03/12/04  Does Council have Dallas ready for Al Quida?
 

	Massacre In Madrid More Than 190 People Are Killed And 1,200 Injured Mar 12, 2004 6:02 am US/Central
MADRID (CBS) ... 10 backpack bombs exploded in a 15-minute span on trains along 15 kilometers (9 miles) of commuter line from Santa Eugenia to the Atocha terminal, ... At the Santa Eugenia station, "there was one carriage totally blown apart. People were scattered all over the platforms. I saw legs and arms. I won't forget this ever. I've seen horror," said Enrique Sanchez, an ambulance worker.

Nine miles. It's a horrific thought, but *imagine* the light rail line between Dallas and Plano... nine miles and then some.  Are DART police equipped to prevent such an attack?  Ha!

When my 70-plus-year-old mother's car was stolen from the White Rock DART station, where she parked to ride a train to jury duty, DART police were completely unequipped to even file, much less investigate the theft.  Dallas Police had to handle the offense.  Mom says she's not going to serve on a jury again -- not at that price!  

The pattern of the "glass-eyed robber's" attacks on Milton, Greenville and Commerce and lack of the mention of a suspect vehicle made me wonder if he was sometimes riding DART rail or perhaps bus route #1 (Skillman/Matilda/Live Oak).  The point is, ALL SORTS of people ride public transportation.  We have no idea if some exploding backpacks are "along for the ride" -- UNLESS we have some *intelligence* (of both the criminal-investigative and elected sort).

Imagine 190+ of *our* neighbors GONE! ... not since the Delta Airlines crash at D/FW Airport in the mid-1980s have our local hospitals been flooded with dozens-to-hundreds injured in a single (or coordinated) incident, much less "1200+ wounded", as occurred in Madrid today.
 

	Massacre In Madrid More Than 190 People Are Killed And 1,200 Injured Mar 12, 2004 6:02 am US/Central
MADRID (CBS) ... The bodies of the dead, some with their cell phones ringing unanswered as frantic relatives tried to contact them, were carried away by rescue workers. The wounded, faces bloodied, sat on curbs as buses were pressed into service as ambulances.

How would Dallas respond to such an attack?  Would we even respond, or merely react?  

God forbid we should ever have to, but is the possibility not very real?  

	Massacre In Madrid More Than 190 People Are Killed And 1,200 Injured Mar 12, 2004 6:02 am US/Central
MADRID (CBS) ... One firefighter said he saw 70 bodies along a platform at El Pozo station, just east of downtown Madrid. One corpse had been blown onto the roof.

Imagine Mockingbird Station or our subway -- no, I'd rather not either.

When our city council is wasting time giving vent to liberal fear mongers about imagined abuses under the Patriot Act, we citizens are placed in peril.  

Time and effort focused upon Calatrava bridges, at the expense of essential services (such as security), place us in peril.

As Gary Turner points out:

Fifteen minutes spent on "attracting big business" today (with bridges?!! ... as if they are merely fish to be attracted by a shiny lure) is fifteen minutes not being invested in helping our law enforcement officials ensure that Islamic extremists (or those they may hire to blend in with, say, the general DART ridership) are not carrying out a plot similar to Madrid.

Forget WMDs (chemical, biological, radiological).  How about 15 MINUTES and 10 BACKPACKS?

In light of Thursday's tragic attack in Spain, here are two of many reports our Dallas City Council and Mayor should read (quickly) and consider what real Spanish bridges we should invest in:

Americans Generally Comfortable With Patriot Act - March 2, 2004   Few believe it goes too far in restricting civil liberties (Gallup)

Kirk Launius