Portrait of the Modern Terrorist as an Idiot
// June 18th, 2007 // No Comments » // Business & Politics, Security & Privacy
Bruce Schneier has an excellent article that aligns exactly with how I feel every time I hear news of a new “terrorist plot” that has been disrupted. Inevitably, the story that follows paints a picture of a marginalized, incompetent set of characters who had little chance of carrying out a mass-casualty attack, and who often hadn’t progressed beyond the “yelling-at-the-TV” phase of their so-called “plot”.
I’m sure there is real investigation going on and real plots are being uncovered and disrupted. But the ones that seem to get the most attention are the ones that revolve around sensational targets or the potential, however remote, of mass-casualties, regardless of the actors’ operational capacity.
As he says in his article: “[...] in this country, while you have to be competent to pull off a terrorist attack, you don’t have to be competent to cause terror.”
Perhaps these stories are the security equivalent of an opiate for the masses. The appearance that the security folks are “on the job” and “getting things done”. The reality sometimes seems so different.
There are real terrorists out there that pose a real threat to us. Too often, the ones you see getting arrested on TV or simmering in their cages at Gitmo aren’t the ones we should worry about.
Interesting 
I have to write a long overdue plug for my favorite online billing service. I’ve used 
A friend sent me a link to 
Michael Crichton has an interesting op-ed in the New York Times discussing what has become among the most egregious abuse of the underfunded US Patent Office and their penchant for rubber stamping most patent applications that come across their desk, regardless of the true originality, merit, or social value of the claim.
