Failed suicide bomber in New York City attack was inspired by ISIS.

Police and workers near the scene of the bombing. LA Times.

The failed suicide bombing in New York City was committed by a man inspired by ISIS's calls for Christmas attacks. L.A. Times. The suspect was a 27 year old immigrant from Bangladesh named Akayed Ullah who arrived in 2011. He was a "chain migrant" who used the status of his family to get into the country. He is accused of setting off a bomb attached to himself that injured four people including himself. No one was killed in the attack. ISIS has released threats targeting New York City via messaging apps. It appears that the suspect was only inspired by ISIS and was not part of a larger cell. 

My Comment:

Scary situation in New York. This attack could have been much worse. Had his bomb actually worked people could have died for sure. We have all seen the damage suicide bombings can do and this could have been much worse than it was. It's a minor miracle that nobody was killed in this attack and only four people were wounded, including the would be suicide bomber.  

So why did the attack fail? My guess is that Ullah just didn't have the experience in bomb making needed to create a bomb that would actually work. Bomb making isn't an easy thing to do so it's not surprising that one guy working alone failed. As always, I'm very happy that there are so many stupid terrorists out there. 

Indeed, it seems that lone wolf attackers that attempt a bombing tend to fail much more often than when they choose a different method of attack. Even when the bombs work they often don't do much damage because the attackers choose poor targets. Last years bombings in New York and New Jersey is a good example. Despite the threat, it is generally a better thing for everyone when lone wolf terrorists then when they go for a mass shooting or vehicle attack. This is not true for more organized cells that have a dedicated and experienced bomb maker. 

It's not surprising that ISIS was what inspired this attack. Even though ISIS has been defeated on the battlefield they still command respect and have called for further attacks. It is also not surprising that this suspect acted alone. With ISIS's infrastructure destroyed and their coffers empty they do not have the ability to support many terrorist attacks. ISIS can still inspire attack even though they can't seem to launch too many of their own. 

I do have to note that this is one of the only suspected suicide bombings in the United States. There have been other plots yes, and you could probably count the attacks targeting airliners as well, but there hasn't been a real suicide bombing in the United States. We have thankfully avoided a successful bombing this time around but sooner or later someone will pull it off.  

We should continue to remain vigilant. ISIS has always liked to strike during the holidays and they are calling on their supporters to commit more attacks. Though the threat is much higher in Europe than it is in the United States, I would not be surprised if we have a major lone wolf attack before the end of the year. It could be a mass shooting, a bombing or even a vehicle attack, but I am thinking something will happen, either here or in Europe. Indeed, I would be surprised if there wasn't at least another attempted attack before January 1st. 

Much has been made about the fact that Ullah used "chain migration" to enter the country. I think it is fairly obviously true that he wouldn't be here without that problem. There is no reason to allow one person in and then allowing everyone else related in as well. Had we evaluated people on their merit instead of their relationships with people already here it's likely that Ullah would not have made it into the country. 

It's unclear if Ullah was radicalized here or in Bangladesh. Bangladesh isn't the first country you think of when you think of terrorism. They are majority Muslim and they have had some horrifying terror attacks but in general they aren't as big of a threat as other countries. Still it's very possible that Ullah was radicalized there. However, it's not like we don't have radical mosques and recruiters in America as well. And with ISIS's propaganda machine it's very easy to self radicalize. We will just have to wait and see when more information comes out.