I can't believe this arsehole did it again. This person or persons has turned the washinton/maryland area upside down. people are not going to work or letting their kids go to school. Not that I blame them. i hope they catch this clown soon and hopefully alive so we can know why he did this. Then put him to death as soon as possible not this 7 years later garbage.
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The Sniper
- Thread starter ParkHead
- Start date
They have to catch him first. It's kind of sick to think that anyone could kill someone randomly without any sense of morality or any belief, apparently, that he will be caught. I wouldn't be sending my kids to school either, it's not safe, he's, assuming it's a man, changing the daily patterns of thousands of people.
Death Penalty for the Sniper
As bad as this guy is, the death penalty in the US isn't working as a deterrent anyway. In fact, in a case like this, if there is a death penalty, if you do one, then you might just as well do eight or nine.
It is now more costly in most US states to sentence a guy to death than it is keep them in jail for life. The costs and length of the appeals exceeds the costs of life imprisonment. The threat of the death penalty is no deterrence to others either. It simply shows that state murder is still okay in what is supposed to be one of the freest and most civilized nations. The US justice system is so different state by state and town by town, that there are lots of innocent people being put to death by the state. Even some bad ones have happened in Canada where the guy, many years later, has been proven to be innocent.
Given the amount of live coverage this guy is getting on CNN, is there any chance the amount of publicity and national attention is getting is helping motivate this guy even further?
As bad as this guy is, the death penalty in the US isn't working as a deterrent anyway. In fact, in a case like this, if there is a death penalty, if you do one, then you might just as well do eight or nine.
It is now more costly in most US states to sentence a guy to death than it is keep them in jail for life. The costs and length of the appeals exceeds the costs of life imprisonment. The threat of the death penalty is no deterrence to others either. It simply shows that state murder is still okay in what is supposed to be one of the freest and most civilized nations. The US justice system is so different state by state and town by town, that there are lots of innocent people being put to death by the state. Even some bad ones have happened in Canada where the guy, many years later, has been proven to be innocent.
Given the amount of live coverage this guy is getting on CNN, is there any chance the amount of publicity and national attention is getting is helping motivate this guy even further?
This sniper has given me plenty of fodder in my weekly arguments with my American Republican friend about the easy access to firearms in the US. His argument always comes back to “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people”, or, “It takes a human to pull the trigger”. Whatever. The “Right to Bear Arms” is just plain fcuking stupid. The safety factor of living in Canada is a big reason why I’ve never moved my family from BC for opportunities down south.
Reecos, you seem to contradict yourself. In one sentence, you’re saying the end cost of the death penalty is so high because of the appeal process, then in another you’re saying that many are being put to death before they have a chance to prove themselves innocent. It almost seems like you are making an argument for Canada’s penal system over the Yanks!? You’re not serious, are you? Yes, the Yanks do vary state-to-state, but on the whole, they are far less lenient to criminal activity that Canada is, which I think is good. True, I think their society creates most of their problems themselves, but take Robert Pickton, for example. Correct me if I’m wrong, but assuming he’s convicted of murder, he will only receive the maximum sentence in Canada of life w/ no parole after 25 years. In most States, he’d receive consecutive life sentences for every person he’s murdered. In some States, he’d get the Death Penalty.
How can anyone argue that the Death Penalty isn’t the best punnishment for any serial killer, regardless of costs?
Reecos, you seem to contradict yourself. In one sentence, you’re saying the end cost of the death penalty is so high because of the appeal process, then in another you’re saying that many are being put to death before they have a chance to prove themselves innocent. It almost seems like you are making an argument for Canada’s penal system over the Yanks!? You’re not serious, are you? Yes, the Yanks do vary state-to-state, but on the whole, they are far less lenient to criminal activity that Canada is, which I think is good. True, I think their society creates most of their problems themselves, but take Robert Pickton, for example. Correct me if I’m wrong, but assuming he’s convicted of murder, he will only receive the maximum sentence in Canada of life w/ no parole after 25 years. In most States, he’d receive consecutive life sentences for every person he’s murdered. In some States, he’d get the Death Penalty.
How can anyone argue that the Death Penalty isn’t the best punnishment for any serial killer, regardless of costs?
Death Penalty
I knew my post would get a response from Dude!
State sanctioned murder is not a sign of a great and noble society. How do we differ from those places who torture people or cut off a hand, if we condone state sanctioned killings. And we don't do this in Canada, which is good.
I agree with your points on guns in the US.
The murder rate has not fallen in US states that have the death penalty. In fact, the sniper in the DC area right now knows that it doesn't matter how many more get snuffed, his penalty won't change. Interestingly, if the death penalty were a deterrent, the sniper would be doing his killing in the District of Columbia (the US capital) as they no longer have the death penalty there, but they sure do in Virginia and Maryland where the killer is doing his work. In Virginia, the killer can die if he is 16 and he can die if mentally incompetent. In Maryland, he has to be 18 and not mentally incompetent. Tell me that these rules make sense and that killers check out the consequences before starting out. If this killer did that he'd do all his work within the Beltway, thereby ensuring he did not get the death penalty. That is a huge area.
In the US, the only people being put to death (except maybe in George Bush's Texas) are the poor and the mentally incompetent. The American Civil Liberties Union state that the quality of legal counsel is a better predictor of who gets the death penalty, and they say that "Almost all people on death row could not afford to hire a qualified attorney". Race is a huge issue. 81% of cases with the death penalty involve a white victim. 174 blacks have been executed for killing whites, but only 12 whites executed for killing a black person. 35% of death row inmates are black while only 12% of the US population are black.
The statistics on wrongful conviction in death cases in the US are very high. Between 1973 and 2002, 102 death row inmates in 24 states were found to be innocent and more than a third of them have been released in the last seven years. Conclusion: a lot of others were executed and were innocent!
Since the US Supreme Court reinstated the US death penalty in 1976, the number of executions rose to a high of 98 in 1999 (ACLU stats). By 2001, state sanctioned murders were 66, yet the size of death row, is now the largest in US history.
In Canada, we have had a couple of cases from years ago, where we now know the guys were innocent. If they had swung, hmmmm, a bit of a problem.
The Canadian justice system is ailing, in part, for a simple reason - lack of funding. Judges are letting people go who should be incarcerated for say 30 or 60 days because they are told before sentencing that the jails are full, and if they do give the guy jail time, he'll be out by nightfall as there is no place to put him or her.
I knew my post would get a response from Dude!
State sanctioned murder is not a sign of a great and noble society. How do we differ from those places who torture people or cut off a hand, if we condone state sanctioned killings. And we don't do this in Canada, which is good.
I agree with your points on guns in the US.
The murder rate has not fallen in US states that have the death penalty. In fact, the sniper in the DC area right now knows that it doesn't matter how many more get snuffed, his penalty won't change. Interestingly, if the death penalty were a deterrent, the sniper would be doing his killing in the District of Columbia (the US capital) as they no longer have the death penalty there, but they sure do in Virginia and Maryland where the killer is doing his work. In Virginia, the killer can die if he is 16 and he can die if mentally incompetent. In Maryland, he has to be 18 and not mentally incompetent. Tell me that these rules make sense and that killers check out the consequences before starting out. If this killer did that he'd do all his work within the Beltway, thereby ensuring he did not get the death penalty. That is a huge area.
In the US, the only people being put to death (except maybe in George Bush's Texas) are the poor and the mentally incompetent. The American Civil Liberties Union state that the quality of legal counsel is a better predictor of who gets the death penalty, and they say that "Almost all people on death row could not afford to hire a qualified attorney". Race is a huge issue. 81% of cases with the death penalty involve a white victim. 174 blacks have been executed for killing whites, but only 12 whites executed for killing a black person. 35% of death row inmates are black while only 12% of the US population are black.
The statistics on wrongful conviction in death cases in the US are very high. Between 1973 and 2002, 102 death row inmates in 24 states were found to be innocent and more than a third of them have been released in the last seven years. Conclusion: a lot of others were executed and were innocent!
Since the US Supreme Court reinstated the US death penalty in 1976, the number of executions rose to a high of 98 in 1999 (ACLU stats). By 2001, state sanctioned murders were 66, yet the size of death row, is now the largest in US history.
In Canada, we have had a couple of cases from years ago, where we now know the guys were innocent. If they had swung, hmmmm, a bit of a problem.
The Canadian justice system is ailing, in part, for a simple reason - lack of funding. Judges are letting people go who should be incarcerated for say 30 or 60 days because they are told before sentencing that the jails are full, and if they do give the guy jail time, he'll be out by nightfall as there is no place to put him or her.
So? To that I say: good. Most people on Death Row are there because they deserve to die. The race issue is an entirely different matter.
To me, it isn’t necessarily about costs, or even the deterrent. It will cost taxpayers a ton to incarcerate a criminal, no matter which way you cut it. Also, a person disturbed enough to commit murders likely can’t be deterred by any laws anyhow. To me, it is about providing true justice to the crime, and giving the families of the victims the peace of mind to know that, in the end, justice has been served.
A bit of a tangent, but have you ever been to one of Canada’s maximum-security prisons? I had a contract that required some site visits to Kamloops Regional Correction Centre a while back. Nice place. Sort of like a well kept Motel 6. They have a comfortable common area, clean kitchen, nice meals, fully equipped wood and metal shops, great workout facilites…and thanks to the WCB and other government legislation, the cleanest air of any government facility in BC. You see, criminals have rights- and that includes their “right” to smoke in their “homes” (cells). Well, the non-smoking criminals have a right to clean air, and of course the workers have a right to healthy air. All this means that the HVAC systems are state of the art, and the odor absorbing carbon cells are replaced every quarter at the cost of about $12K per air handling unit- 8 units total.
Fcuk…I wish I still had that contract…
Dude: You'd Make a Great American
Dude Where's My Reasoning:
You didn't address the point about the number of people who were sentenced to death in the US but who have been found innocent. In the past 30 years, over 100 death row people were found now to be innocent. Most of this has happened in the last 7 years, probably because of the use of DNA.
There are still some funny things about US justice including probably evidence tampering in the OJ Simpson case, where Henry Lee, forensic scientist, concluded for the defence that there was something wrong with the fact that lab substances were found in the blood samples taken from OJ's Bronco and his front gate. Henry Lee is apparently normally used only by prosecutors and he is honest and won't screw with the truth of the evidence. In the Simpson case, he didn't say OJ didn't do it, only that the evidence was tampered with.
In a system where they elect judges, sheriffs and district attorneys, you want capital punishment? You'd make a great Texan.
Costs, by the way, are an issue. Studies in the US (I believe Florida is an example) prove that with appeal rights, that it is now cheaper to keep them in jail doing life sentences. The thought that it is justice for the families to see someone else die is abhorrent! Killing in the name of justice is like fcuking for virginity (to paraphrase a famous 60s line).
Only in America, is it right and just to kill to achieve peace and state murder to achieve justice. Well I guess some Muslims feel that way too. I like the death threat on that clown, Jerry Falwell, who said that the leader of the Muslim faith was a terrorist. Some outraged Muslims who believe that Mohammed was the most peaceful person on the face of the earth are now calling to have Falwell snuffed permanently. That also makes about as much sense as capital punishment to stop murderers.
Dude Where's My Reasoning:
You didn't address the point about the number of people who were sentenced to death in the US but who have been found innocent. In the past 30 years, over 100 death row people were found now to be innocent. Most of this has happened in the last 7 years, probably because of the use of DNA.
There are still some funny things about US justice including probably evidence tampering in the OJ Simpson case, where Henry Lee, forensic scientist, concluded for the defence that there was something wrong with the fact that lab substances were found in the blood samples taken from OJ's Bronco and his front gate. Henry Lee is apparently normally used only by prosecutors and he is honest and won't screw with the truth of the evidence. In the Simpson case, he didn't say OJ didn't do it, only that the evidence was tampered with.
In a system where they elect judges, sheriffs and district attorneys, you want capital punishment? You'd make a great Texan.
Costs, by the way, are an issue. Studies in the US (I believe Florida is an example) prove that with appeal rights, that it is now cheaper to keep them in jail doing life sentences. The thought that it is justice for the families to see someone else die is abhorrent! Killing in the name of justice is like fcuking for virginity (to paraphrase a famous 60s line).
Only in America, is it right and just to kill to achieve peace and state murder to achieve justice. Well I guess some Muslims feel that way too. I like the death threat on that clown, Jerry Falwell, who said that the leader of the Muslim faith was a terrorist. Some outraged Muslims who believe that Mohammed was the most peaceful person on the face of the earth are now calling to have Falwell snuffed permanently. That also makes about as much sense as capital punishment to stop murderers.
You’re ranting and raving is better directed toward American society as a whole, which I don’t entirely disagree with. I’m keeping things very simple: a person who has been convicted for murder deserves to be, in turn, executed by the state. I don’t care if it costs more to kill ‘em than to keep ‘em living. That’s my opinion. You have you opinions, and support them with some pretty convincing economical arguments- but I’m probably correct in assuming that your opinions are derived from the fact that your are against Capital Punishment because you are a bleeding heart liberal. Right or wrong?
The fact that DNA evidence makes it even more difficult for our society to convict the wrong guy supports the death sentence even more. Again, I say OUR society, not the US society.
I’d make a horrible Yank or Texan. I wholeheartedly support gun control. I believe the average Texan owns two guns. I’m also married to a Muslim, which would make me public enemy #1a in the Excited States (guilty by association).
Dude-where’smymosque.
PS: I would have fried OJ, too.
The fact that DNA evidence makes it even more difficult for our society to convict the wrong guy supports the death sentence even more. Again, I say OUR society, not the US society.
I’d make a horrible Yank or Texan. I wholeheartedly support gun control. I believe the average Texan owns two guns. I’m also married to a Muslim, which would make me public enemy #1a in the Excited States (guilty by association).
Dude-where’smymosque.
PS: I would have fried OJ, too.
The FBI Victim
John: Probably random given that the person is using a rifle that a novice could quite easily use to pick off a victim at 200 yards. However, I have wondered if the guy is trying to knock off a bunch of unknowns before throwing in someone he really wants to do, like say his wife. This maybe the only way they will catch him. This guy(s) is smart so far, in that he is shooting from a vehicle that is helping to muffle the sound and avoid witness detection. By the time people realize someone is shot, the guy has driven off.
Just realized that my earlier post referring to the Capital Beltway and where the guy is shooting is wrong. He is shooting some within the Beltway (which is a freeway that circles around Washington that enables people to avoid the main city). From the TV map it is clear the shooter is driving on the Beltway between shootings. If they had fixed photo radar cameras on the Beltway, and the guy was speeding they'd have a vehicle photo and a plate number of possible suspect vehicles to work with. Just a thought. However, many crooks do take care not to get stopped, but you never know, if there were cameras being moved around on major highways.
Dude: Your possible desire for vengence through state murder is hard to square with the Muslim faith (unless Falwell is right) unless you are one of the fanatic worshippers of Al Queda and the Taliban.
Yes, you might call me a bleeding heart liberal on this issue. I also don't think Bush doing Iraq is correct either. I believe in gun control, which by the way, would probably help expedite the sniper case even if the sniper's rifle is stolen or obtained on the illicit market.
It simply boils down to personal beliefs and perhaps taking the time to review some of the evidence over the years with respect to the issue. Yes, I have been inside of prisons (the old BC Pen and Oakalla.) Not as a live in I should add. Not a modern one though, like the minimum security prison in Mission.
John: Probably random given that the person is using a rifle that a novice could quite easily use to pick off a victim at 200 yards. However, I have wondered if the guy is trying to knock off a bunch of unknowns before throwing in someone he really wants to do, like say his wife. This maybe the only way they will catch him. This guy(s) is smart so far, in that he is shooting from a vehicle that is helping to muffle the sound and avoid witness detection. By the time people realize someone is shot, the guy has driven off.
Just realized that my earlier post referring to the Capital Beltway and where the guy is shooting is wrong. He is shooting some within the Beltway (which is a freeway that circles around Washington that enables people to avoid the main city). From the TV map it is clear the shooter is driving on the Beltway between shootings. If they had fixed photo radar cameras on the Beltway, and the guy was speeding they'd have a vehicle photo and a plate number of possible suspect vehicles to work with. Just a thought. However, many crooks do take care not to get stopped, but you never know, if there were cameras being moved around on major highways.
Dude: Your possible desire for vengence through state murder is hard to square with the Muslim faith (unless Falwell is right) unless you are one of the fanatic worshippers of Al Queda and the Taliban.
Yes, you might call me a bleeding heart liberal on this issue. I also don't think Bush doing Iraq is correct either. I believe in gun control, which by the way, would probably help expedite the sniper case even if the sniper's rifle is stolen or obtained on the illicit market.
It simply boils down to personal beliefs and perhaps taking the time to review some of the evidence over the years with respect to the issue. Yes, I have been inside of prisons (the old BC Pen and Oakalla.) Not as a live in I should add. Not a modern one though, like the minimum security prison in Mission.
Two things:
1. I’m going to tell my Muslin brothers to put you on the hit list. White redneck bitch.
2. Dude’s solution to the population problem: death penalties for parking violations.
This sniper thing is especially scary because of the lack of motive. How do they profile this guy? “OK…we know he / they are a good shot…what else do we have?”
This just proves how one person can cause so much chaos. You have to have faith in the justice system, and hope they catch the guy. I can’t help but think that had the US had tighter gun control, this situation could have been either avoided, or at least somehow allow investigators to narrow the guys down easier.
1. I’m going to tell my Muslin brothers to put you on the hit list. White redneck bitch.
2. Dude’s solution to the population problem: death penalties for parking violations.
This sniper thing is especially scary because of the lack of motive. How do they profile this guy? “OK…we know he / they are a good shot…what else do we have?”
This just proves how one person can cause so much chaos. You have to have faith in the justice system, and hope they catch the guy. I can’t help but think that had the US had tighter gun control, this situation could have been either avoided, or at least somehow allow investigators to narrow the guys down easier.
GhostRider
Member
justice
Why does everyone assume it's a man?
Why does everyone assume it's a man?
Profiling
Kim Rossmo, formerly of Vancouver Police fame maps the crime locations in his computer program to pinpoint an area where the suspect lives. Rossmo works for the Police Foundation in Washington, DC and is working on this case according to the media. I believe his program uses data from other crimes that show the distance criminals travel to commit crimes (and it is usually not too far from home or too close to home). That's the premise, I think. When I was with VPD in the mid 70s, we didn't need his program to tell us all the crooks drove in from Surrey. At least, now with Surrey so much bigger, they can work closer to home.
Two death threats in one year for me. First, Sandman and the Indo crowd. Now the Muslims. I still haven't heard if Sandman has lifted the threat or not, and Indo is fast approaching on our CAT schedule. Time to haul out the kevlar warm up suit. That is why I like Sikh Temple where the worse thing they'll do is steal the game ball. In fact, Hardballz offers lessons on the subject.
Kim Rossmo, formerly of Vancouver Police fame maps the crime locations in his computer program to pinpoint an area where the suspect lives. Rossmo works for the Police Foundation in Washington, DC and is working on this case according to the media. I believe his program uses data from other crimes that show the distance criminals travel to commit crimes (and it is usually not too far from home or too close to home). That's the premise, I think. When I was with VPD in the mid 70s, we didn't need his program to tell us all the crooks drove in from Surrey.
At least, now with Surrey so much bigger, they can work closer to home.Two death threats in one year for me. First, Sandman and the Indo crowd. Now the Muslims. I still haven't heard if Sandman has lifted the threat or not, and Indo is fast approaching on our CAT schedule. Time to haul out the kevlar warm up suit. That is why I like Sikh Temple where the worse thing they'll do is steal the game ball.
In fact, Hardballz offers lessons on the subject.
- Admin
- #14
Why hasn't anyone brought up the fact that this sniper is causing more "terror" than any foreign-based source that is the topic-du-jour in the states?
Yesterday on CNN, someone mentioned that there were over 500 cases of terrorist acts on American soil between 1982 and 1998 [or something like that]... over 2/3 of these attacks were by good old American boys w/o any foreign/religious connections.
I've yet to hear any coment from Bush speaking directly about this? Does anyone know if he has said anything publically? (if he hasn't but you have heard him talk about it then you probably shouldn't be saying anything unless you have an immense desire to visit Kabul pronto)
~Regs.
Yesterday on CNN, someone mentioned that there were over 500 cases of terrorist acts on American soil between 1982 and 1998 [or something like that]... over 2/3 of these attacks were by good old American boys w/o any foreign/religious connections.
I've yet to hear any coment from Bush speaking directly about this? Does anyone know if he has said anything publically? (if he hasn't but you have heard him talk about it then you probably shouldn't be saying anything unless you have an immense desire to visit Kabul pronto
)~Regs.
Bush spoke on the topic
I heard Bush a few days back making comments on the sniper - his usual crap where he simply changes the name of the incident to blather on about. I suspect that a lot of his own staff live in, or near, the suburbs where this bozo is doing his shooting. Most other Washington DC politicians have been pretty quiet about the sniper probably because they fear he will try for one of them next. Their silence is smart.
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend's failing campaign for Governor of Maryland got a huge kick forward with her opponent being targetted in TV ads as voting against legislation that would have put major restrictions on the kind of weapon the sniper is using. The ads her campaign are using are pretty tough and with the election a few weeks away, she is using this sniper issue to move up in the polls. She is the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and the niece of John F. Kennedy so it doesn't hurt her to use the gun control issue.
There was a rumour that the sniper may try and plug a US Senator on a golf course. A very stupid rumour at that. If the sniper hadn't had that idea himself, then saying that on TV certainly wasn't smart.
I heard Bush a few days back making comments on the sniper - his usual crap where he simply changes the name of the incident to blather on about. I suspect that a lot of his own staff live in, or near, the suburbs where this bozo is doing his shooting. Most other Washington DC politicians have been pretty quiet about the sniper probably because they fear he will try for one of them next. Their silence is smart.
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend's failing campaign for Governor of Maryland got a huge kick forward with her opponent being targetted in TV ads as voting against legislation that would have put major restrictions on the kind of weapon the sniper is using. The ads her campaign are using are pretty tough and with the election a few weeks away, she is using this sniper issue to move up in the polls. She is the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and the niece of John F. Kennedy so it doesn't hurt her to use the gun control issue.
There was a rumour that the sniper may try and plug a US Senator on a golf course. A very stupid rumour at that. If the sniper hadn't had that idea himself, then saying that on TV certainly wasn't smart.
In North America, when we think about terrorism, most people share a common initial impression. Our experience is limited to what we see on television or read in a newspaper, so we perceive terrorism as a dramatic event. There is a large body count, a high profile target. The explosions are large and the damage is extensive. With a few exceptions, most notably the Oklahoma bombing a few years ago and the World Trade Center last year, these dramatic events take place ‘somewhere else’.
A terrorist organization can use the media exposure of macro-terrorism to accomplish its goals. The media coverage expands the circle of people affected by the event beyond the victims and their families and friends.
To some extent, terrorism today is suffering from the past success of macro-terrorism. Fifty years ago, a world divided by a cold war meant a plentiful supply of targets and places to hide for terrorist organizations. For a lot of battles, the cold war was fought using terrorism. Victory meant there was one less target. Defeat meant there was one less place to hide. The diminishing number of available targets led to the attack on the continental United States. The repercussions of that attack have lead to the loss of some major terrorist hideouts and infrastructure.
There are still places for terrorists to hide, ways for them to exchange materials, money, and information, but the loss of targets and hiding places may lead to a shift in how major terrorist acts are committed.
One possibility is a shift from macro-terrorism to micro-terrorism. The basic purpose of macro-terrorism is to frighten a population by using the media to show the general public how powerful the terrorist organization is. The basic purpose of micro-terrorism is to frighten a population by using the media to show how weak and vulnerable they are individually.
The sniper attacks in the United States are a perfect example of micro-terrorism. Random times, random locations, random victims, and everyone within two hundred miles of the capital city of the world’s most powerful nation is terrified.
The sniper might be an upset US postal worker, a soldier that couldn’t make the grade in his special-forces program, or sociopath master criminal who wants to extort millions from the US government, but the pattern (or lack of pattern) displayed by the sniper combined with the reports of at least two people (driver and shooter) working together appear to point towards micro-terrorism.
The twenty trained terrorists entered the United States and crashed four jet airplanes, terrorized the country for a couple months. What could twenty trained snipers do?
Coolhead
A terrorist organization can use the media exposure of macro-terrorism to accomplish its goals. The media coverage expands the circle of people affected by the event beyond the victims and their families and friends.
To some extent, terrorism today is suffering from the past success of macro-terrorism. Fifty years ago, a world divided by a cold war meant a plentiful supply of targets and places to hide for terrorist organizations. For a lot of battles, the cold war was fought using terrorism. Victory meant there was one less target. Defeat meant there was one less place to hide. The diminishing number of available targets led to the attack on the continental United States. The repercussions of that attack have lead to the loss of some major terrorist hideouts and infrastructure.
There are still places for terrorists to hide, ways for them to exchange materials, money, and information, but the loss of targets and hiding places may lead to a shift in how major terrorist acts are committed.
One possibility is a shift from macro-terrorism to micro-terrorism. The basic purpose of macro-terrorism is to frighten a population by using the media to show the general public how powerful the terrorist organization is. The basic purpose of micro-terrorism is to frighten a population by using the media to show how weak and vulnerable they are individually.
The sniper attacks in the United States are a perfect example of micro-terrorism. Random times, random locations, random victims, and everyone within two hundred miles of the capital city of the world’s most powerful nation is terrified.
The sniper might be an upset US postal worker, a soldier that couldn’t make the grade in his special-forces program, or sociopath master criminal who wants to extort millions from the US government, but the pattern (or lack of pattern) displayed by the sniper combined with the reports of at least two people (driver and shooter) working together appear to point towards micro-terrorism.
The twenty trained terrorists entered the United States and crashed four jet airplanes, terrorized the country for a couple months. What could twenty trained snipers do?
Coolhead
the manager
New Member
thoughtful
coolhead,
I must say that your post was very thoughtful and warrents a compliment. Your ideas of macro and micro terrorism, I believe, speak into and begin to define how the future terrorist wars will be fought. With the lack of terrorist hide-outs in the world today, I fully agree that we will be encountering, and already do encounter, a shift in terrorisms' 'organizational structure'. Terrorism will move in next door and dwell among us. It is ironic, as you mentioned, how everyone within 200 miles of the nations capital, in the most powerful country in the world are terrified.
great post
manager
coolhead,
I must say that your post was very thoughtful and warrents a compliment. Your ideas of macro and micro terrorism, I believe, speak into and begin to define how the future terrorist wars will be fought. With the lack of terrorist hide-outs in the world today, I fully agree that we will be encountering, and already do encounter, a shift in terrorisms' 'organizational structure'. Terrorism will move in next door and dwell among us. It is ironic, as you mentioned, how everyone within 200 miles of the nations capital, in the most powerful country in the world are terrified.
great post
manager
dirty daddy
New Member
It can't be Damon, he hasn't hit anyone with a bullet of a pass this year.
Captain Shamrock
Well-Known Member
Same skin tone.....
