The quote from the NBC News article I posted is important. These bombers must have a ‘high level of support among the community’ in order to evade police for months and to pull off another attack from the same neighborhood in which he was hiding. That’s a big difference in the type of threat in the EU versus here. Not that the lone wolves don’t do extreme damage, but neither have any communities harbored them. The Tsarnaev brothers were caught in a few days. The San Bernardino killers were caught and killed in a few hours. Either our law enforcement is much better or there aren’t cells or armies of ISIS killers hiding here as there seem to be in the EU.
I am not a world traveler by any measure or means…but I have stood in the Aurora and the downtown exactly where these explosions took place. It makes me very sad.
@tating:
I suspect it is more like the Muslim community is different there then the US, while there are obviously areas with concentrations of Muslims (towns in Michigan, for example, sections of Patterson, NJ come to mind), it is very different than here, Muslims are not isolated the way they are in Europe in the US, and that makes a big difference. That doesn’t mean we haven’t had problems, those responsible for the 93 WTC bombing were radicalized at a mosque in Jersey City and were permanent residents, were educated, but they were an exception. I suspect there is a lot more of an attitude in the Muslim communities in Brussels for example, that are kind of like the attitude towards cops in some inner city areas of the US, where the cops are seen as an invading army and aren’t trusted…
On the other hand, maybe they promoted Inspector Clouseau to be the head of anti terrorism…
I can’t think of any mass murderers who have hidden from the police in the US (with help from a community). Yes, Ted Kacyzinski and the Atlanta bomber, but they hid out by themselves in the woods.
The bombers in Brussels would have needed money, housing and other support. It’s more like two sides in a war.
The bombers did need money and housing but that doesn’t mean that someone who knew them should have known anything. My neighbor needs money and housing too. Should I call the cops?
What radical extremists want is to influence the US presidential elections. The most recent attack probably was retaliation for the recent arrest of the mastermind behind the Paris attacks, and the suspect is cooperating with police, at least for now, but I think it is fair to say the radicals want to push the US to the right so that they can get an all out war between the US and Islam. To do that they need to radicalize all muslims. To do that they need to get the US, and it’s allies, to lump all muslims into one group to hate.
What’s shocking is the number of uneducated people in this country that really do want to lump all muslims into one hate group. That is the shocking part.
Regarding the Saudis, they are like China, they hate us but are nice outwardly to our faces and respect us, for now, as a military and economic power, while quietly gaining on us. Once we are weak enough they will stop with the charade and cut our heads off … so to speak. We do not have very many real friends around the world. We have a some countries that work with us but only if it is on their own best interests. As far as real friends, we have very few.
This. When news reports on terrorist attacks are given their own theme music and all sorts of headlines are made to attract more ratings, it’s hard for the average viewer to believe that the world is * not * ending. To try and make profit from people’s misery is truly appalling, and yet it works, so the networks keep doing it.
Also in reference to a post I saw earlier: the attacks in Turkey are NOT the norm. Turkey is an incredibly civilized country (I’ve been there) and explosions/shootings are very, very uncommon occurrences.
I feel this is part of the problem, people aren’t adequately educated on things beyond what the news tells them. You’d be shocked by the amount of people who think that Afghanistan is an Arab country, or that the Imams in Saudi Arabia are the Muslim equivalent to the Pope (they’re not. The only viable authority in Islam has been dead for 1400 years). People need to do their own careful research on the situation, and not trust blindly in what the media tells them. Sadly, very few are willing to put in the effort 
. One can hope though…
“It took no longer to get through security checks than it would at an airport in the USA but I would say that security personnel there seemed much more vigilant and well trained and the types of screening seemed more productive and logical than what we have stateside.”
@doschicos, I agree. When I go through TSA screenings it’s hard not to roll my eyes. The screeners do not give me a whole lot of comfort: they seem neither educated, trained, competent or even terribly interested. I wasn’t surprised by that NBC test in which they missed 90% of weapons. In comparison, the Europeans seem professional and effective.
True, but as cynical as this sounds ** an offsite attack would constrain the scope of the economic damage. ** It would permit the airport to continue to operate. What a double blow for Belgium: first the immediate effects of the attack, then the longer term economic damage of its major int’l artery shut down.
I have a trip via Amsterdam Schiphol this week. Many of the BRU flights are being rerouted there. Will be logistical mess there.
64. With his photo all over TV, do you really think that anyone coming into contact with the Paris terrorist hiding in Brussels didn't know who he was?
“True, but as cynical as this sounds an offsite attack would constrain the scope of the economic damage. It would permit the airport to continue to operate. What a double blow for Belgium: first the immediate effects of the attack, then the longer term economic damage of its major int’l artery shut down.”
Fair point, but then why not target bourses / stock exchanges? That would create economic damage too, no?
They have multiple layers of backup and redundancies, and most trading is happening electronically anyway.
Tatin, did you see my question about your opinion on Schengen?
@musicprnt “we have 10’s of millions of people who think the US should be a Christian theocracy with a system that would not be unlike what you see in ISIS controlled areas”
Absolutely and totally ridiculous but consistent with your usual attacks on Christianity.
Schengen would be fine if all the countries had the same policies on taking in refugees, and the same policing as far as sharing information. I mean, they can set up roadblocks anywhere to catch escapees. It doesn’t have to be at a border crossing.
it is interesting to read the responses of some people in this thread compared to their responses in the thread about people sitting in a cabin in the pacific northwest.
and then the post that tens of millions americans want to turn the US into an Christian territory that mirrors ISIL
nice.
Where did ISIL come from anyway? I never heard of them until a couple of years ago. All of sudden there they are complete with land and government. There must be an underlying cause for renewed violence. Screaming oitrage won’t solve a thing.
68
Yes.
Europe is much more mixed than the US is and people do not stand out as much. People can blend into a crowd.
I am not going to hold the police or various underfunded inefficient government agencies to an unrealistic standard. That isn’t to say the Paris Bomber and his accomplices didn’t get some help. Welcome to the world we live in. Did you read my post? We are not well liked around the world and even though these attacks were not on US soil or US citizens we are not going to get as much help and/or cooperation as some would like. Perhaps you are operating on the model that other people like the US enough to prevent violence and are willing to risk their necks for us.
Well, I hate to burst your bubble but people all over the world struggle to survive and get by and very few, even if they do like us, which is not the norm, but even if they like us, very few all willing to risk their neck’s to stop things that other folks are determined to do.
I heard an interview this morning that presented an interesting perspective. This guy (whose name I can’t remember) said this is an issue of belonging first, and religion second. He said these suicide bombers have much more in common with inner city gangs. The Brussels bombers spent more time in prison for car theft and other crime than they’d ever spent in mosques. They and similar bombers were men in their twenties who were rudderless losers who found ISIS as a way to belong to something, to find meaning and follow leadership that said they were valued.
“we have 10’s of millions of people who think the US should be a Christian theocracy with a system that would not be unlike what you see in ISIS controlled areas…”
I know, soccerguy…incredible…
Here you go, Iglooo (post #75):