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> Even though no sane terrorist would joke about smuggling a bomb ... There's the rub: the majority of mass violence attackers are not sane. In their insanity
by Daniel_Newby 13y ago
> Even though no sane terrorist would joke about smuggling a bomb ...
There's the rub: the majority of mass violence attackers are not sane. In their insanity they often talk about their violent plans with no regard to who hears them. It is sound security policy to interview people who make such comments.
- cstross 13y agoI think you over-egg the argument. Mass violence attackers who are part of an organized political movement are usually sane -- but they're not intelligent. The smart ones almost always find a way to participate in the mainstream political process to get their desired outcome, so they don't take up arms. Relatively few intelligent terrorists exist; they usually do so in circumstances where there's (a) an intolerable level of oppression, (b) the authorities aren't listening and won't negotiate, and (c) peaceful protests have failed -- and if (d) the authorities eventually agree to negotiate, they rapidly lay down arms. (Examples of statesmen who were formerly defined as terrorists by governments they subsequently became part of: Nelson Mandella, Menachem Begin, Martin McGuinness. None of whom were either insane or stupid.)
- redacted 13y agoI would hope that the security apparatus would apprehend any bomber insane enough to loudly talk about plans long before they got to an airport queue. Surely getting that far in your attack is a clear indicator of, if not sanity, then good planning and op-sec?
- glenra 13y agoHow do you know this to be the case? Can you give a couple of examples of US attackers who did this? (Not including FBI plants who spoke deliberately attempting to incite violence in others)