Why would terrorists strike the same way against us twice?

[Indiana_Dem]

That doesn't make sense to me. If I were a terrorist I wouldn't attack the same way again. Why does the media keep talking about protecting all the airlines and the skies?

[kalian]

1. Of course not....

I'm sure that was a one-shot op...by whom remains to be known...
This whole thing is ludicrous and what keeps on bothering me is:
they're "cliche terrorists"...why on earth would they always want
to attack when they'd be expected to attack, i.e., Xmas, 4th of
July, etc, etc. :eyes:

Just plain cheesey...too cheesey...

[Must_B_Free]

8. Why would terrorists not take credit for their actions?

I thought the whole point of terrorism was to draw attention...

What is the point if you don't take credit for you action? What is gained?

What would Osama's objective be in pulling another terror stunt?

None of this makes any sense.

[kalian]

13. They have to have a purpose...yes, draw attention....

to simply "cause terror" makes no sense whatsoever. "Terrorists"
usually want to bring about change "through violent means" in
order to draw attention to their cause or plight.
"Terrorists", usually are referred too as "freedom fighters" by
sympathizers.

The whole thing here is: IF Osama bin Laden was behind this, he
could have driven home the fear by broadcasting a REAL video
stating that he was behind it, and that he would strike again. Make
it FEEL like there was no escaping it.

This is a sham people... Our government is trying to instill FEAR
so that they can control us. Pure and simple.

[BigDaddyLove]

25. Would you have said the same thing.................

on Sept. 12th 2001?

I agree with you to some extent, but after watching the Trade Center towers come down and after the loss of over 3,000 lives it would appear that being mindfull of the possibility of an attack couldn't hurt.

That's not to say that we should all live in fear, or to be irrationally afraid of everything, but the reality is that something could very well happen and dismissing the possiblity out of hand is foolish.

[kalian]

35. On 9/11....

I was extremely curious how the news "played out". In less than
24 hrs, we KNEW that it was OBL...we KNEW that it was Atta....we
KNEW almost everything. On the 12th, we knew that we had to invade
Afghanistan.

I was extremely skeptical of the whole thing...I wasn't cowering in
fear...or in shock. Not part of the sheeple...sorry.

[foreigncorrespondent]

2. Common sense tells us they wouldn't.

But at the same time, they might think that we won't be expecting them to do another attack the same way, so they will try for that same way.

[morgan2]

3. not to mention

they'd have to incapacate all the passangers. People won't sit back and let a plane be hijacked now if they have the slightest idea that they are about to be flown into a building.

[reprehensor]

4. ?

Not only does lightning strike twice, it can strike multiple times.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/22/1058853077327.html

That's why. But it's more probable that Al Qaeda or some other sick and twisted blowback crew will choose a new and suprising avenue of attack.

[primarycolored]

5. Frankly, if I were a terrorist

I would have struck big right after Thanksgiving to throw a wrench into the Holiday economic splurge. Homicide/Truck bombings at malls, football games, etc.

[Piperay]

27. Yeah, it seems like

if they hit a few malls (not even big ones) around the country that would paralyze the country and the economy, but I'm not a terrorist so.... :shrug:

[tbeatty]

6. It would show that they can attack at will....

It would be devasting to attack us in the same way. It would show us as extremely vulnerable and provide inspiration for other terrorists. Half of the goal of our "code orange" is a visible presence to thwart even the idea of terrorism.

What I suspect is that this is a prelude to the next attack. Every time we go to a higher defensive posture, the terrorists get to see what our defenses look like. Going to orange shows our hand somewhat to our enemies. I suspect they use this to probe our defenses and see where we are vulnerable even in Code Orange. Right now, they get to see our Code Orange customs procedures, our patrols, our search procedures, etc.

[cally]

7. Because it worked the first time

and it would intimidate all of us if our increased security failed. I'm hoping we thwart it.

on edit: spelling. The new spellchecker says there is still an error. Does anyone else see it. :shrug:

[Indiana_Dem]

9. HAHA! It's funny that we're trying to think like a terrorist!!loln/t

[Must_B_Free]

11. The Boston Tea Party was terrorism

so yes, fighting for freedom is a root part of our identity as Americans.

[Bucky]

19. The Boston Tea Party was civil disobedience. No one was hurt

so yes, fighting for freedom is a root part of our identity as Americans.

Warning: sarcasm is a weak defense for saying something stupid

[Gore1FL]

32. exactly

Dumping tea, at best, was harmful to the environment, and that is a pretty feeble argument to make.

[Must_B_Free]

10. Why do you have to be a one time US ally and Ex-CIA

to be a terrorist?

Is it merely coincidental that both notable terrorists that the Bush administration uses are each former employees of US secret services?

[kalian]

14. Interesting, no?

But if you watch the media...these FACTS are curiously over looked.
:eyes:

[stevedeshazer]

12. Why wouldn't they?

Passengers are screened better than before, but cargo goes on planes with almost zero scrutiny. I don't feel any safer.

As a basketball player and fan (warning: sports metaphor alert) I know that if a play works for my team, we will run the same play until someone figures out how to stop it.

Since there is little evidence to indicate that flying is any safer than before (they could run the same "play"), could it be that the terrorist threat is overblown? (rhetorical question)

[kalian]

16. Look...

they could do a million things, i.e., like grab a 16,000 liter fuel
truck, wrap C4 onto it...and then drive it into a friggin mall.
Suicide bomber squads in malls or other crowded areas...throughout
the country...

Come on...9/11 was all Hollywood. Something was VERY strange about
9/11 to begin with.

[stevedeshazer]

23. We don't disagree

I don't get your point.

[BigDaddyLove]

26. "All Hollywood"....................

That's a good one; tell that to some kid who's Dad worked in one of the Towers that fell.

[Jeep29]

20. Just to show us they can.

All they would have to do is fly one commercial aircraft into one landmark. Just to show the American public that regardless of the safeguards and precautions put into place we still are not safe. There may be 50 failed attempts but the one that succeeds will terrify the sheep.

Some say that passengers would never let something like 9/11 happen again. Don't fool yourselves, 99.9% of the passengers would set there and hope that "someone else" would do something right up until the time the plane impacts the target.

[Speed8098]

28. Do you really believe terrorists were behind 9/11?

Cmon, you have to see the BS writing on the wall.

There is a plethora of info here at DU about 9/11, but the one thing I haven't seen discussed is the timing.

Why would a terrorist organization hellbent on destroying the US attack at that time of day?

Think about it. These operatives were supposedly casing this operation for quite sometime according to what we've been told. Wouldn't they want to kill as many people as possible??

If you've ever visited the WTC, you would know that the place was packed with people around midday. There could be as many as 100,000 people there in the early afternoon.

Why not do it then?
Why do it when most people weren't even at work yet?

Some say that passengers would never let something like 9/11 happen again. Don't fool yourselves, 99.9% of the passengers would set there and hope that "someone else" would do something right up until the time the plane impacts the target.

Fly much?? I do. Believe me, if someone tries to hijack a plane today only armed with a box cutter, they are going to have their ass handed to them on a plate. Since 9/11 people talk to each other more. You can look around the gate area and see people checking out the other passengers.

Besides that, this latest alert is just SOP for the * junta. They need to cover for the upcoming gloomy holiday economic news.

[Enraged_Ape]

33. I don't believe it; not anymore

Before 9/11, I could see a lot of people, even myself, sitting there and hoping "someone" would do something. But as for me, if I'm on a plane and it gets hijacked, I figure I'm already dead. So anything that would happen in the next five minutes is a mere formality.

[mikehiggins]

15. Because people keep fighting the last war.

That's why the Pentagon came up with the M14 instead of the M16.

You have to adapt to changing situations with new ideas, not just recycled versions of what worked in the past.

I've said it a thousand times. Two guys with handgrenades in the Mall of the Americas will do infinitely more damage to this country than slamming any more planes into tall buildings.

A bomb in Times Square at midnight on New Years Eve would be heard around the world.

COngratulations on catching Saddam.

It's sure made the US safer.

[snyttri]

17. Just threatening an airline attack (chatter) causes economic disruption

that other threats might not.

[bpilgrim]

18. GLOBALHAWK

http://911review.org/Sept11Wiki/GlobalHawk.shtml
dead folk tell no tales :shrug:

peace

[TankLV]

21. Because the repukes in general are not a very creative lot

and cannot make up a better excuse to get bunkerboy and other repukes' scandals off the air?

Just my educated guess/observation based on past results/circumstances.

[toodles_oduff]

22. Missiles rather than a hijacking.

Rather than actually board a plane, these guys could shoot a shoulder-launched rocket at a jetliner. I'm not saying that I necessarily think this scenario is likely. But if they wanted to bypass all the airport security checks and avoid the wrath of heroic passengers, that's what I think they'd do. How do you stop something like that other than having patrols around airport perimeters?

[Yupster]

24. Probably wouldn't

but all generals always prepare to fight the last war. They can't help it.

[magnolia]

29. According to....

...Hitler, who was the expert...fear is the best method to control people. Whether it is Al Qaeda or the Bush Administration...whether it is merely a threat or the real deal...it's all about fear and controling the American people.

[Maeve]

30. They don't need to strike at all

Just increase the "chatter" every few months and drive folks crazy.

[radwriter0555]

31. Even hitler didn't use Reichstag twice, the gop ran out of options in the

'terrorize the populace' Rovian fear handbook.

[0007]

34. Life as we know it, can always take a hit!

Fear is the biggest one.

Terrorism is just another name for someones game in the name of freedom.

The dumbest thing ever said, "they hate us for our freedom." The man that said this, never had a job, let alone a career, spent most of his life sniffing cocaine, staying drunk, screwing folks on shady scams, and couldn't complete a National Guard term without going AWOL.

[Speed8098]

39. Bingo

Read my signature line, it says it all about * the little dictator.

[leesa]

36. Because Bush and the other terrorists are not too bright.

Hey, it worked the first time for the Crime Family.

[LunaC]

37. Repeat after me.....

The only terrorism we have to fear is that which is perpetrated by those in the White House. If it worked once, it will work again. Why reinvent the wheel?

[linazelle]

38. It's different: "FOREIGN planes will crash into RURAL areas..."

with key targets (reactors, etc.) At least that's what the reliable media reported this morning.

[mot78]

40. Possibly

there are ways to hijack plans w/o doing it the same way as on 9/11, like using cargo planes, or hijacking plans departing from neighboring countries (if they want to use jet fuel from the planes, then Canada or Mexico would make the most sense). A pilot on a plane could also be pro-Al Quada. I heard that that Egypt Air flight that crashed in 1999 was the result of a pro-Al Quada pilot. It's unlikely that they'd be able to successfully hit a target in a major city because of the 24/7 air patrol (unless you believe in LIHOP/MIHOP).

[LOL]

41. Because they can

and look what we did after the first time, consider the cost. However, they can also get plenty of mileage out of producing chatter...did I read somewhere that while on orange alert it cost the US roughly a Billion dollars a day in Homeland Security?

The thing we don't look at very closely is that they have plenty of time and are in no hurry...Bin Laden is fighting (in his mind) a war that has gone on for centuries.

Terrorist attacks are not all that costly to pull off compared to our method of fighting a war, in fact I could (although I wouldn't) go out and cause a great deal of terrorism with nothing more than what I carry in my pocket on a daily basis.

Can you imagine what would happen if I got two other "terrorists" to do the same thing at the same time in other parts of the country? Americans have not been subject to the acts of terrorism on their homeland much at all.

Relatively minor acts will produce a great deal of fear and that is something that this current administration will use to strip away our freedom and increase their "power", and line their pocketbooks...but, at what cost to their subjects?

I wonder if they really care.

[Shadowen]

42. Why, if they didn't, it just wouldn't be fair to *us*!

Duh.