(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - Today, Western Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke introduced the Safeguarding Americans from Extremism (SAFE) Act to prevent Palestinian terrorists from abusing the United States’ legal immigration system by requiring the Department of Homeland Security to imp
What fear does Montana have of a terrorist attack?
What a ballsack.
Mostly the home grown kind.
Kill-billies!
Humans are bad at threat analysis. I remember after 9/11, little hick towns in the middle of bumfuck nowhere were worried that their little tourist trap landmark what not was under immediate terrorist, even though there was literally no way at the time to for anyone outside of that county to know that the little town even existed. The internet of the day wasn’t exactly easily searchable, and most of those little towns didn’t bother making their own website.
There are a lot of other examples of being bad at threat analysis. Like people being more afraid of sharks than jellyfish when at the beach, or being afraid of sharks at all…
I’m sure I could spend the next hour listing things that people are irrationally afraid of and not repeat myself.
I agree with you. But at the time l distinctly recall thinking if they hit just one or two small towns with no high value target, it would send the whole country into outright panic because an attack might hit literally anywhere. It seemed at least somewhat reasonable to think they would switch tactics to an easier target to sow utter chaos. But of course those things take time to plan and execute and they had no way of knowing the aftermath of 9/11 in time to plan followup attacks.
The coordinated attack plan was actually foiled a year earlier. 9/11 was the Hail Mary back-up plan.
The Millennium Attack plots were well planned and coordinated, and were mostly foiled because of it. The plans leaked. (and one plan failed due to the boat sinking with all bombs onboard)
9/11 was the hastily thrown together back-up. Of course they didn’t have anything planned for after it.
But I still doubt they would have bothered with any sort of small town, even if they’d been in a position to attack again.
Because suicide-bombing a cereal factory in Nowhere, Iowa doesn’t make the fucking news across the country. But humans, especially Americans, want to be the center of the universe, and a lot of Americans feel they’re so exceptional that of course their little wide spot in the road is super-important because they have an Army Reserve motor pool 3 miles up the road or whatever.