Is it really possible that the government can prevent every and all terrorist attacks

[WI_DEM]

on US soil? I don't know all the details of today's incident and don't know if it is terrorist inspired or not, but I do know that the right wing, FAUX and of thier ilk will start pointing fingers at President Obama and his team again.

Can the government really prevent some lunatic who wants to kill himself and take others with him? Are all such attacks terrorism??

[Oregone]

1. Yes. It begins by waging imperialistic wars in third world countries

If we do not vigorously, our benevolent God in heaven will bestow safety on our nation

[ZombieHorde]

2. Yes, by killing everyone. nt

[vadawg]

3. nope to quote lady thatcher, we have to be lucky every time, they only need to be lucky once..

[Eric J in MN]

4. I consider the attack terrorism, but I don't blame the Obama administration.

There is no evidence I've seen that they had warnings that the guy might fly a plane into a building.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. Of course not.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

6. Nope. Not at all.

No matter how good intelligence/security is, there is always the possibility that something may occur. I have no expectation of the government preventing all attacks. :shrug:

[mdmc]

7. depends on what you define as terrorism

I think of it as a crime.. therefore, it would be hard to stop all acts..

[FarCenter]

8. No -- the defender has to defend everything, equally well, all of the time

The attacker has only to concentrate all his efforts at one place, at one time.

[OHdem10]

9. No, it is unreasonable to believe the Government can prevent every

Terrorist attack. The Terrorist most important weapon is
Surprise. The Intelligence agencies work to prevent and
minimize attacks.

[On the Road]

10. It Reminds Me of the Nero Wolfe Detective Series

In a few novels, such as The Leage of Frightened Men, a client would come into Wolfe's office and announce that someone was trying to kill him. Wolfe's response was always that if the killer was persistent enough, he would probably succeed. This never seemed to go over well with the clients.

Protection is in the mind of the people being protected. There are always going to be disgruntled people and millions of potential opportunities, and if they're persistent enough, some of their attacks are likely to succeed.

[gratuitous]

11. I find it curious

That the very people who think that government should prevent every and all terrorist attacks are often the same folks who think that government can't do anything right and is not the solution (in whole or any part) to any problem.

[HughMoran]

12. No.

guns, planes, trucks, explosives etc... - it's not possible to stop all of it - just the large plots that involve more than one person.