This is a very important point. It seems that for the past decade it's only become increasingly clearer that we've had these terrorists' motivations and desires all wrong or we're dealing with very stupid people. I consider it a mix of both; does anyone still believe they're out to destroy "our freedom"? And I also would bet that for many individuals on HN, were they not good people, they could trivially cause some major damage.
Superb point. It would be trivial to create attacks sufficient to grind public transit to a halt in a major city for weeks and result in a crackdown on civil liberties,... among other things.
That nobody has done this stuff underscores just how much of a non-threat terrorism is.
> It would be trivial to create attacks sufficient to grind public transit to a halt in a major city for weeks and result in a crackdown on civil liberties,... among other things.
You mean like the train and bus bombings in Israel, Spain, England?
That have slowed down and largely stopped after the military campaigns in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and other parts of the Middle East?
No, far simpler bombings. Ones that would require less than $50 in supplies.
There has been nothing in the US. Are you seriously telling me that of all the tens of thousands of angry, disaffected people in the US, those who have contemplated doing such attacks decided not to because they realized that the act would cause more destruction in Afghanistan?
Similarly, there have not even been any machine gun attacks at malls or airports -- imagine what even a few dozen shots fired at the crowds on black friday would have done to holiday retail numbers. Surely someone thought of this in the past 9 years.
So you are arguing that of the tens of thousands of people in the US who ostensibly want to commit such acts, a) none have thought of it, b) they are working on some far more diabolical plot, or c) they have been dissuaded by the US bombing of the middle east?
On the contrary, I think the truth is that life is good, people are friendly, etc., but most importantly, people care far more about their next meal than they do about abstract concepts, political struggles, etc.
