Will terrorist attacks be a challenge to all public events?
By Roger Caldwell
Horrific death and violent public scenes are becoming a weekly occurrence, and Americans are living in fear and amazement. No one expected at the Boston Marathon, a deliberate terrorist attack that would kill three and injure 170 people. But Americans are on high alert because President Obama has a major challenge with violence in the country.
Many would like to believe that all the terrorists’ acts in the country are recorded by the media, but many of the terrorist attacks are kept quiet, and not allowed to be exposed. In order to keep Americans calm, many investigations of terrorist attacks are not reported to the public and media.
“In the days to come, we will remain vigilant as a nation. If anyone wants to know who we are; what America is; how we respond to evil and terror, that’s selflessly, compassionately, and unafraid,” says President Obama.
Most of this statement is accurate, but Americans are scared and we wonder where the next violent and tragic event will take place. It sounds good when the president says in his weekly address that Americans are unafraid, but everyone knows based on the recent killings, everyone is vulnerable to violence. When people return from a marathon and they are missing different limb parts, Americans are terrorized and everyone is at risk.
President Obama said, “The nation owes a debt of gratitude to law enforcement officials and the people of Boston for their help in the search. But there are many unanswered questions about the Boston bombings, including whether the two men had help from others.” It took four days for law enforcement officials to apprehend the suspect and the investigators gave no motives for the bombing.
Terrorism is not going away and the president’s job gets harder every day. The two suspects in this horrific crime were from southern Russia and were believed to have lived in Cambridge, outside of Boston for 10 years. They are identified as ethnic Chechens, and the older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev was 26, studied at a community college, and had strong political views about the U.S. He was killed in a high speed chase, exchanged gunfire with police and threw explosive devices from the car.
His 19 year old brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was a student at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and was captured in a backyard boat in a suburb called Watertown. The brothers had built an arsenal of pipe bombs, grenades, and improvised explosive devices. There were over 1,000 police officers and federal officials that paralyzed the Boston area with one of the largest manhunts in its history.
During this manhunt, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer was killed, and a man was carjacked but not injured. The younger brother is now in custody but cannot talk, and there are many questions that need to be answered. With the advance of technology and cameras everywhere it is difficult to hide your movements, and that helped law enforcement officials identify the suspects.
There are three other men that are being questioned, but it appears that this bombing was done by amateurs who had limited experience. If they are convicted, it proves that terrorist events can be executed by almost anyone. Attempts to protect against terrorism may lead to a kind of social oppression.
As the president wrestles with the proper procedure to control violence at large public events, everyone must be on high alert. This will be a violent period for America and the world and citizen’s safety will be the president’s number one priority. There has always been a small group of people in a society, who initiate calculated acts to provoke a state of terror in the general public.
The president, law enforcement officials, and the general public will be challenged to control violence everywhere and especially at large public events. The thugs and terrorist may be winning right now in this new reality in our country.
