4 ms·

This is one more reason for counter-terrorism strategy as it's currently envisioned being bogus security theater. Ultra-effective, low-risk, completely unsecure

This is one more reason for counter-terrorism strategy as it's currently envisioned being bogus security theater. Ultra-effective, low-risk, completely unsecured and simple to exploit angles of attack haven't ever been attacked, and nobody is even worried about it. You don't see railroads being sabotaged, power lines being cut, or roads being intentionally blocked. You don't see water supplies or manufacturing facilities being attacked. You don't see civil infrastructure being mobbed by faulty paperwork, false claims, or otherwise. You don't see disinformation for the sake of reducing economic efficiency. Instead, attacks so far have focused on showy but ultimately one-off violent events in which the perpetrators essentially kill themselves, mostly in already high-security areas. It makes a good propaganda bit for both sides, but doesn't actually impede function. I suppose it's a good thing that prospective jihadis aren't motivated by charts showing decreased output.

metheus 11y ago
> It makes a good propaganda bit for both sides, but doesn't actually impede function. The 9/11 attacks impeded function. The functioning of airlines, for example, have been impeded. Efficiency of flight for every individual traveler is reduced by needing to arrive at an airport an extra hour early. If we agree that making things proceed through big bureaucratic processes is effective sabotage, then consider that the TSA is an entire bureaucracy that would not exist if not for high profile suicide terror. The functioning of government has been impeded. Enormous amounts of political capital and willpower have been wasted dealing with the war on terror, allowing domestic priorities to languish. The USA, goaded into a decade of counter-productive flailing, is now highly challenged to enact foreign policy strategies. Those are two things, I think there are many, many others. > ...a good thing that prospective jihadis aren't motivated by charts showing decreased output. Why should we assume this? We might just not be looking for it.
- TeMPOraL 11y ago
  Yeah. 9/11 was an almost perfectly executed terror attack with great outcome for the terrorist. It thrown the entire West into state of running around like chickens with heads cut off. The amount of economic waste and it caused is enormous, not to mention destruction of freedoms. If terrorists really "hate our freedom", then they succeeded perfectly in making us damage it on our own. As for why we don't see more of such attacks? I'd say it's mostly because people generally are not that destructive. Blowing shit up is not the default action. "Charts showing decreased output" from the hand of foreign states playing economic games with each other on the other hand...

metheus 11y ago

> It makes a good propaganda bit for both sides, but doesn't actually impede function. The 9/11 attacks impeded function. The functioning of airlines, for example, have been impeded. Efficiency of flight for every individual traveler is reduced by needing to arrive at an airport an extra hour early. If we agree that making things proceed through big bureaucratic processes is effective sabotage, then consider that the TSA is an entire bureaucracy that would not exist if not for high profile suicide terror. The functioning of government has been impeded. Enormous amounts of political capital and willpower have been wasted dealing with the war on terror, allowing domestic priorities to languish. The USA, goaded into a decade of counter-productive flailing, is now highly challenged to enact foreign policy strategies. Those are two things, I think there are many, many others. > ...a good thing that prospective jihadis aren't motivated by charts showing decreased output. Why should we assume this? We might just not be looking for it.

TeMPOraL 11y ago
Yeah. 9/11 was an almost perfectly executed terror attack with great outcome for the terrorist. It thrown the entire West into state of running around like chickens with heads cut off. The amount of economic waste and it caused is enormous, not to mention destruction of freedoms. If terrorists really "hate our freedom", then they succeeded perfectly in making us damage it on our own. As for why we don't see more of such attacks? I'd say it's mostly because people generally are not that destructive. Blowing shit up is not the default action. "Charts showing decreased output" from the hand of foreign states playing economic games with each other on the other hand...