7.22.05
Another week, and another incident on the London Underground, two weeks to the day. You have to admit that the psychological edge that the attackers have on a n unwitting public is tremendous, even with little or no casualities there is still an impression made. Especially on a system that is so open and crowded, it makes a very effective soft target for an attack. I kind of had a feeling that this wasn’t going to be an isolated incident that would just fade into the background of public consciousness, much how 7-7 and 3-11 and in more ways surprising, 9-11 has become. I’m sad realize I was right on this point.
And just today a suspect was shot 5 times in one of the tube stations, either as he was boarding, or already boarding a train wearing a large coat in the middle of summer. The police presence on wmata has been increased, even more so today. I’ve been reading reports of random back searches that are starting on the NYC transit lines and the washington metro may follow suit shortly.
Another thing that struck me was the fact that London is supposedly one of the most watched cities in terms of government surveillence, immediately after the bombings we have grainy still photos of suspects, aiding law enforcement. Not enough of a deterrance afterall, it brings to mind a saying I once heard about sacrificing liberty or privacy for the promise of security.