Study: Terrorists Shifting Focus to 'Soft' Targets

Fox ^ | 9/8/09 | staff

[Nachum]

WASHINGTON -- Terrorists are aiming for hotels and other easier-to-hit targets as security measures at military and government facilities continue to improve, says a global intelligence company.

Al Qaeda is changing from a centralized organization with global goals to regional "franchises" with more parochial aims and strong grass-roots support, according to a report Tuesday from STRATFOR. These smaller cells get less training and less money, so they set their sights lower.

That doesn't mean they aren't dangerous, "particularly if they are attempting to prove their value or if they are able to link up with someone who is highly tactically skilled," the report says.

[Ronin]

In other words they are cowards. Big surprise.

[kromike]

In other words they are cowards. Big surprise.

And we have a coward pretending like he's president, or something. I sense a pattern...

[RAO1125]

People willing to die for their political beliefs are not cowards. Psychotic? Yes. Evil? Depending on if you believe in good and evil, certainly. But it takes guts to do that crap.

[Beamreach]

i am far more worried about “little jonnie jihad” taking his weapons to the mall on a Sunday afternoon....

[RAO1125]

That’s why I never fully bought into the terrorism scare. If they were the everyday threat DC told us, we’d be seeing explosions constantly in small town USA in the same vein that the Israelis have suffered through. It’s more logical from their point of view. But I’m far from an expert on Al Quada other than reading some Michael Shuer books and of course research on their origins and OBL’s bio. 9/11 was a combination of a failure of border/visa security and blowback for bad foreign policy and not some brilliant tactical plan the way they like to present it.

[Sir_Ed]

I can see it now. Naheem and Mohammed plot their latest attack against softer and softer targets.

“Hey, I know...lets go to the mall and make faces at the infidels!”

Ed

[Beamreach]

i’m starting to believe that the U.S. is being destroyed by using that old and tried and true way...the U.S. is being destroyed by the “death of a thousand cuts”. Unfortunately it is domestic enemy's that have done the most damage. the commies and the arab jihadsist are clever, have delivered so many cut to the foundation of this country. If we would look back over the past 40 years they told us what they would do. They chipped and and cut away at the our 3 c’s, constitution, capatilisim and Christanity

[Diogenesis]

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"Ground Zero etiquette: A tale of two roses
Barack Obama flings a memorial rose at Ground Zero like he’s a kid tossing pennies into a fountain at the shopping mall ...
By contrast, John McCain and his wife kneel and gently, somberly, place their roses down at the foot of the 9/11 tribute."

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"The McCains and Obama at Ground Zero
Cindy McCain is also there. Michelle Obama is not"