Terrorism is the motive for a stabbing incident in Amsterdam that wounded two Americans.

Police point their guns at the suspect. AP.

Terrorism is the motive for a stabbing incident in Amsterdam that wounded two Americans. AP. The attacker was a 19 year old Afghan citizen named as Jawad S. The attack occurred on Friday but the motive was not released until today. Police are investigating the suspect to see if he had any connections to a wider terror network. Amsterdam is not likely to beef up security in the wake of the incident due in part to the quick response of police there, who shot and detained the suspect very quickly. 

My Comment:

This attack flew under the radar for me as I hadn't heard about it at all yesterday. Of course back then we didn't know this stabbing was politically motivated. Sad to say but a stabbing where two people get hurt and the suspect gets shot wouldn't even make the news if it wasn't for the political motive here. 

I do wonder if the suspect targeted Americans directly. American tourists do tend to stick out like a sore thumb so it's not like it isn't possible. On the other hand, it's very likely that they just had the bad luck of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. This attacker doesn't strike me as being sophisticated enough to know an American when he saw one. Either way, it's a bad way to spend your vacation. 

I am fairly impressed by the police response. It sounds like they were there immediately and managed to shoot the suspect before he stabbed more people. Given that this happened at the main train station in Amsterdam, I am not surprised that the police response was so quick, but it does look like the police acted in a professional manner. They even managed to take the suspect alive which is no sure thing. 

As for the suspect, once again I am thankful for stupid terrorists. He picked the wrong place to attack as police were likely going to put a stop to his attack fairly quickly. A busy train station is always going to have a police presence, a more obscure target would have given him more time to attack. 

I know I say this practically every time now, but I doubt this suspect had any links to terrorism. With ISIS in disarray and al-Qaeda a shadow of itself, there isn't much funding for terror attacks these days and what ones happen seem to be lone wolves inspired by those groups, not carried out by them.

The suspects young age also makes me think that he didn't have any connections. Going to a busy train station and stabbing random people seems like an impulsive move to me and not a well planned one, characteristic of a 19 year old. He's also completely ruined his live at a very young age but I have zero sympathy.