Syfullo Saipov
By Scott Taylor
In the wake of the Halloween day terror attack in New York City, we had the immediate media overreaction the minute it was gleaned that the perpetrator, Sayfullo Saipov, was inspired by none other than Daesh (a.k.a. ISIS).
U.S. President Donald Trump was at his twittering best as he denounced Saipov as a “degenerate animal” and he vowed a tenfold vengeance upon Daesh evildoers.
The fact that Saipov had immigrated to the U.S. from Uzbekistan led Trump to tweet out his long-stated opposition to the United States’ diversity visa lottery program. It was through this lottery selection process that Saipov was admitted into the U.S. in 2010. Despite every indication Saipov became radicalized after he immigrated, The Donald insists that his ban on Muslim immigration is the only thing that will keep America safe again.
Stephen Paddock
As for Saipov’s connection to Daesh, well we know that he requested an ISIS flag to decorate the hospital room in which he is recovering from the gunshot wound he received when New York police ended his killing spree.
Then there is the claim made by Daesh in their own Al Naba newspaper wherein they describe Saipov as a “caliphate soldier.” That would of course be the same self-proclaimed caliphate that has now been reduced to a couple of hard-pressed pockets in Iraq and Syria. In fact, one has to wonder just how those last few fanatics can still have a newspaper in which to claim credit for Saipov’s rampage.
However, just in case there is any doubt, U.S. Homeland Security officials are telling us that, while Saipov received no direct training from Daesh, his methods were “straight out of the ISIS playbook.” That particular guide to terrorism is entitled “Just Terror Tactics” and was published late last year by Daesh evildoers.
So, just to quickly recap Saipov’s attack: he rented a truck at Home Depot and drove it down a crowded bicycle path, killing and injuring all that he could. In the truck he had a bag of knives for beheading people, but failed to grab it when he rolled the vehicle. Instead, he grabbed a pair of imitation handguns, which he brandished while shouting “Allah Akbar!” (God is great) until the NYPD shot him and took him into custody.
If U.S. Homeland Security is to be believed, then we can conclude that the Daesh handbook on terror attacks is not very sophisticated, and relies upon the perpetrator’s suicidal fanaticism.
The immediate response from New York City and State officials was that they would not give in to such acts of terrorism. This has become the common response to any terror-related incidents by both U.S. and Canadian officials.
It is of course a ridiculous statement as there is no alternative. We cannot surrender to a handful of zealots.
What we can do instead is let the terrorists alter the way in which we conduct our lives and that is exactly what U.S. officials have proposed in the wake of Saipov’s attack.
Transportation departments are tasked with installing barricades and additional safety measures to prevent future vehicular attacks. One cannot fathom how many sand trucks and concrete barriers it would take to make that even possible, not to mention the disruption that will cause to already congested city traffic.
On the flip side of all of this is the U.S. reaction to Stephen Paddock’s October 1 non-terrorist attack in Las Vegas.
Using a rental van, a bag of kitchen knives and two fake guns, Saipov was able to kill 8 and injure 11 innocent people. Using an arsenal of legally purchased assault rifles, non-terrorist Paddock killed 58 and caused injury to another 546 innocent concertgoers.
Saipov’s attack sparked an immediate demand from Trump to tighten immigration controls and federal officials have already ordered increased safety measures.
Paddock’s shooting rampage created 31 times the carnage, but there has not been a single change nor even a pledge to change America’s ridiculous gun laws.
