Saturday November 12, 2005

I've Been Thinking:

It was a first.
One of the bombs that exploded in Amman was carried by a couple.
If true, that piece of information throws a huge wrench into the process of analysis and detection of potential terrorists.

There are certain rules, certain givens, a standard M.O. for suicide bombers.

While we always knew that there was no standard profile to look for, there were always cues, behaviors, attitudes that gave people away, what gamblers would call "tells." A couple going about their romantic way does not usually arouse the suspicion of security forces. They look for unusual interaction, not natural attraction. A married couple about to murder and commit suicide is almost impossible to detect.

From the terrorist point of view, it is much more difficult to recruit a couple than a single individual.
If this suicide couple truly was a married couple, it would be a major coup for the terror network.
The stakes have been upped - again.