Thinking like a terrorist

While I have no experience with trying to blow up mass transit or other civilian targets, a little thought experiment helps illustrate the dangers of the shoot-to-kill policy that police seem ready to adopt against suspected suicide bombers. Imagine you are a committed terrorist, dedicated to the proposition of strapping explosives to yourself and creating maximum mayhem by your glorious martyrdom in some major infidel metropolis. You're not going to grab the nearest stick of dynamite and race nervously down to the bus depot. You're going to prepare for you mission. You're going to check out your targets ahead of time, determine the routines and tactics of security forces and regular passersby in the area, and figure out the best way to sneak your package in. You're going to pay particular attention to the behavior that draws police attention and train yourself not to exhibit that behavior. If you know the police are inclined to stop and frisk (or just up and shoot) young men wearing heavy coats in warm weather, you'll find a way to hide your explosives without wearing a heavy coat, or you'll just wait for cooler weather. If you know police are keeping an eye out for lumpy backpacks with wires sticking out, you'll craft a bomb that fits more neatly into your luggage. You'll be careful not to get chemical burns or stains on your clothes and hands. You'll know where you are going and what time you need to be there so you don't get stuck pacing suspiciously in front of your target waiting for the optimal detonation time. And when a policeman does appear in the area, you won't break out in a sweat; you'll simply smile confidently and keep your finger on the cell-phone trigger, revelling in the knowledge that you will take not only civilian lives but the life of one of the instruments of the infidel State's authority.

Consider that if this casual observer is smart enough to figure out this much about avoiding police suspicion, so is the much more motivated terrorist. Arguably, the only people who will exhibit nervousness and other "suspicious behavior" in front of police will be the following groups:

1. Sloppy terrorists, who deserve to be shot, but who in their sloppiness are rather likely likely to be caught by sharp police work well before they get to the point of walking downtown with an assembled explosive device;
2. Innocent bystanders whose suspicious behavior is wholly unrelated to terrorism or the presence of the police;
3. Innocent bystanders who read the news, know that police are on a hair trigger, and who, on the approach of armed officers, become understandably nervous, knowing that their lives are at risk.
   

Considering these possibilities, it would seem the shoot-to-kill policy could have greater potential to kill civilians than suicide bombers. (The policy's score so far in England: innocent civilians -- 1, suicide bombers -- 0.)