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Comment by lifeguard | Hacker News Reader

For some reason this reminds me more of the Atlanta Summer Olympics or Moscow than the attacks on the World Trade Center. [edit to add links for clarity]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_apartment_bombings#Ryaz...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centennial_Olympic_Park_bombing

Condolences to friends and families of the injured and dead.

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The aim of the WTC attack was to make a very symbolic action: the goal was to destroy three symbols of American power, its military, economic, and political might, though the last ended up physically unscathed. Obviously a huge number of deaths associated with it, but the symbolism was key. You knew exactly where the attackers stood--American power is evil--once you heard a description of the attacks.

This, in contrast, is incomprehensible violence. I can think of a dozen different viewpoints that could have driven it, but we'll have to wait for some idiotic statement from the criminals who did it before we have a clue "why" they did it.

>You knew exactly where the attackers stood--American power is evil

Who gives a fuck where they stand they will all be hunted down and killed. For all you know this bombing was because they don't believe women should run in marathons.

> For all you know this bombing was because they don't believe women should run in marathons.

Or maybe their entire family was killed as collateral damage in an american drone strike in Yemen. Or they though the IRS is taxing them too much and wanted to get back at the country. Or they are just fucking crazy and didn't even have a reason.

Stop making assumptions with no information whatsoever.

I think that was his point.

It certainly does matter. Not in terms of whether they're evil or not--they most assuredly are--but how we interpret their actions is very much going to be determined by who they are and what their goals are. If 9/11 had been committed by anti-abortionists or ecoterrorists, we would have had a very different situation on our hands than we did in our reality.

Knowing what their motives were is likely to speed their capture. Most terrorists have trouble keeping their mouths shut.

Without knowing the reasons it is hard to find out who did it and harder to prevent it happening in the future. This is regardless if you are in the "we should pay attention to their grievances in hopes they won't do it again" or "let's fucking blow their families up in retaliation" camp.

I know I'm stating the obvious, but the moment you cease to be the "land of the free" in order to better hunt them down and kill them, they win.

Because turning you into them is what they wanted from the start.

Note: It took place on Patriot's Day, a Massachusetts and Maine holiday.

The book _the hacker crackdown_ asserts the phone company blamed a phone system crash that happened on MLK day on hackers and phreaks. Later it was determined a firmware upgrade crashed the network and the date was a co-incidence.

American drone strikes kill innocent people all over the world. Their neighbors say these killings are incomprehensible.

I still think this was domestic actors.

Terrorist bombings kill innocent people all over the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_incidents,_Ja...

Including, it bears pointing out, 55 people today alone being blown up by insurgents in Iraq.

Not that people in the USA have any connection with that.

Maybe they really hate exercise.

The first article (about Ryazan in Russia) says that it is FSB's job. And there was an apology. (FSB is new KGB, Ryazan is a city more than 100 miles from Moscow).

I don't see the connection to the current story unless you're implying that some 3-letter american agency have something to do with the explosions as a propaganda tool to justify lost freedoms, war spendings, etc.

Yup, it is looking like American kooks did this.

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