Terrorism, WMDs

[ewx]

The BBC reports an attack on the South Korean Daegu underground. The lone perpetrator seems to have just used fire, fueled by petrol or something, and killed at least 100 people. It's not reported how many are injured but alive.

In comparison when the Aum cult attacked the Tokyo underground using sarin, a nerve gas, there were many people performing the operation and they only killed twelve people. On the other hand, thousands suffered more or less unpleasant direct and indirect side effects.

I'm also reminded of the once fairly common meme that the best place to be if the cold war went hot was near a target: it'd be over quickly for you.

Perhaps the terror we associated with NBC weapons is to do with what happens when they don't kill you: the debilitation from being poisoned, the radiation sickness, the ostracism ("he's the one from that weird attack").

Comments

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

I'm also reminded of the once fairly common meme that the best place to be if the cold war went hot was near a target: it'd be over quickly for you.

My sixth-form teacher, c. 1988: "We're living slap-bang between three major airforce bases [the USAF one has now shut] - if the worst comes to the worst, I recommend getting a loved one and the best bottle of wine you can find, going to the nicest field in the neighbourhood, and watching the show."

We could always tell when things were about to escalate by watching the transport planes going out of Brize.