High-tech fantasies... bad psychology at DHS

Because we obsess about High-Tech Weapons systems, we imagine our enemies do the same. The effect? We focus on non-existent threats.

How has al Qaeda attacked us and others? With simple, low-tech weapons - bombs made of what amounts to fertilizer (ammonium nitrate) & diesel + a blasting cap. The original 1993 attack on the World Trade Center was such a device. The London 2005 bombings were such devices. The Madrid devices were such. The attack on our embassy in Kenya? The same. On the U.S.S. Cole? The same. The Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia? The same.

The WTC & Pentagon attacks on 9/11? Not even anything as sophisticated as fertilizer & diesel: box-cutters - used to take control of airliners. Yes, the attacks were spectacular, but they were LOW-TECH! [The OKC bombing - a domestic terror event - was also based on fertilizer +diesel fuel + blasting cap!]

On what does DHS focus? Nuclear attacks! Fancy 2-component liquid explosives. Dirty bombs.

Has our adversary ever used such devices? No!

The regulations in place prior to 9/11 prohibited box-cutters on airlines. The regulations simply weren't enforced. The 9/11 attacks were preventable within existing laws and regulations.

Now we're devoting who knows how many $ to preventing fancy radiological attacks!

"Know your enemy" is a fairly basic tenet of defense... we're ignoring it... and we're wasting who knows how many taxpayer $ in the process!

Just because we have a high-tech mentality does NOT mean that our enemy does, too. They've been very successful with fertilizer & diesel fuel!

[an aside: why am I NOT allowed to take a cigarette lighter on a plane, but I AM allowed to take a book of matches? I can light a fire just as easily with matches as with a lighter... I can even light a fire one-handed with the book of matches - it's not that hard!]

[another aside: has ANYONE ever successfully assembled a two-component liquid explosive with chemicals fabricated in a garage lab?... Returning to original point: we focus on the high-tech because that's how we view the world; BUT it has NOTHING to do with how our enemy is likely to behave!]