping on the ground inside some cave somewhere in Pakistan.

If UML could be doing anything he wants, why does he want to kill americans? Because he doesn't like freedom and thus why he sleeps in a dirty cave?

Makes no sense to me.

lukin2006

chopitdown wrote:

they had to get there at the same time b/c they didn't want to drive all those cars and contribute to global warming

Conscientious terrorist,

lukin2006

NCfan wrote:

Studies have been done on this. They target planes because it stikes fear in the hearts of Westerners like nothing else does.

Millions of people fly everyday, and flying/traveling is an integral and necessary part of capitalism.

The terrorist are already winning against us and we don't even realize it. Their aim is to get Western influence out of the Middle East, and according to the polls, nearly every Western nation wants its governement to leave.

All these terrorists have to do is keep it up and we will capitulate.

Now if we capitulate, does that mean we take our western $$$$ and financial $$$$ with us? I don't know the exact $$$$ amount, but I'm sure the west Contributes financial aid to some of those countries.

Also does that mean that th US will no longer use its influence with Isreal? Because I am sure that they have influenced Isreal to use restraint in the past in dealing with its neibhours.

If all those things are the case, lets give it a try.

belfast1

NCfan wrote:

Studies have been done on this. They target planes because it stikes fear in the hearts of Westerners like nothing else does.

Millions of people fly everyday, and flying/traveling is an integral and necessary part of capitalism.

The terrorist are already winning against us and we don't even realize it. Their aim is to get Western influence out of the Middle East, and according to the polls, nearly every Western nation wants its governement to leave.

All these terrorists have to do is keep it up and we will capitulate.

agree with most of that except i dont believe the capitulation will come in a big way