As we all have heard, the Boston Marathon event experienced two separate, yet aligned acts of terror today, both small explosive devices hidden in trash cans. First and foremost my deepest sympathies and heartfelt sorrows go to all of those affected by this horrendous incident. As of this writing, no one person or group has taken responsibility. There are speculations, of course, that the culprits could be al Qaeda related, or at least be influenced by al Qaeda, if this person or persons were not directly affiliated with the terrorist group.
If this were the work of a sole practitioner who has been influenced by the ideologies and tendencies of extremist groups such as al Qaeda, then the U.S. should prepare for more 'lone wolf' attacks. This type of event could give others more courage to take action against the U.S. on a small scale, because although it may not kills thousands and destroy buildings, it still causes terror and puts the U.S. public, government, and market at edge. I do not see the U.S. becoming an Iraq or Afghanistan type situation; however the potential for more attacks such as these is exacerbated.
If on the other hand this act of terror was committed by an Adam Lanza type, then the U.S. will need to seriously reconsider its mental health regulations and practices. Of course there was way more scenarios that we could hypothesize; yet I fear it could be the first. Many lone wolves have failed in the past few years, including the infamous Christmas Day Bomber and the more recent NY Federal Reserve bomber, and there are multiple reasons for their failures. The Christmas Day Bomber was as small scale as it gets but not intelligent or inconspicuous. Cases such as the NY Fed Reserve Bomber are too large scale with the purchase of large quantities of explosive materials that are sure to alert law enforcement. But only one wolf needs to be successful to encourage the rest of the pack.
I hope I am wrong and the coming days will be very interesting to see how things play out. Best wishes and prayers to the victims the terror attacks in Boston today.
If this were the work of a sole practitioner who has been influenced by the ideologies and tendencies of extremist groups such as al Qaeda, then the U.S. should prepare for more 'lone wolf' attacks. This type of event could give others more courage to take action against the U.S. on a small scale, because although it may not kills thousands and destroy buildings, it still causes terror and puts the U.S. public, government, and market at edge. I do not see the U.S. becoming an Iraq or Afghanistan type situation; however the potential for more attacks such as these is exacerbated.
If on the other hand this act of terror was committed by an Adam Lanza type, then the U.S. will need to seriously reconsider its mental health regulations and practices. Of course there was way more scenarios that we could hypothesize; yet I fear it could be the first. Many lone wolves have failed in the past few years, including the infamous Christmas Day Bomber and the more recent NY Federal Reserve bomber, and there are multiple reasons for their failures. The Christmas Day Bomber was as small scale as it gets but not intelligent or inconspicuous. Cases such as the NY Fed Reserve Bomber are too large scale with the purchase of large quantities of explosive materials that are sure to alert law enforcement. But only one wolf needs to be successful to encourage the rest of the pack.
I hope I am wrong and the coming days will be very interesting to see how things play out. Best wishes and prayers to the victims the terror attacks in Boston today.
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