Should we feel terrified, terrorized, let down, what? I don't know how to feel

[babylonsister]

about this.

IEDs Seen As Rising Threat in The U.S.
As Preparedness Is Criticized, Bush Works on a Plan

By Spencer S. Hsu and Mary Beth Sheridan
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, October 20, 2007; Page A01

The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI agree that the homemade explosive devices that have wreaked havoc in Iraq pose a rising threat to the United States. But lawmakers and first responders say the Bush administration has been slow to devise a strategy for countering the weapons and has not provided adequate money and training for a concerted national effort.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who told the Senate last month that such bombs are terrorists' "weapon of choice," said yesterday at a local meeting that President Bush will soon issue a blueprint for countering the threat of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. Chertoff's department said in a draft report on IEDs earlier this year that national efforts "lack strategic guidance, are sometimes insufficiently coordinated . . . and lack essential resources."

Among the shortcomings identified in the report: Explosives-sniffing dogs are trained differently by various federal agencies, making collaboration between squads "difficult if not impossible." Federal agencies maintain separate databases on bomb incidents. Separately, bomb squad commanders have complained of inadequate training for responding to truck bombs.

Local officials say preparedness efforts around the country remain a patchwork. For instance, the Los Angeles Police Department's bomb squad, which responds to about 1,000 calls a year, has 28 full-time explosives technicians and is about to move into a new, $8 million downtown headquarters. The squad has an explosives library, a research facility for testing and access to an explosives range for training.

In contrast, the D.C. police bomb squad's 10 technicians handle about 700 calls a year, but they are housed in portable trailers and must also perform crime patrols. Among the six U.S. metropolitan regions considered top terrorist targets, only the Washington area has not earned the top rating of the DHS three-level scoring system for bomb squads. Regional officials recently decided to spend $7 million in federal grants to buy equipment to lift that rating.

Experts and officials have struggled in reaching a consensus that the government should invest more in efforts to detect and disrupt bomb plots in advance, and not just pay for equipment and training that could keep specific devices from exploding in metropolitan regions or reaching other targets.

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/19/AR2007101902703.html?hpid=topnews

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

1. This is the most ridiculous shit I ever heard of, unless it's their idea for a "false flag" campaign

Which would be very easy to pull off in this form.

[marmar]

2. Perhaps this isn't good, but if it comes from this government, I assume bullshit first....

The Boy Who Cried Wolf never cried wolf this much.

[wtmusic]

3. How many terrorist bombs have exploded in the US in the last 20 years?

5? 11?

Sounds like fearmongering to me.

[tularetom]

4. Personally I feel a bit pissed off

I guess the pipe bombs in abortion clinics weren't IED's huh? What did McVeigh use to blow up the Federal Building in OK City? We've had IED's here forfuckingever so why are they just now realizing they have a problem with them?

Or is this just another case where they will use an old problem to justify some further restriction of the freedom of US citizens? Are they just setting the stage to scare us into accepting some new snooping program?

I don't trust these people as far as I could throw them.