"The battle will go on for the rest of our lives"

Woman injured on Westminster bridge, London

The quotation above was by Christopher Hitchens (more below in italics) who, way back in 2009, tried to inject some reality into the discussion of terrorism by Moslem fanatics who will continue to do what that crackpot did in London the other day.

There's still too much of the sort of thing that was in the Associated Press story in Wednesday's Chronicle (5 dead in vehicle, knife attack at British Parliament). The account acknowledges that it was some kind of "terrorism" but pretends to be mystified about the attacker's motivation: "There was no immediate claim of responsibility." 

Of course ISIS quickly claimed the killer as one of their own. That doesn't mean he was acting on orders but that he was another "lone wolf" Islamist practicing individual jihad who became radicalized one way or another, which ISIS encourages and likes to take credit for.

It was clearly not about domestic issues, like the murders in Wisconsin yesterday. (see One of ours or one of theirs?)

Since guns are not easy to get in Europe, the killer used easily available weapons that other terrorists have used: a knife and a motor vehicle. The killer wasn't a refugee or an immigrant; he was born in England, which is why President Trump's travel ban approach to terrorism is dumb and even counter-productive.

This reality is beginning to sink in. From the NY Times today:

The London attack, then, was a reminder of ways that the West will always be vulnerable: The means used were ordinary and available everywhere; the targets were high-profile landmarks; the victims were civilians of 10 nationalities going about their daily lives. For that, there may be no remedy a ballot box can provide (emphasis added).

Exactly. There's nothing anyone can do to prevent these attacks from happening, though sometimes they can be foiled by a family member or something else that tips off authorities that someone is about to run amok. 

Individual Muslim fanatics will sometimes succeed in killing us unbelievers, which is why this "will go on for the rest of our lives."

What nobody in authority thinks us grown-up enough to be told is this: We had better get used to being the civilians who are under a relentless and planned assault from the pledged supporters of a wicked theocratic ideology. These people will kill themselves to attack hotels, weddings, buses, subways, cinemas, and trains. They consider Jews, Christians, Hindus, women, homosexuals, and dissident Muslims (to give only the main instances) to be divinely mandated slaughter victims. Our civil aviation is only the most psychologically frightening symbol of a plethora of potential targets. The future murderers will generally not be from refugee camps or slums (though they are being indoctrinated every day in our prisons); they will frequently be from educated backgrounds, and they will often not be from overseas at all. They are already in our suburbs and even in our military. We can expect to take casualties. The battle will go on for the rest of our lives. Those who plan our destruction know what they want, and they are prepared to kill and die for it.

A not-so-smart rogues gallery

Richard Hall comment
Click on graphic for larger view

Click on "Smart train" below for more on this misbegotten Marin/Sonoma County rail project, a miniature version of the state's high-speed rail project. 

See Corte Madera apartment complex mired in delays, fingerpointing and litigation and Whose Fault Was the Win Cup Disaster?

Speaking of rail follies, people in Hawaii are learning that their foolish rail project will cost twice as much as promised.

John Pritchard

See Richard Hall's blog, Planning for Reality.