I liked what Wonkette (www.wonkette.com) had to say about the targeting of DC Metro by some Al Qaeda affiliate or sympathizer (as reported by WTOP radio and the SITE institute*):
"...frankly, the Metro administration has been doing a fine job of destroying the system all on their own."
If you've been following the news reports on Metro rail over the past couple years, you'll know about Metro screw-ups. (Of course if you're a daily rider, you probably have some stories to tell.)
So why should someone post a map of the Metro system in an AQ-affiliated online forum and suggest a chemical attack? Don't they know that such an action would probably affect tourists, more than locals, because the former would be unable to figure out how to escape the stations. :-)
A Washington Post story, last week, profiled the difficulty that summer tourists have with using the ticketing machines, understanding the fare tables, and navigating the system.
I think locals (and regular visitors, like myself) would welcome a thinning out of the country bumpkins who clog Metro. Who hasn't found their transit impeded by swarms of ignorant tourists who stand on the wrong side of the escalators and huddle around fare machines?
Well, I shouldn't be so dismissive. Some of their difficulties are understandable. All subway systems have their idiosyncracies and glitches. I've experienced problems and confusion with subways in the Bay area, Chicago, NY, Boston, LA, Frankfurt, and Berlin.
So why should DC Metro rail be any better? If you follow the Wonkette logic, a terrorist attack would spur Metro management to greater levels of incompetency.
(Maybe it's time to follow the example of President Bush and get a $3,000 mountain bike and start pedaling...)
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*http://siteinstitute.org/index.html
At that site, look for the following news item:
Jihadist Forum Member Advocates a Chemical Weapon Attack on the Washington Metro Subway System 8.11.05