In the last day of class we discussed what we believe the terrorist threat level to be, and a recent suicide attack has made me think more about this. This suicide attack was in Iraq at a restaurant popular among Iraqi police officers. I heard on the radio that for this specific suicide attack at the restaurant a man walked into the restaurant, yelled "God is great" and tried to detonate his vest but it failed. The man was arrested by the police. About thirty minutes later, a different man walks into the same restaurant, yelled the same thing, but this time his vest did not fail. The amazing thing to me is that at least 10 people were killed in the blast (the radio said 15...). I figure that some of those casualties were employees but who in their right mind would stay at that restaurant after someone tried to blow it up? I definitely would not stay there to finish my sandwich, and I would probably not go back to that restaurant again soon. I tried to imagine what the people there were thinking... maybe they believe that there is always a high threat for a suicide attack in their area so they figured they managed to dodge a bullet, or maybe they really don't think that the threat is that great.
To the grader - sorry, this post is half an hour late. Please grade it for the week ending April 20th.
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This is the blog for the winter 2008 379R class on terrorism and counter-terrorism.
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8 comments:
I think that suciede attempts and threats have become so common in that area, that people are not easily scared. It is really difficult for us to imagine why the people did not vacate the place at once, but as you point out, their perception of threat was at a lower level than the actual threat.
It was strange that the police did not increase their security after the first attempt, but this again leads us to consider that the the people/police value security at a lower rate than the liberty to finish eating whatever theyr were eating.
A third thing I noticed was how many willing suicide bombers are still there at the terrorist organizations' disposal. They were willing to sacrifice two men within an hour's span.
p.s: Please count this post towards last week 4/20.
This shows the exttent in which the Iraqi people hav gotten used to the You must understand that in this part of the world, violence is a mainstay. The Irag war has just escalated the rate of violence in Iraq which has lasted for 5 years. Also, the fear of a percieved threat lower in these parts unlike the West; thier religion plays a hefty part in thrumping their perception of fear.
I agree somewhat with what has been posted. In the U.S. if someone had tried to blow up a restaurant, then everyone would have left and no one would have been back for a long time. But in Iraq, who knows? If a person had left the restaurant and went somewhere else there may have been a suicide attack at their new destination as well. The point is, that the threat level/likelihood of attack is the same. There was no reason to leave after the first suicide bomber was arrested.
What i thought was interesting was what was said in the article. Apparently there had been a car bombing that same day. That bombing was carried out in a "heavily secured part of the city." It kind of leaves me wondering how people can live their lives out in a city that had two bombings in one day. It seems that to them it is a natural way of living. It is no surprise that many people that live in these circumstances are upset with the U.S. They see that our presence is making the terrorist groups around them strike out in suicide and car bombings that hurt them while nobody on the U.S soil is hurt by having us there.
It's amazing to us that people can become so used to such violence that it no longer affects them like it would us. However, I think it's interesting to note that while terrorists' goal is to make people afraid to live their normal lives, that's exactly what these people are doing--leading normal lives, continuing on despite disruptions.
Not the these bombings didn't generate fear and cause massive destruction and loss of life. But it does seem as if people are becoming more difficult to frighten and more immune to terrorist abuse.
Its amazing to me that someone wouldn't just leave the area after so much violence. What draws someone to stay in a place where there are bombings and killings every day? I can understand their heritage pulling them towards staying but there has to be a time where you stay and fight or leave and live. I wouldn't have a problem with leaving the U.S. if all of my neighbors kept getting bombed. What pulls them to stay vs. the poeple in Africa in the Sudan? Is it just religious?
Erick Casado said...It is normal to be used to violence after 5 years of war. I know cases in urbune U.S. areas that houses have been stollen many times but people wont move out or secured themselves becaouse of it. That became just part of their lifes and they just assume that it is ok to keep going with their normal daily activities. It is very say...
(week of the 21st, please)
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