26 Sept 13
In reviewing the massacre of innocent shoppers in Kenya, that is just-now finally resolved, photos reveal something of the police/army response. Dead (murdered) so far are in excess of seventy. Even toddlers were not spared! Final count will probably be double that number. Indeed, an accurate and believable accounting may never see the light of day!
Police, security, and army personnel who responded to the shooting used a curious mixture of weapons. Well-worn Kalishnikovs with folding stocks still un-deployed, even as officers advanced on the scene (with stocks thus folded, AKs are nearly useless), at least one R1 (FAL), many G3s (HK91), and, among Kenyan troopers were co-axial flashlight, and EOTech-equipped SCARs. and several ARs. These modern-equipped Kenyan troopers are seen with fingers in register and muzzles all directed downward and in relatively safe directions, a real bright spot!
It is obvious that local “security” are the poorest-equipped and have been exposed to only the poorest of training. Police are much better, and Kenyan Army troopers are actually pretty sharp!
As is typical of these terrible incidents, everyone knows it will not have a happy ending, so it was/is difficult to find anyone who wants to claim overall charge! Government officials are already downplaying the event, worried about a negative impact on local tourism (and little else).
Many officers are seen moving aggressively, with fingers wrapped around triggers. We can only guess at the number of NDs that occurred. None, of course, will ever be reported, nor will the number of responders thus inadvertently injured! A bright spot: several can be seen with fingers in an acceptable “register” position, at least two with drawn pistols, one with his R1, so some competent training has reared its head at some point.
One officer can be seen attempting to aim his autoloading pistol (looks like a CZ) with his support-side thumb behind the slide and directly in the slide-path. A moment after the photo was taken, he probably joined the list casualties!
In all, the Kenyan response was fairly swift and very courageous, if not coordinated and organized. It was surely an improvement over Beslan and Mumbai. You have to give them credit!
Not surprisingly, Islamic terrorists have proudly claimed responsibility. Over here, we can’t even get our “president” to mouth the word, “Islamic,” but Christians, Jews, Hindus, and members of just about every other religion have gotten the message. We are all slated for murder, and we can count upon our various governments to provide scant protection, nor, at least in the willfully-naive USA, even acknowledgment!
As with Beslan and Mumbai, Islamic terrorists had no escape plan. They went in, loosely organized, expecting to be eventually cornered and killed. Such suicidal volunteers are in no short supply among devotees of “The Religion of Peace,” even in enclaves in Western Europe and in the USA and Canada, where recruiting for these events is currently active, and about which we’re doing nothing!
So, there is no reason to expect any pause in these massacres. In fact, I’m confident the next such event(s) is being planned, even as I write this.
At the risk of repeating myself, each of us needs to take personal responsibility for his own safety and that of his family. Alert, aware, always prepared (in depth), audacious, magnificent, and not worried about other peoples’ “rules.”
World history is accelerating rapidly. You can’t get off. You have to keep up!
“Make good scouts of yourselves. Become good rifle shots so that, when it becomes necessary that you defend your families and your country, you can actually do it!”
Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts
/John
