Shoot to kill policy

[Guest]

You're right, but the fact that he wasn't shows one of the fatal flaws in the policy. There are others. Indeed the policy would always be irreversibly flawed. We need to think some more.

157682[/snapback]

I think the more details that are coming out, the worse the situation looks. Rather than a definite suspect behaving suspiciously, it now emerges that this was an ordinary man going about his daily business, without any knowledge he was being tailed. You see this in Hollywood blockbusters, not in London tube stations.

I am a little perplexed by some of the eye witness statements though, some around the day of the incident supported the intial police statements. Now witness statements contradict this. A nice juicy conspiracy theory in the waiting for someone.....

[Thracian]

I think the more details that are coming out, the worse the situation looks.  Rather than a definite suspect behaving suspiciously, it now emerges that this was an ordinary man going about his daily business, without any knowledge he was being tailed.  You see this in Hollywood blockbusters, not in London tube stations.

I am a little perplexed by some of the eye witness statements though, some around the day of the incident supported the intial police statements.  Now witness statements contradict this.  A nice juicy conspiracy theory in the waiting for someone.....

157688[/snapback]

Yes, funny that. And well spotted. And, of course, another flaw in the policy - at what point does legalised killing to protect the public, become a convenient set-up?.

[Rincewind]

I voted against because I am not 100% sure. Someone said on the radio this morning that the police were wrong to issue a statement before all the facts were known. Not being cynical but this may be a way of saying that it makes it more difficult now to release a plausable cover story. If no details were given at the time we may now be given information that the man was a dangerous spy and undercover agents had been watching him (nothing to do with bombers) and relevant documents would turn up at his flat. Then his family would suddenly win the lottery and admit they had no idea what he was involved in.

But then again this couldn't happen in Britain. Could it?

[Steven]

Given this is one of my favourite topics, if we have a shot to kill policy for "terrorists" why not drivers.

I do not advocate either but still the chances of dying are 390 times greater behind the wheel of a car.

Source

Car Crashes Account for 390 Times More Deaths Than Terrorism

Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Car crashes accounted for about 390 times more deaths than international terrorism in 29 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to a study published in the journal Injury Prevention.

The ratio of annual average road deaths to international terrorism deaths was lowest in the U.S. at 142 times, the study found. It was highest in Poland, with a ratio of 55,340.

``There is no doubt that international terrorism has contributed to injury and death in a number of member countries of the OECD, and has a crucial importance as a factor in policy making,'' researchers at Otago University in Wellington, New Zealand wrote. ``Yet other forms of preventable injury are important and warrant the attention of policy makers.''

The researchers looked at data from the Counterterrorism Office of the U.S. Department of State and from the OECD's Road Transport Accident Database. There were a total of 33 international terrorism attacks in the 29 countries between 1994 and 2003 in which a total of 3,064 deaths occurred. The attacks occurred in 10 countries and one-third of them were in Turkey.

The study looked at 2001 road crash data from 22 countries and at 2000 data from seven countries.

There were 42,116 road crash deaths in the U.S. in 2001 compared with 2,970 deaths from international terrorism in the years 1994 to 2003. Poland had one death from international terrorism compared with 5,534 car crash deaths.

The comparison between the causes of death was limited, the authors said, given that only recent road crash data was used, compared with data for international terrorism over a 10-year period.

This probably resulted in an underestimation of the difference because the average annual road crash deaths would likely have been higher over the longer period, the authors said.

I do however agree with the thrust of the report and its conclusions. My final point is why do politicians pay so much attention to "terrorism" unless it is for politics and to deliberately scare the General Public.

[Magictv]

im not really sure at all myself but can you imagine the headlines if someone were to blow themselves up on a tube train and it emerged that there were armed police following him and had information saying he was a terrorist but they didnt shoot him for one reason or another.

What would people be thinking then?

[Milky]

how about the fact that they shot him like 7 or 8 times.

surely once is enough is it not? perhaps twice to make sure, but they blew him apart.

[TrickyTrev]

I have no problems with the policy, it would be interesting to see what Tharacians views would be if he lived down here, but it was implemented badly at Stockwell. The suspicion level was very low, it pretty much amounts to him being dark skinned and living in the same block that there MIGHT (there wasn't) have been a suspected terrorist.

As for him running away....there have been quite a few reports suggesting he didn't. Police cover up orchestrated by Ian Blair.

[Steven]

im not really sure at all myself but can you imagine the headlines if someone were to blow themselves up on a tube train and it emerged that there were armed police following him and had information saying he was a terrorist but they didnt shoot him for one reason or another.

What would people be thinking then?

So you would rather live in a world of maybe's rather than the real world ?