How can we stop suicide bombers?

How can we, in both the national and international sense stop terrorism, in particular the most popular weapon of suicide bombs, which have recently been described as "the most user friendly and prescise SMART bomb on the planet"? The recent attacks in London have highlighted the need for a serious restructuring of security systems on transport networks and in other areas that are in constant public use.

Less than a week after the London bombings there is already talk of new Government legislation being bought in, in an attempt to prevent the possibility of future devastating attacks. Yet at the same time as this the Mayor of London, "Red" Ken Livingstone, is saying that it would be impossible to completly protect London from future attacks, a statement with which i completly agree with. How can we completly protect ourselves from men, and women, who are willing to blow themselves up in public to prove their point and to dislpay their un-dying support of the terrorists plight against the West?

Although we may not be able to totally protect ourselves from suicide bombers, we must develop systems and measures which we can use to shield the community.

For the purposes of this thread the measures I am going to suggest will be in relation to London but could, in theory, apply to any major city/country.

The first and most important step (IMHO) is to introduce compulsory Identity Cards to all the population aged above 12. These cards would have to be carried at all times by all people, no exceptions. By introducing these cards we would be making sure that people could be identified at all times by police and other officials e.g. transport workers. Admittedly these cards, like all other forms of identification would be succeptible to fraud, but the hope would be that as much technology could be pumped into the production of them to make it as difficult as possible.

As I write this I can already hear the cynics amonst you blasting away at your keyboards about how much the tax payer will have to pay to subsidise these cards, but before you do think about the advantages that ID cards could have, especially in light of Thursday's events. I will come back to you soon but first read what is written ahead.

The way I invision ID cards is that they will revolutionise the way we travel and move. The cards would be used as the current oyster travel cards are used; they would have money placed on them which would pay for the users travel after being swiped over a machine. The user would recieve a receipt showing that they have passed through the control point and are elegible to be on that train/bus. By having this new facility officials would be able to guage who was on trains, where they were from, and who they are. Using these cards to travel around the country would mean that officials could see when something was out of the ordinary. For example, checks on commuters as they pass through stations would mean that if a security worker found a suspicious traveller then they could be spoken to and questioned/searched.

Ideas on ID cards need to be publicised and developed, but however they turn out they will definatly be an improvement on the security that we have in place today.

Recently it has been suggested that airport style security checkers could be placed at tube stations to prevent bombs, guns and other offensive materials being taken onto transport systems. However this is totally unfeesable. With 3 million people a day moving through London's travel networks it would cause huge delays and congestion within the tube and bus services. Even if they were only introduced at busy and important stations e.g. Victoria, Waterloo, Euston etc.... this would still not work as suicide bombers could just get on the train at a different stop.

A few good ideas that I have come across have included the reintroduction of guards on the platforms and also on the actual trains, which would provide extra security to the public and would also be an extra pair of eyes looking out for suspicious people/bags. Sniffer dogs being put on random mainline trains and buses to sniff out explosives, would provide a detterant to anyone wishing to blow up a transport link. Another good idea is the increased and constant vigilance of the public. I say this not because the British public are not good at reporting suspicious packages etc...but because they only do it in highened times of security. After 9/11 and Madrid attacks the police were innundated with calls alerting them to suspicious people and unattended bags, but as the media coverage began to decrease and the public began to feel safe again they stopped being as vigilant. People need to be constantly aware of possible dangers and should report them no matter how small or trivial. Without these alerts from the public there is no way that we can begin to eliminate suicide bombing in any country or city.

What other ideas are there that could be implemented in order to provide safer cities and a safer world? Feel free to suggest them so that they can be discussed.

fred

Originally posted by Freddie2004
How can we, in both the national and international sense stop terrorism, in particular the most popular weapon of suicide bombs, which have recently been described as "the most user friendly and prescise SMART bomb on the planet"? The recent attacks in London have highlighted the need for a serious restructuring of security systems on transport network ...[text shortened]... safer cities and a safer world? Feel free to suggest them so that they can be discussed.

fred

Originally posted by Freddie2004
Cynics: After reading all of that post, and taking into consideration Thursday's events do you not see how much of an advantage ID cards could have on our lives. They may well cost us money and take away a small bit of our freedom but having seen what can happen when these people who kill indiscriminatly are allowed to travel without record or surveilan ...[text shortened]... our country do you not think that it is a small price to pay for our live, security and welfare?

Originally posted by pineapple42
And how would an Id card prevent a suicide bomber? That person would still be able to freely travel from a to b and blow themselves up at whichever location they chose.

Originally posted by Freddie2004
not so. An ID card would have all the persons details on it and would show officials where people were traveling to and from. Like I said earlier on in the post, it will be impossible to stop terrorist, especially suidice bombers but the introduction of ID cards would be a step in the right direction.

Surely you're over-reacting! The Orwellian society you are proposing for London would do nothing but simply fuel people's fear and have them living in a constant state of paranoia, and for what? For a feeling of safety?

In my opinion, the threat of terrorist attacks would be alleviated if Tony Blair would simply withdraw his troops from Iraq and quit playing puppet to the US and their bogus war on terrorism. That's the simplest solution.

Originally posted by Freddie2004
not so. An ID card would have all the persons details on it and would show officials where people were traveling to and from. Like I said earlier on in the post, it will be impossible to stop terrorist, especially suidice bombers but the introduction of ID cards would be a step in the right direction.

Originally posted by pineapple42
And how would an Id card prevent a suicide bomber? That person would still be able to freely travel from a to b and blow themselves up at whichever location they chose.

Originally posted by Wildfire
I.D. cards would do absolutely nothing to stop suicide bombers. Do you honestly think that anyone who is determined enough to set off a bomb that will kill themself and others would be stopped by a piece of plastic? I think not.

Fred:

1 - I'm sorry, but I really don't want to live in a country where the police can walk up to me at any time and say, "Your papers please!" Forget about the money, you have no idea what this will do in terms of freedom, and how quickly and easily it can and will be abused by government officials.
2 - In the case of London's recent attack, the young suiciders were legitimate British citizens (natural-born, if I understand correctly), and would have had their papers all in order. They were just out for a visit in good ol' London, nothing suspicious or unusual there - you see folks with backpacks on the public transit system all the time. Sorry, but your ID card will only help if the ID cards are reasonably safe from forgery, and if the only bombers interested in hitting you are those for whom acquiring a card would be difficult or impossible (neither of which are likely to occur).

Darvlay:

While I've heard that before, and it may in fact be true for the UK, clearly it's not the case for the U.S., since we weren't in Iraq when Ben Laden's boys went for a flight 4 years ago. I suspect, however, that at this point the UK is pretty much seen by the nasty people as synonymous with the US, and pulling out now probably wouldn't change their level of hate. As with the U.S. pre-911, they'll find some other reason to continue to hate the UK, and I'm sorry to say, you're an easier target than the States, because you're not insulated by a few thousand miles of ocean (although that's not the obstacle it once was).

(In my next post, I'll address Freddie's original question.)

I'm not a number or a card.

I've got more than enough ways of proving who I am without more government interference.

Far from being a panacea, ID cards will:
Put too much personal info into the public domain.
Create a database which could be abused or stolen.
Coat a fortune.

They have ID cards in Spain that did not stop Madrid's bombs.

ID cards would be as effective as drivers licenses.
EDIT (In stopping suicide bombers)

Originally posted by invigorate
I'm not a number or a card.

I've got more than enough ways of proving who I am without more government interference.

Far from being a panacea, ID cards will:
Put too much personal info into the public domain.
Create a database which could be abused or stolen.
Coat a fortune.

They have ID cards in Spain that did not stop Madrid's bombs.

Now, to address your original question: How can we stop the suicide bombers?

1 - The simple answer (not one that I advocate, by the way), is to deal with violent thugs the way they deal with us. Round up the family of any suicide bomber, and very publicly and painfully exectute them, burn their houses and property, etc. Obviously, we're not going to do that, so we look to plan B.
2 - Do your level best to find them and snuff them out before they pull the rip cord on their bombs. I think, in general, we're doing that. It's not as effective as plan A, but it is one that we can live with (well, most of us anyway🙁), while we continue to go forward with plan C, which is:
3 - Take away their reason for hating and their ability to destroy. The only way to do this is to foster representative government around the world and give people peaceful means to redress their greivances.

It's not a perfect system, and we don't live in a perfect world. As long as we continue to live in a world where people hate each other (for whatever reason) we will continue to have murders. Our modern technology has only allowed the murderers to be more effective and more sensational in their acts.

Originally posted by The Plumber
Fred:

1 - I'm sorry, but I really don't want to live in a country where the police can walk up to me at any time and say, "Your papers please!" Forget about the money, you have no idea what this will do in terms of freedom, and how quickly and easily it can and will be abused by government officials.
2 - In the case of London's recent attack, t ...[text shortened]... not the obstacle it once was).

(In my next post, I'll address Freddie's original question.)