Once again - two guys in a beat up Ford and a single rifle caused panic all over the east coast for weeks.  They had 95 stopped searching for a white van at one point suspected in the shootings.  Stopped 95, 495, froze all traffic in the metro DC area for hours.  Brought the government to a standstill. 

 

Where you not watching these events?  I have to be honest here - are you not hooked up to any news network.  After all you are on the net. 

 

All they did was shoot people at random.  Two guys - not pros - not working to anything but a possible black mail scheme.

Now put AQ or Hamas behind the same theme - the black out part is just an add on and not really necessary.  Just teams of two - one shooter - one spotter/driver - this time pros - no evidence and no traces just dead people shot at random.  No bombs, no bomb makers, no bomb parts to analyize, no rhyme or reason for the killings, just a bullet or fragment from an unregistered rifle and a body.... day after day after day....

So - how are you going to stop that?

 

To refresh your memory...

 

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Boyd_Malvo"

Part of his testimony concerned Muhammad's complete, multiphase plan. His plan consisted of three phases in the Washington, DC and Baltimore, Maryland metro areas. Phase one consisted of meticulously planning, mapping, and practicing their locations around the DC area. This way after each shooting they would be able to quickly leave the area on a predetermined path, and move on to the next location. Muhammad's goal in Phase One was to kill six people a day for 30 days. Malvo went on to describe how Phase One did not go as planned due to heavy traffic and the lack of a clear shot and/or getaway at different locations.

 

Phase Two was meant to be moved up to Baltimore. Malvo described how this phase was close to being implemented, but never was carried out. Phase Two was intended to begin by killing a pregnant woman by shooting her in the stomach. The next step would have been to shoot and kill a Baltimore City police officer. Then, at the officer's funeral, they were to create several improvised explosive devices complete with shrapnel. These explosives were intended to kill a large number of police, since many police would attend another officer's funeral.

 

The last phase was to take place very shortly after, if not during, Phase Two. The third phase was to extort several million dollars from the U.S. government. This money would be used to finance a larger plan: to travel north into Canada and recruit other effectively orphaned boys to use weapons and stealth, and send them out to commit shootings across the country.

 

Do you not realize that in that kind of situations, it's so much easier to use a car bomb or pipe bomb and kill many more people with a much higher chance of success? Jesus, you can make a pipe bomb in 30 minutes and anyone can do it. Most terrorists/sleeper cells aren't very good with a sniper rifles, and Al-Qaeda isn't going to take the chance of getting in some specialized guys from A-Stan/Iraq to come to the US for such a thing.

 

Imagine if the DC snipers would have used car bombs instead of sniper rifles over a two week period. The destruction would have been 50+ easily. 

Actually, bombs leave a lot more evidence - several bombers have tried what you are suggesting and got caught pretty quickly.  Check the boys at the ATF and how quickly they can track down parts.

 

Bullets are a different story.

sniper, whether teamed or solo... couple of pot shots and move to next city..

 

mortar team.... going to get caught quicker than sniper but media play would be horrific....

 

poisoned sweets handed out at schools in several areas on same day...

 

ebola (or preferably an airborne nasty) virused up suicidees wandering around bus terminals for a few days....

 

dirty bomb with medical radioactive byproduct from south america. or one of those degrading portable power units from 60/70s

A co-ordinated low tech attack on the electric power grid would mess up every western nation.  Black outs/Brown outs everywhere at once.  Think about it.  Computers down, stop lights not working, no elevators, no TV, etc.  People would go nuts.  Its happened in the USA by accident a few times in limited areas IE the East coast, and New York City.  An organized attack would be able to take out the whole network.  The US Airforce has a bomb that is designed to do this with out killing people.  It was used against Bagdad.  The attackers could short out the system in isolated areas where responce teams would be slow to form up and would be overwelmed with the task.  Look what happened in Mississippi with a huricane.  Once the deed is done and everything is back to normal take credit for the shut down and watch everyone spend billions trying to protect a soft target that is everywhere.