The IRA attacks were targeted. The current attacks are not. They are literally any place, any gathering, anyone. How the hell do you plan against that?
If memory serves me right I think the figure of 9,807 was briefed to me as the number of bomb attacks by the IRA between 1969 and 2001, that's over 300 a year!!
You cant plan against it completely, some will always slip through the net. In a tactical sense though preemptive strikes are one of the only viable options, unfortunately at the moment preemptive arrests aren't supported by the law.
What I think is worth mentioning is previous to the current atrocities and post the IRA campaign the UK suffered just two massacres and neither were perpetrated by terrorists. In 1987 Michael Ryan went on the rampage in Hungerford shooting 16 innocents before committing suicide. He was a holder of a UK Firearms license. The aftermath lead to the banning of UK ownership of semi-automatic rifles/carbines above .22 calibre.
In 1996 Thomas Hamilton who was also a holder of a UK Firearms License went on the rampage in Dunblane shooting 16 school children and their teacher dead. He also committed suicide. The public outcry lead to the banning of all calibres of hand guns which pretty much killed the sport of target shooting in the UK overnight!
The point of my posting was only to demonstrate that the English are not experiencing anything new when it comes to surprise terror attacks. I only gave a partial list of all the attacks and essentially the ones that cost the greatest number of casualties and damage. Yes, today's extremist attacks are nearly impossible to prevent because of their methods and choice of weapons and because the security services are overwhelmed by the number of people they have to monitor and track as well as the amounts of funds it takes to run such vast operations. However, no matter how much they tracked the IRA, it was successful on many, many occasions in it's terrorist attacks. It does not matter to civilians going about their daily lives whether they are random targets or it is a specific place or person - they can and still end up as casualties. What saddens me is that I cannot see this ending anytime in the near future..
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,689MI6 Agent
Very sad news from London this morning. Someone drove a van into worshipers outside a mosque. One man is arrested. Reports say he shouted "I want to kill all muslims!". I really hope this doesn't turn into some kind of vendetta between extreme muslims and extreme anti-muslims.
If the reports are correct, he should definitely be charged as a terrorist. This is clearly the wrong reaction to muslim terrorist attacks. Let me quote Martin Luther King jr.:
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
I'm not saying the terrorists should be treated kindly, but making this look like a war between all muslims and non-muslims is just what ISIL and people like them want.
Just following the reports about the attack on prayers in the UK last night.
It's just as wrong and terrorist extreme like the recent islamist terror that we all witnessed.
And it leads us to nowhere but more hate and more tears from those who are affected.
President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Extremism has no place in any society and those who contemplate it need to be reported to the authorities.
However in the eyes of the current law they only become a terrorist when purpitrating their act - by then it's generally too late and someone gets hurt. Of course they can be terminated prior if it is felt life is in imminent danger. But then you need someone on site with the means to send them on their way at that point in time. That is near impossible to achieve in most cases.
Like I say they have to be lucky once, we have to be lucky every day.
Such is life.
Cheers :007)
My name is Bond, Basildon Bond - I have letters after my name!
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,689MI6 Agent
Sounds like the attack came from the Far Right to me. It could well be the start of a sort of terrorist race war or even civil war in the UK.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Comments
You cant plan against it completely, some will always slip through the net. In a tactical sense though preemptive strikes are one of the only viable options, unfortunately at the moment preemptive arrests aren't supported by the law.
In 1996 Thomas Hamilton who was also a holder of a UK Firearms License went on the rampage in Dunblane shooting 16 school children and their teacher dead. He also committed suicide. The public outcry lead to the banning of all calibres of hand guns which pretty much killed the sport of target shooting in the UK overnight!
Though it was all downhill from there!
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
I'm not saying the terrorists should be treated kindly, but making this look like a war between all muslims and non-muslims is just what ISIL and people like them want.
It's just as wrong and terrorist extreme like the recent islamist terror that we all witnessed.
And it leads us to nowhere but more hate and more tears from those who are affected.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
However in the eyes of the current law they only become a terrorist when purpitrating their act - by then it's generally too late and someone gets hurt. Of course they can be terminated prior if it is felt life is in imminent danger. But then you need someone on site with the means to send them on their way at that point in time. That is near impossible to achieve in most cases.
Like I say they have to be lucky once, we have to be lucky every day.
Such is life.
Cheers :007)
He comes from the far right and hates muslims.