Boston: What no one is talking about....

[Bennyboy]

The finish line of the Boston marathon, at the time of the blasts, was the most secure place on the planet.

Drills, bomb dogs who were in the area minutes before the blasts...., rooftop snipers, and cameras everywhere. Apparently the anti terror apparatus presence at this specific event was very high. All manner of federal and local police.

Since 9-11 we passed the patriot act, passed the NDAA, rolled back Miranda rights, Created the largest bureaucracy the world has ever seen in Homeland Security, allowed domestic drones and many other anti terror bills.

And still this happened.

[Armstead]

1. And your point is?.....

[EOTE]

8. Perhaps sacrificing our freedom for the illusion of protection wasn't the greatest idea? nt

[Myrina]

24. +1 Brazillion

... and now 2 days later everyone is on edge and in full panic-meltdown mode at the slightest "oddity".
We have learned nothing.

[Mojorabbit]

28. +100 nt

[Heather MC]

43. I am not on edge. 9/11 survivor, I am done living in fear.

I understand and except there is nothing
we can do to be safe unless we just get it over with and kill everyone off. As long as there are people walking around, someone is going to kill someone else.

It is a sad fact, but no reason to be on edge.

Just live every day like it matters. Never hesitate to tell the people you love that you love them. And don't be afraid that's what these freaks want.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

49. +1. Like the London bombing blitz in WW2. Carry on, but be aware. +2 for expressing love. nt

[Voice for Peace]

53. +++! Thank you. Just say No.

We are all gonna die.
There are so many zillions of things that can go wrong
at any moment. Most of them don't.

When they happen, we deal with them in the immediate
moment. From somewhere comes the strength and
courage and presence of mind, and the adrenaline.

Till then.. don't worry, be happy, each moment is
one of a kind.

[Armstead]

36. If that is the only point of the OP, then I agree with that

[EOTE]

45. That's what I took away from it. nt

[MineralMan]

2. It's almost impossible to control a huge crowd of spectators

along a 26+ mile event. Can't be done in any truly effective way.

[Bennyboy]

10. Both the starting line and the finish line were

made more secure than the rest of the course due to the higher probability for an attack at this event.

[TwilightGardener]

3. Well, it wasn't that secure. People brought in bags and backpacks, it wasn't cordoned off

and bags prevented from being brought in, or searched. The average courthouse in America is more secure. I imagine next year the area of the finish line will be open only to those who aren't carrying bags and consent to searches, and access points through side streets or businesses will be closed.

[Bennyboy]

13. I will clarify......

the most secure place on the planet that didn't contain a lot of lawyers...... (State Houses, the White House, Courthouses both local and Federal, legislative office buildings) etc.....

[hughee99]

21. It still wasn't that secure.

Fenway park was more secure than the finish line area. Try getting a backpack with a pressure-cooker full of nails into Fenway Park, a museum or almost any bar on a busy day.

I've been to the finish line personally many times, and as recently as 2 years ago. There's a lot of security, but there's a lot of ways in and out and almost no one checking bags.

[snooper2]

52. not by far...meme fail

so basis for OP is, well, baseless----

Try to get a backpack into the co-lo space at the Infomart...

[onenote]

57. I see. That's why they check my bag at the ballgame--to protect lawyers.

[Warpy]

4. Of course it did, and it will continue to happen

here and there. Either you let the scumbags win and barricade yourself at home or you go about your business while acknowledging the world has never been that safe a place, anyway, and you're more likely to get hit by a bus than blown up by a terrorist.

Nothing stops someone who is determined to kill you, especially if he's some fanatic who doesn't expect to get out alive. Nothing will stop a suicide bomber except the kind of police work that finds him before he plants a bomb.

The only thing that makes me still suspect home grown terror is that this jerk did get out alive, the worst type of coward.

[bluedigger]

5. It probably wasn't even in the top 100,000 secure places on the planet.

I've probably passed tighter security screens entering bars, but other than that, yeah.

[Bennyboy]

16. What are you willing to give up?

Cuz it is going to happen. freedom of access? or do we start doing it like Presidential appearances? Go even farther and metal detectors, gating, eye scans etc?

take a look at how much security was in place at this event. What is the security budget for the Boston marathon? And how much will it be in 2014 when tha race will be a memorial and every person involved in running with be there?

[bluedigger]

27. I don't want to give up shit, but I could lose the 2nd Amendment if I had to.

But your supposition was not even close. Maybe you should have said "the most secure location on those two blocks of Boyleston Street on that day". I like living in an open society, even if it exposes me to some risk. I look forward to watching the huge crowds at the Boston Marathon next year.

[NCTraveler]

6. And that is why we need to pump up homeland security.

Patriot act on steroids maybe.

[flamingdem]

7. I'm amazed it hasn't happened more often

.. it's been pretty quiet relatively since 9/11

And this isn't nearly at that scale. I remember the anthrax freakout and worrying about low flying planes and radiation dirty bombs.. none of that came to pass.

[Shrike47]

9. It was not the most secure place on the planet, that's just silly.

Having police-types standing around does not equal security. We have large sporting events with lots of security where I live and it's mostly crowd control, not a search for terrorists.

[cali]

11. Clearly it was not the most secure place on

the planet and place where masses of the public are assembled outside, can ever be that. And where did you get the information that there were rooftop snipers?

[Bennyboy]

22. The news mentioned it many times....

and knowing how things work I know there were. There are protocols for security for this type of event. One step below say the Olympics, a Presidential event, but a step above an every day sporting event. The Super Bowl like.... then add the Newtown families and you have another security urgency that you have to plan for as well.....

And you have to know that the finish and start lines were the MOST likely targets during the race. 26 miles from each other. And most of the spectators, if not all, were concentrated at the starting and finish lines. So that density makes it more police'y as well as a harder to defend from an attack. And we all know that terrorist are never looking to hit a single or a double to the gap, they always try to hit a home run. and the TV cameras and casualties make it a bigger event.

[cali]

37. so what? that doesn't make it a fact

and the Super Bowl is in a structure. And having watched the Marathon several times from different places along the route, I can tell you that there are quite a few places where dense crowds congregate- though obviously the finish line has the biggest crowds.

[riderinthestorm]

12. Ed Schultz was talking about it a lot yesterday. His point was that they did it BECAUSE of all that

As though they wanted to make a point about being able to do this despite all the security. And have it recorded and documented in infinite detail.

[TheCowsCameHome]

14. BPD Commisioner Ed Davis summed it up pretty well last night.

Loosely paraphrasing: Bostonians don't want to live in a police state. (where everything is controlled.

[TwilightGardener]

15. I'll bet next year, they control access better, and search bags.

[TheCowsCameHome]

17. Maybe not the most secure, but

certanly one of the most photographed places before, during, and after the explosions.

The bombers image will show up sooner or later.

[siligut]

25. Is there evidence that the bomb wasn't placed in advance?

Maybe over the weekend and then detonated by cell phone? Will Pitt said cell phone service was down after the explosion to possibly prevent the bomber from triggering another explosion.

[TheCowsCameHome]

29. The area was "swept" a short time before the blasts occurred.

Anything that big and heavy would have been found.

[siligut]

30. Thank you. nt

[TheCowsCameHome]

35. That's according to the Boston news outlets.

Apparently authorities are seeking someone that was carrying, large heavy appearing bag(s), in the vicinity shortly before the bombings.

[siligut]

44. Again, thank you, I am not keeping up with the investigation

I just read about cell tower service being unavailable after the blast, when people were trying to contact their loved ones and Will Pitt posted that it was a precaution to prevent possible detonation of another bomb by cell phone/remote.

So it seemed possible that the bomb had been placed earlier. Of course the investigation is covering all the angles/possibilities.

[WilliamPitt]

18. Hardly.

The entire course, and especially the finish line, is the definition of "soft target." No security checkpoints, no bags checked, people come and go as they please. The only thing you can't do is cross the street at will.

[mikegray]

19. makes you wonder

doesnt it.

[pinto]

33. Wonder what?

[mikegray]

58. how long the bombs

had been in place.

[KittyWampus]

20. Oh please. Many DU'ers have commented on the danger of trying to use this to erode civil liberties.

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. so how mamy civil libetties

You wish togive up to harden a marathon? It was a soft target...


Personally i am not willing to give mote freedoms

[kudzu22]

26. "most secure place on the planet"

Really? More secure than the oval office? Fort Knox? Logan airport even? That's a ludicrous assumption.

I feel safe in dismissing the rest of the OP.

[Egalitarian Thug]

31. Good points, all. The following replies are very telling themselves, are they not?

Even when faced with such horribly obvious evidence, so many of us still insist on shutting our eyes and pretending.

I suppose that's the whole point of living in a fantasy world.

[kentuck]

32. 500,000 people scattered over 26 miles...

Rather difficult to police.

[Taverner]

34. AMEN! The security doesn't make us safer, just paranoid

[ProSense]

40. The runners weren't "paranoid."

That's why they were out there running.

Maybe there shouldn't have been any security within miles. That would have made it better, right?

[Taverner]

41. You aren't making any sense, Prosense...

[ProSense]

42. What doesn't make "sense" is the

notion that security guarantees 100 percent safety.

Still, the runners weren't "paranoid."

[BainsBane]

38. This happened just before that area

On the sidelines, in a non-controlled area.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

39. Someone on MSNBC said they were using amateur, low paid security

'cause that's the way we do now.

[onenote]

51. I love "someone said" posts.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

54. MSNBC reported!!!!!!!!!

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

55. And! it was Rachel's guest! You're not gonna mess with Rachel. Not here.

[onenote]

56. Here's what was reported about Boston Marathon security

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/04/16/marathon-security-stayed-high-level/cwVn

Interviews with law enforcement officials and a Globe review of Boston’s plan to police the race show that state and local authorities this year took extensive measures to protect hundreds of thousands of participants and spectators — including the deployment of air patrols, K-9 units, and more than 1,000 uniformed officers and soldiers along the 26-mile course and the finish line.

In Boston alone, there were 824 officers and civilians scheduled to work on Marathon day. That’s a 6 percent increase from 2012, according to copies of Boston Police Department’s operational plans obtained by the Globe.

Dogs swept the area for explosives twice before the first runners crossed the finish line, Davis said. Eleven were assigned — four from the Boston police (the same number as last year) and seven from the MBTA. Boston police have a total of 11 bomb-sniffing dogs, which are deployed in shifts.

The Massachusetts National Guard said it had 464 soldiers along the course, similar to last year and up from around 400 in 2002.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

46. As Carlin said, "All of that is to provide white people the illusion of safety".

[grahamhgreen]

47. K&R!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

48. Bomber probably counted on security relaxing after the first 100 finishers or so.

People were coming and going all the time at that event.

"minutes" before the blast? Really? Probably two or three hours before, since that's when the winners came through.

[onenote]

50. I can't get into a pre-season baseball game without my backpack being opened and checked

but the marathon was the most secure place on the planet?


Really?

[DrewFlorida]

59. Because the marathon is spread out over 28 miles, it is almost impossible to secure the event.

Which is why they have such a huge deployment of security personnel and equipment.

[Cal Carpenter]

60. Not really. It was a 'soft target'

It's not like they were searching people before they entered a closed area, or making them go through metal detectors. It was in the middle of the city, and people had access all over the place. Do you know how many people there were there with duffel bags that day? People waiting for their loved ones to cross the finish line holding their gear? It was not 'secure', not by a long shot.

I'm not saying they couldn't or shouldn't have stopped it- frankly, I don't know. But I do know that it was not the "most secure place on the planet", it's just not true.