Soft Targets

I have discussed this topic before, but the terror attack in Orlando Florida makes it one that has to be revisited again, and most likely again in the future.  

A soft target is any place that can be attacked that is not able to defend itself.  This means Baseball games, schools, and even nightclubs are all targets.  These places can have security, but they cannot fend off a determined armed assault like with the case of the attacks in Paris and the night club in Orlando.  Terrorists generally will not target police stations and military facilities as they can defend themselves (though there are exceptions like the Fort Hood Shooting).  So we need to harden the soft targets to protect them.  This means police acting as armed security in addition to hired security with police reacting to violent situations that regular security cannot handle.  Bomb proofing walls, windows and doors and making them bullet resistant also helps.  However, these options are also expensive, thus relegating them to stadiums and schools where mass public gatherings are common place with towns and cities having the budgets to provide such security.  But this still leaves places like the public pool during summer, poorer neighborhood schools and dance clubs and popular bars and hangouts vulnerable.  As such, intelligence gathering comes into play.  Basically, if the terrorists are planning something it is up to our police, the military, CIA and other intelligence agencies to share any and all information.  This information takes advantage of terrorists leaving "breadcrumbs" or a "trail" to follow which allows the police to stop the attack before it starts.  Thus the smaller and/or poorer soft targets become defended to a degree.  

Despite all this the soft targets and even hard targets are still vulnerable to a particular type of attack.  That attack type is the one by the "Lone Gunman".  A single person or a tight close knit group who plan the attack independently of the enemy's leadership and act exclusively on his or her own.  An example of this is the Fort Hood shooting, the Boston Marathon bombing and the Orlando Night club shooting.  Our enemies in this case are self-radicalized Islamic terrorists who fall in love with the Jihad death cult mentality.  To defeat this group, you must attack the radical ideology along with ISIS/ISIL and its sister radical organizations who purport this death cult.  Basically make them look as toxic to be in as they really are or worse so that no one would be willing to join them.  So while it will not stop the currently radicalized individuals, it will aid to stop the future ones.

Final Thought:  It is not going to be easy to win this.  We cannot simply carpet bomb our way out or use drones to kill the enemy in retaliation when it is the words of the enemy that are turning our own neighbors into monsters.  If we do not re-evaluate our defensive structure to compensate for all possibilities, share information and cooperate to dismantle this ideology that is on par with the NAZIs and the Soviet Communists, then all will be lost.