Disrupt the flow of normal life and you get mass panic which makes the original attack that much more damaging

Dumb and smart are useless when describing terrorists

The strategy they use determines effectiveness rather than their intent

With lone wolves its nearly impossible to execute a large scale attack like the ones your describing because it requires coordination

Only explosives aren't very effective, it causes a lot of panic and shock but usually you'd have to stand right next to them to die

Cars are horrific

Everyone owns one or has access to one

Unless you add, chemical dispersion packets to a mortar type situation

Thats the maximum about of damage they can inflict is using cars

Everything else carries large amounts of risk that the attack will be stopped before it occurs

I think a chemical attack or pathogen release in the week before black friday would cause a lot of economic damage. Just have to make it look like theres more coming. Major economic blow there

Sounds like someone played Tom Clancy's Division

Thats actually based out of a wargame played out in Kansas back in the 90s. It was a smallpox outbreak to see how local and federal agencies would work. Turns out they didnt.

they even made fake news reports for that

actually i was wrong it was 3 months before 9/11

so june of 2001

you can actually watch the local news report they taped. and yes june 22-23

if youve got a link handy put it in fake news

But again this is a very complicated process to manufacture the virus and that doesnt even deal with the problem of keeping it alive or dispersing it in a populated area

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkFPXgC-Ib0

Meh chemical would work

That means a lot of lead time, a lot of purchases and a hell of a delay between starting the process committing the attack

A whole lot of windup, but a much worse punch

Chemicals that harm are easy to make

and can be store bought,

mustard gas from cleaning agents, phosgene from refrigerant, chlorine gas from pressurized containers. Isnt too hard.

No, but what is hard is not killing oneself with it

The main point isnt casualties but the fear of casualties. Fear is the most potent weapon a terrorist can use

Right and thats where the schools of thought diverge

Pewdiepie is sponsored by Nutaku again

Fear of a worse punch vs fear of a bunch of punches

Super terrorism executed by organized cells compared vs lone wolves

I think a general rule today with media cycles the way they are. The fear of multiple punches does way better than one big hit.

Cause one big hit will cause fear at some locations. Hit a bunch of smaller targets, no one feels safe

Yea, that explains part of the reason for the move toward lone wolf attacks

Thats why if you hit mid sized towns shopping venues (outlet malls, bus depots, smaller regional airports) everyone is now a target. That can cause a lot more economic damage than one big hit in say New York or LA. Hit small town USA and the fear goes everywhere

Also less security too, higher chance of success

Right, that was the idea behind the wargame

Also that wargame was a shit show

A lot of agencies failed it

As is often the case