vehicles, has simply expanded their reach and opportunities.”
“And yet we set the precedents for their use—”
“I don’t accept that,” Xander answered. He knew she was baiting him, but some comments couldn’t go unchallenged. “The initial use of drones, by Bush Two—and even before that with Clinton and cruise missiles—was primarily against known terrorists and aimed solely at them. Sure, occasionally there was some collateral damage, and we suffered mightily for that. Yet the actions taken by terrorists these days are designed to cause panic within the civilian population through seemingly random acts of violence, or to exact costly damage to our cities and infrastructure. The drone strike last year on the Hoover Dam was a perfect example of this. Granted, it was a rookie attempt and no real damage was caused, yet it still shows how indiscriminate our enemies can be and what lengths they’re willing to go in their fight against America and our allies. The difference between them and us is that we target only the guilty, while they target everyone.”
Xander noticed the slight up curling of Tiffany’s lips as she looked down at her notepad. You little minx , he thought. You’re playing me just to get a reaction.
She looked up and caught his accusatory eye. A flash of embarrassment crossed her face. “If I recall, didn’t this latest surge in drone attacks actually begin as something not even terrorist related?”
Xander welcomed the change of topic. “You’re right. It was the robbery of the First National Bank of New York seven years ago.”
“Tell me about that. The Rapid Defense Center wasn’t even around at that time, was it?”
“That would come two years later, but the robbery started it all. A small RC—remote-controlled—car drove into the lobby of the bank.”
“It had a bomb on it, didn’t it?”
“That’s right. Six sticks of dynamite, linked to a cellphone detonator. As you probably already know, that robbery didn’t end well, and it led to a whole new category of criminal activity.
“Soon after that the first terrorist-linked drone attacks took place. Unlike the robberies, no amount of security or appeasement could keep these remotely-controlled vehicles from exploding indiscriminately in just about any place a crowd assembled. This was a new breed of terrorist, a person who could pull a nine-to-five shift delivering death and destruction around the world, only to return home at the end of the day to his wife and children without risking a hair on his head. From huge, international terror organizations all the way down to sick individuals with a single agenda, there was little that could be done at the time to prevent drone attacks, and to make matters worse, the equipment and technology required to carry out such horrific acts of terror was readily available from any Radio Shack, Walmart, or hobby store. As a result, the Rapid Defense Center was established, and now we’re the country’s most effective tool against drone attacks.”
“Yet the RDC doesn’t actually prevent attacks; you respond to them, just like what happened the other day at the Dolphin Mall. Were you involved in that?”
“Can’t say, Ms. Collins, that’s classified, but as I was saying, the terrorists would strike at anything, as long as it was big enough and could get the most headlines. You couldn’t negotiate with them, and no money was asked for in most cases. They simply wanted to kill, and kill they did. Before the Center was established to counter these attacks, there were nine thousand—I repeat— nine thousand Americans killed in one year alone. That’s three times the number of people killed on 9/11, and more than died in the Iraq, Afghan, and Syrian wars combined. Because of our efforts here—and by others around the world—that number is down to just over five thousand in the latest twelve months, and that’s world-wide.”
“So let’s talk about that, Mr. Smith.”
“And yet we set the precedents for their use—”
“I don’t accept that,” Xander answered. He knew she was baiting him, but some comments couldn’t go unchallenged. “The initial use of drones, by Bush Two—and even before that with Clinton and cruise missiles—was primarily against known terrorists and aimed solely at them. Sure, occasionally there was some collateral damage, and we suffered mightily for that. Yet the actions taken by terrorists these days are designed to cause panic within the civilian population through seemingly random acts of violence, or to exact costly damage to our cities and infrastructure. The drone strike last year on the Hoover Dam was a perfect example of this. Granted, it was a rookie attempt and no real damage was caused, yet it still shows how indiscriminate our enemies can be and what lengths they’re willing to go in their fight against America and our allies. The difference between them and us is that we target only the guilty, while they target everyone.”
Xander noticed the slight up curling of Tiffany’s lips as she looked down at her notepad. You little minx , he thought. You’re playing me just to get a reaction.
She looked up and caught his accusatory eye. A flash of embarrassment crossed her face. “If I recall, didn’t this latest surge in drone attacks actually begin as something not even terrorist related?”
Xander welcomed the change of topic. “You’re right. It was the robbery of the First National Bank of New York seven years ago.”
“Tell me about that. The Rapid Defense Center wasn’t even around at that time, was it?”
“That would come two years later, but the robbery started it all. A small RC—remote-controlled—car drove into the lobby of the bank.”
“It had a bomb on it, didn’t it?”
“That’s right. Six sticks of dynamite, linked to a cellphone detonator. As you probably already know, that robbery didn’t end well, and it led to a whole new category of criminal activity.
“Soon after that the first terrorist-linked drone attacks took place. Unlike the robberies, no amount of security or appeasement could keep these remotely-controlled vehicles from exploding indiscriminately in just about any place a crowd assembled. This was a new breed of terrorist, a person who could pull a nine-to-five shift delivering death and destruction around the world, only to return home at the end of the day to his wife and children without risking a hair on his head. From huge, international terror organizations all the way down to sick individuals with a single agenda, there was little that could be done at the time to prevent drone attacks, and to make matters worse, the equipment and technology required to carry out such horrific acts of terror was readily available from any Radio Shack, Walmart, or hobby store. As a result, the Rapid Defense Center was established, and now we’re the country’s most effective tool against drone attacks.”
“Yet the RDC doesn’t actually prevent attacks; you respond to them, just like what happened the other day at the Dolphin Mall. Were you involved in that?”
“Can’t say, Ms. Collins, that’s classified, but as I was saying, the terrorists would strike at anything, as long as it was big enough and could get the most headlines. You couldn’t negotiate with them, and no money was asked for in most cases. They simply wanted to kill, and kill they did. Before the Center was established to counter these attacks, there were nine thousand—I repeat— nine thousand Americans killed in one year alone. That’s three times the number of people killed on 9/11, and more than died in the Iraq, Afghan, and Syrian wars combined. Because of our efforts here—and by others around the world—that number is down to just over five thousand in the latest twelve months, and that’s world-wide.”
“So let’s talk about that, Mr. Smith.”
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