The most effective antidote to ISIS attacks

The man who killed at least 15 people with his truck on Bourbon Street last night. He was waving a black Islamic State flag from his truck. like that To the FBI, police shot 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar dead at the scene. So far, no further information is known about the suspect. But since the ISIS flag isn’t a standard option on the Ford F-150, it’s reasonable to assume that the driver is a U.S. Army veteran. The massacre was committed as a show of respect for the Islamic State group.

Donald Trump President-elect of the United States famously lamented that Mexico It “didn’t send the best” to the United States. After insulting the New Orleans killer and grief over the 35 dead and injured, my reaction to this attack was one of relief that over the past decade Islamic State have The best have been dispatched and the best are still incompetent people whose most ingenious plan involves driving a truck into the crowd. It is said Jabbar brought a bomb with him and set fire to his Airbnb, but his bomb was ineffective. Or he didn’t live long enough to set fire to it. In 2014, the Islamic State assumed an early victory. of oneself is a sign of God’s favor. Now I wonder if you’ll notice that God seems to be limiting his IQ to work. and receive a hint about what may be said about His divine favor continuing.

In 2014, the group’s spokesman, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, launched a terrorist campaign in Europe by calling on his followers to use improvised weapons. “If you can’t find an IED or bullets.” say“Beat an American or European in the head with a rock, or kill him with a knife, or hit him with your car,” gruesome attacks occur. That includes the 2016 truck crash that killed 86 people. But consider the number of Islamic State supporters of European origin. It could be in the tens of thousands, and rocks, knives, and cars are easy to find. Only a few people accepted his offer. And those who receive it are often (if the jihadists will pardon the expression) narrow-minded.

I am not always an optimist. Every successful attack is tragic. The plan of a patient person Disciplined and has the ability to arise from time to time And when they were disturbed in the beginning Various details It’s a reminder of what can happen. In fact, this week the FBI detailed what it called the largest homemade explosives cache ever discovered. In the hands of a 36-year-old man in Smithfield. Virginia Those hands were attacked with a homemade bomb a few years ago. (“Several fingers are missing”) and a neighbor. warn Officers suspect that the suspect is “Stacking Homemade Weapons and Ammunition” It is difficult to overstate how many weapons must be stockpiled before Virginians begin to wonder whether the stockpile may be excessive and worthy of the attention of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Arms. guns (all three have near sacramental status in Rural Commonwealth) The suspect is not an ISIS supporter, but he has been reported to show signs of other questionable extremist views. Prosecutors said they found bags of pipe bombs. And that bag has a patch. #NoLivesMatter The suspect is Released On Monday he entered the care of his mother.

Nightmare situations are a combination of extreme motivation with patience and planning that helps that motivation find its most extreme expression. Stupid people can still kill. And the murders they committed were as damaging as anyone else’s. This morning’s massacre This was long after the Islamic State lost its territory and ceased to be a source of daily terror. It shows that the threat is limited but eternal. Senator Josh Hawley, Republican from Missouri called for the trial of the attack and accusations “The Biden administration has made (Americans) less safe” through unspecified negligence. But so far there is no public information to suggest that authorities were able to stop the killer from renting a truck and driving it into the crowd. The most effective antidote to such attacks is probably just what the United States does. Made towards the end of Obama’s second term. And throughout Trump’s first term, that was dismantling the Islamic State. and push it into confusion which has less power to inspire random people to act on its behalf, such strategies have the additional effect of countering more complex attacks. This is because it gives attackers less places to hide and shelter from which to attack.

There is no natural law that says terrorists are necessarily bad at their acts of terrorism. Many terrorists and mass murderers plan very effectively. and increasing the number of bodies to prove it. Authorities are now investigating whether the murderers in New Orleans were complicit. If he gets help His accomplices are just as incompetent. The correct long-term response is to prepare for the day when talent and enthusiasm meet. That day is not today.

In short, I agree with my colleague Juliette Kayyem: The correct response to this crime is to get on with our lives, play football, and let New Orleans begin to heal itself. No city in America feels as lively as New Orleans, and it can’t keep the party going. This city has a folk poet. But I am partial to Englishman Philip Larkin’s line about New Orleans: “Thy voice falls upon me when they say that love should / Like a big voice, yes… the natural sound of goodness.” / Scattered long- creates sorrow and expresses pity.”