Oh wait…I better say Peace before they cut my head off.

I agree with Ed’s assessment. this was an amateur, homegrown attack that was an opportunity for martyrdom, but no chance of successfully striking the consulate itself.

Bob Owens on July 9, 2008 at 9:18 AM

Somethings weird. The overhead shot at BBC shows that it is a long walk from any guardpost to the embassy. Why would three gunmen try to run that gauntlet? At the time the guards went down the U.S. Marines in the embassy would be loaded for bear.

Limerick on July 9, 2008 at 9:19 AM

Welcome to “ad hoc jihad” or “lone wolf jihad”.
If it was planned by just these attackers all it could’ve taken was a couple of minutes of planning on the ride down.
What surprises me is that this type of attack isn’t more common place across the world and especially here in America.
A small planning group or single jihadist: how do you stop an attack like that? Very simply: an armed citizenry.
The police and army can not and will not be there in time. Same as for any violent attack. As the quote goes “When seconds count, the police are only minutes away!”

Failed to kill Americans, and failed to inspire terror.

I told her to stay away from any place that seems likely to be attacked. Heh.

Calling this a terrorist attack is like calling 9/11 genocide. Every attack on American interests is not a terrorist attack. The hallmark of a terrorist attack is to incite terror within the populace, something this attack will not and was never meant to do.

Seixon

They were there to spread pixie dust and unicorns?

As terrorist attacks go in this age, today’s assault on the US embassy in Istanbul was small-scale, but deadly enough.

Deadly enough for what or for whom?

Dave Rywall on July 9, 2008 at 9:45 AM

People are killed everyday. Should we be in perpetual mourning? Humor is a coping mechanism.

Sounds to me like the van had something in it that failed to explode.

Attacking an embassy with a truck bomb? That’s so 1998.

/robert pape

AQ are not connected to the great religion of peace are they? Nothing to do with the religion they hijack and misrepresent? Only AQ is the enemy and they disguise themselves as Moops to give 99.999999999 of all Moops a bad name.

Protect Islam, the great religion of peace.

From BBC…

The police are also looking for a fourth man, who was driving a grey Ford Focus car that dropped off the gunmen outside the consulate and left before the attack.

If the police catch the fourth man alive, they’ll know more about the operation and the organization that staged it.

You can bet on that. They don’t worry whether their interrogation methods are “uncomfortable” or not.

Well there’s the problem right there.

Sounds to me like the van had something in it that failed to explode. Otherwise what is the point of shooting a few guards?