peeker643 wrote:gotribe31 wrote:peeker643 wrote:Cerebral_DownTime wrote:Peeker is going to a gun show. He's going to get a AR-15 with 6 flashlights, 2 laser sights, and a Skoal dispenser. Then he will got get all those damn freedom haters that hate us for our freedoms. Crank up the Lee Greenwood and let 'em have it, son!
Assholes.
I worry more about the people you see at gun shows than the guy who's duped into wearing the trick explosive vest by people like Al.
Just sayin'...
Oh yeah...this guy was a moron. Absolutely no doubt about it. Most terrorists (or wannabe terrorists, or whatever you want to call them) are pretty fucking stupid in general, which is a good thing for us. But we've been able to stop some of the smart ones too.
If you'd have told me on Sept 12, 2001 that in February of 2012 we'd have made it without a major attack going off in the US, I'd have said you were nuts. Combination of luck, skill, ineptitude of some of the bad guys and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to thank for that.
When you say 'wars in Afghanistan and Iraq' do you mean more the over arcing philosophy of taking the initiative against these guys on their own soil? I understand the war's cost to them and the fact they're occupied in their own lands, but even more than that it would seem that drone strikes, special ops, etc are responsible for keeping those fucks scurrying like roaches and concentrating more on survival than their own plots.
How much different (if at all) is the intelligence focus and initiative now than on Sept 10, 2011?
War in Afghanistan robbed them of their inititave. Took away AQ's permissive operating environment where they planned for and trained operatives for several attacks against US interests overseas and of course 9/11. Put them on the defensive where they had to worry about their day to day survival more than planning operations against the West.
More than anything, both wars gave them infidel targets in their own AO to attack. The average Mooselimb terrorist wannabe no longer had to travel to Europe or the US to attack the crusaders, they could stay home and do it in their own lands, or hop skip and jump their way to AF or IQ. Now, this also undoubtedly created more jihadists who were willing to pick up an AK than if we hadn't gone into SW Asia or the Middle East, but that's more of a political question than an operational one.
Operationally, the wars decreased the near-term threat to the homeland. The drone strikes are extremely valuable in extending the reach of our conventional forces, and I give Obama a lot of credit for stepping up those attacks. Special ops to get rid of HVT's isn't possible without the degredation of forces that the conventional troops have achieved. UBL wouldn't have been in a compound in Pakistan with 3 other guys if his compound in Afghanistan with 1000 other guys wasn't rendered inoperable by the military action in Afghanistan.
As far as the intel shift goes from pre-9/11 mindset, it was a dramatic shift in collection strategy. New targets, more funding, accelerated technologies...night and day. It's all about a coordinated strategy, and that's just not something that was a priority in the 90's when no one was really focused Islamic fundamentalism.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves
-----Abe Lincoln
Let me tell you, if any of you douchebag empty headed stuffed suit nanny politicians tries to fuck with my bacon, I’m going after you like a crazed chimpanzee on bath salts.
-----Lars
