ISIS "unlikely" to have a domestic attack

[farmerbyron]

Can't remember what alphabet agency it was, but as I was scanning the sunday news shows, one of them said it was not only possible but highly likely. In New York city alone, he said they have stopped 12 attempted terrorist acts this year alone. Eventually one of them is going to slip through. ICIS put out a notice yesterday that Washington DC was the next target. Its a large gun free zone, so I guess that might be why they picked it along with other reasons.

DC is not anything near a gun free zone. Sure, regular scmucks like us are not armed but there are copious amount of armed police of various agencies all over the government buildings and transportation hubs. Now, I'm sure just a few blocks outside the green zone in the ghetto its a free for all. But any of the high profile targets in DC are well defended.

 

[dennishoddy]

DC is not anything near a gun free zone. Sure, regular scmucks like us are not armed but there are copious amount of armed police of various agencies all over the government buildings and transportation hubs. Now, I'm sure just a few blocks outside the green zone in the ghetto its a free for all. But any of the high profile targets in DC are well defended.

Oh yeah, there is a lot of armed security around monuments and such, but the lone wolf is still a problem in crowds. Keep in mind they don't mind dying for the cause. Not every vehicle driving down Pennsylvania Avenue or the surrounding streets are stopped and searched. There are lots of scenarios' where somebody could cause some issues.

 

[SMS]

Very true. With our violence averse society of special snowflakes, one lone wolf bomber on the National Mall would shut the Capitol down...

 

[farmerbyron]

Oh yeah, there is a lot of armed security around monuments and such, but the lone wolf is still a problem in crowds. Keep in mind they don't mind dying for the cause. Not every vehicle driving down Pennsylvania Avenue or the surrounding streets are stopped and searched. There are lots of scenarios' where somebody could cause some issues.

I don't think anyone is going to approach the White House by VBIED. Can't even come close. No doubt though that a lone wolf suicide vest guy could kill a few on the mall or something but a Paris style attack using AK47s in DC would be quite abbreviated.

 

[dennishoddy]

I don't think anyone is going to approach the White House by VBIED. Can't even come close. No doubt though that a lone wolf suicide vest guy could kill a few on the mall or something but a Paris style attack using AK47s in DC would be quite abbreviated.

Check out some of the things in China where folks have gone through crowds with knives. 20-30 killed or injured.

Before I retired from the power plant, we spent millions putting in security. Power plants get high priority in that area. I proved to them I could infiltrate the area without detection. I'm retired now but nothing has changed. OOPS. Pointed out other areas that were "soft" and offered solutions. Nothing has ever been done. I gave up. Management was secure in the thought they had a secure facility because the guy had a black leather jacket, bald head and was a Lt. Cl in the Marines. Tactical looking. One day I asked the gate guard with a 9mm on his hip what was he gonna do if a terrorist came to the gate? He said he was going to try to get to the parking lot where the real weapons were, about 1/2 mile away. Basically the guard shack could be taken out with two shots.

There are a lot of "security experts" out there selling services that don't have a clue. We bought one of them.

If one thinks like a terrorist, and I wanted to take out a secure facility like a power plant or a refinery, I would come into a workers house, threaten the spouse and children with rape, and worse, then offer the person a choice.
Put this bomb into or under the vehicle, drive in, park where directed and walk away for the bomb to be remotely detonated and we won't gang rape your wife, or bugger your children. What a terrorist would do would be to go ahead and kill the family and walk out the door as soon as he left with the bomb.
People in our world don't think like terrorists. We think family, family history, family future, etc. Terrorists only want to kill. They don't care about your grandma. They will kill her without a blink of an eye.

 

[brown_one2]

People in our world don't think like terrorists. We think family, family history, family future, etc. Terrorists only want to kill. They don't care about your grandma. They will kill her without a blink of an eye.

They will strap a bomb to grandma and send her to Walmart on Black Friday

 

[rhart]

Although we seem to be talking about ISIS here, the events in Mali were reportedly an Al Qaeda operation. If they are jealous of ISIS and want to "out do" them, Al Qaeda may activate a couple of sleeper cells in the US and possibly elsewhere to demonstrate that they can hit us if ISIS can't. I'm doing my Christmas shopping online as much as possible, but when I do venture out I'm carrying extra magazines...

 

[rhart]

DC is not anything near a gun free zone. Sure, regular scmucks like us are not armed but there are copious amount of armed police of various agencies all over the government buildings and transportation hubs. Now, I'm sure just a few blocks outside the green zone in the ghetto its a free for all. But any of the high profile targets in DC are well defended.

A couple of attacks at bistros in say the upscale Chevy Chase area or at one of the nice malls in the DC area will rock this nation to it's foundations.

 

[rhart]

You don't execute a full scale operation to "observe a response". That's TV talking head "expert" mumbo jumbo.

I don't buy the "observe a response" theory from the talking heads either - especially since ISIS has lost it's reportedly main man in the police raid. Actually it shows that while their attack was a success (to their way of thinking) they were decidedly amateurish in it's aftermath. The police rolled most of them up like a cheap cigarette almost immediately and they know exactly who the lone escapee is. These guys left such an evidence trail I wouldn't be surprised if their entire network gets exposed before it's over. In the end it could be a major setback for them.

 

[rhart]

I don't think anyone is going to approach the White House by VBIED. Can't even come close. No doubt though that a lone wolf suicide vest guy could kill a few on the mall or something but a Paris style attack using AK47s in DC would be quite abbreviated.

Depending upon what your definition of "quite abbreviated" is, the Paris attacks, or at least all but the rock concert, might be termed that way but they had the desired effect. I don't think the length of time of an attack is as important to them as the effect of the bloodletting.