'Don't just watch'
Published August 25, 2015
Editorial by Greensboro News-Record, August 25, 2015.
Anthony Sadler is a 23-year-old California college student, not a counterterrorism expert.
But he knows enough: “I want that lesson to be learned, in times of terror like that, to please do something. Don’t just stand there and watch,” he said.
Sadler and his friends Spencer Stone and Alek Skarlatos stopped a would-be terrorist on a train in France Friday before the man could begin killing passengers with a Kalashnikov automatic rifle. They averted what could have been a slaughter, at the risk of their own lives. Stone, an Air Force paramedic, was injured when the suspect fought back with a box cutter.
Monday, the three Americans, and a Briton who helped subdue the terrorist, were awarded the Legion of Honor by France’s president, Francois Hollande.
Their courage is inspiring — and reminiscent of actions by the passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001. To the rallying cry, “Let’s roll,” they stormed the terrorist hijackers rather than sit and wait to be killed. The plane crashed as a result, but into the Pennsylvania countryside instead of hitting a Washington target — possibly the White House or Capitol.
On the train, it was Skarlatos, a National Guardsman who completed a deployment to Afghanistan in June, saying “Let’s go” that propelled the three to charge the gunman. Fortunately, they didn’t have to sacrifice their lives to save others.
In taking down Ayoub El-Khazzani, they demonstrated an effective defense against a terrorist attack — immediate recognition of the threat and aggressive response.
It’s not something everyone could do. Yet, resistance complicates terrorists’ plans. And doing something may offer the only chance to survive. Chris Norman, the Briton who joined the three Americans, said he decided to act because “I was probably going to die anyway.”
In the wake of this incident, it’s likely that Europeans will increase security on trains. It’s not reassuring that the suspect was able to bring an assault rifle, handgun, a lot of ammunition and a box cutter aboard — even though he was on a terrorist watch list. Was anyone really watching?
While U.S. intelligence agencies might be more alert, there is much less security at American train stations than at airports. A passenger can board an Amtrak train at the depot in Greensboro without passing through a metal detector or having his baggage inspected. Amtrak policies call for “random passenger and carry-on baggage screening and inspections.”
Frankly, that’s one of the features of train travel that make it preferable to flying. No long lines to pass through security. No taking off shoes. No full-body scans. There’s only the possibility of being selected for a random inspection. But is it enough?
Amtrak does ask passengers for help in “identifying possible safety and security concerns,” or “see something, say something.”
It doesn’t rely on that policy, of course. But, nearly 14 years after 9/11, we’re still looking for the right answers to the threat of terrorism. Intelligence agencies use electronic surveillance and other means to monitor people who may pose dangers. We hope they’re aware of terrorist networks and can stop large attacks while they’re still in the planning stages. So we may see more so-called lone-wolf attacks, like last month’s shootings at military installations in Chattanooga, Tenn., in which a gunman killed five service members.
Passenger trains are potential targets, but so are schools, shopping centers, churches, sporting events or anywhere else large numbers of people may be found. While watchfulness is important, we don’t want lockdown security everywhere.
If attacks do happen, we hope they’ll be met by people like Anthony Sadler, Spencer Stone and Alek Skarlatos who won’t just stand there and watch.
