Walking bombs are now all the rage in the Middle East, as a way to persuade various groups to do something or the other. Known as suicide bombers or martyrs depending on your perspective, the basic concept is terror bombing, plain and simple.
The reason for walking bombs, as contrasted to car or truck bombs is easy enough. The Beirut Barrier checkpoint is used all over the Middle East to keep trucks and cars from getting near things. It’s a simple construction; three Jersey blocks, those concrete triangle barriers you see on freeway construction, set in a maze to force trucks and cars to go, one at a time, through a checkpoint with tight S-turns.
This lesson was learned when a truck bomb blew up the US Army barracks in Beirut in the 80’s: The truck sped up to the front door of the building and went boom, collapsing the building and killing a couple of hundred Marines. Don’t allow vehicles to come near buildings in areas of the world where life has little or no value.
In North America we see some of this construction. The new US Embassy in Ottawa has steel posts, called bollards, along the curb mounted six feet under ground, projecting four feet above ground on the sidewalk. Each post is about four feet apart and circles the embassy, so bicycles and pedestrians can pass through.
The idea is to keep the blast and overpressure of an explosion away from the building structure by not letting a vehicle get too close to the building. The estimates with bollards in general are, you can drive a five-ton truck at 40 miles an hour into these things and still not get through the barrier.
Oklahoma City, as an example, was a “successful” blast because the Ryder truck bomb was within a few feet of the building. The architects had put a turn-in lane close to the building to allow cars and buses to drop people off at the door.
Britain, especially during the Irish Troubles, did it a bit differently. They hung blast drapes over the buildings that were likely targets. Blast drapes look like that green or orange construction mesh you see on a building site. The drape moves with the blast, dissipating the overpressure wave, reducing the effects and containing some of the damage. Britain really doesn’t have the physical room for bollards and distance from the sidewalk for safety, so nets and drapes work for them.
Suicide bombers, the walking bombs, can pass through bollards and Beirut Barriers by the simple expedient of being on foot. Security forces naturally look for individuals with big coats and a bulky build during hot weather. Carrying a heavy backpack or big bag is also suspect.
The technology is not complex: A vest stuffed with explosives, either dynamite, or plastique is worn under a coat. The wearer walks into a crowded area and pulls the detonator, turning their body into small chunks of meat and using the blast wave to kill as many others as they can. Vest pockets stuffed with nails, screws and scrap metal ensures the damage area is wider and more hideous. Suicide bombs are easier to make in volume, as you don’t need a lot of explosive to cause a lot of damage, roofing nails are easy to get even for Palestinians in Israel and the wearer is not expected to come back looking for another fitting.
This week, the walking bombs have added a new twist. Line up with the rest of the folks at the security checkpoint to enter the shopping area. Just before you get to the scanner or pat-down area, pull the cord and say goodbye.
The endpoint is the same. People, regardless of political viewpoint become terrified of being in public areas. Imagine going to the local Wal-Mart and seeing that hefty guy over there trying on overalls suddenly disappear in a cloud of blood, meat and bone, while bits of metal fly into your face and body and your ears ring like the Bells of Hell from the blast. Talk about taking the fun out of retail.
Is this kind of terror coming our way? North America is wide open, from a security standpoint. The bad guys can get Ryder trucks, explosives and willing drivers as easily as we can get regular unleaded at the local Esso.
North Americans have never lived under that kind of suspicion of every sidewalk planter, pedestrian, truck and car around you, that the Middle East lives under every day.
RoadDave 