What good is all that Homeland Security money doing, again?
by David Atkins
How is this even possible?
WASHINGTON — The 34-year-old former Navy electrician’s mate identified as the gunman who killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard had been discharged from the service in 2011 after multiple disciplinary infractions, a Navy officer said Monday.
Aaron Alexis “had a pattern of misconduct,” the official said.
Law enforcement officials have identified Alexis as the shooter who conducted a two-hour rampage at the sprawling naval base in Washington, but have not yet said what they believe was his motive.
Alexis, a native of New York, who served in the Navy from 2007 to 2011 as an aviation electrician’s mate 3rd class, entered the base early Monday morning, authorities said, perhaps using another man’s identification card to pass through the gates.
Once inside, officials say, he headed for the massive building 197, the headquarters of the Navy Sea Systems Command. Armed with three weapons, including an AR-15 assault rifle, he went to the building’s fourth floor, according to officials. About 8:15 a.m., according to witness accounts and police dispatch recordings, the gunman began shooting down into a crowded atrium that houses an employee cafeteria.
It's still not entirely clear from the story whether the shooter brought the guns into the building, or acquired them on site. Either one is a terrifying prospect.
Let's be clear about something: the federal government is cutting basic social services while funding SWAT gear for local police departments and building up a massive surveillance state ostensibly in order to prevent random acts of terror.
But the secure arsenal of a major Navy base in the nation's capital is so poorly guarded that someone without proper clearance can simply walk in with a bunch of high-powered guns, or pick them once he's there? It's not like this guy was a Hans Gruber level criminal mastermind.
Most terrorists aren't very sophisticated. But what if, heaven forbid, there ever were a villain out there worthy of an action film or Robert Ludlum novel? You know, the sort of villain without whose existence it doesn't make much sense to be spending untold billions on "Homeland Security?" The ease with which some random guy was able to accomplish this is disturbing.
What are paying for with all this security money?
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