Case Study on "Murrah"

Case Study 3 pages (1166 words) Sources: 3

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Oklahoma City Bombing as a Blueprint for Lessons Learned

On April 19, 1995, 168 federal workers were killed by a terrorist bomb in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. This tragedy caused law enforcement authorities to focus more than ever before on designing preventative measures toward terrorism. There was nothing authorities could do to undo the events of the day. However, they could at least learn from it and hope to prevent these types of horrific incidents from occurring in the future. So what did they learn?

Suspicious Activities Preceding the Event

It could be argued that McVeigh's clean record made it impossible to predict what was about to take place on April 19, 1995. After all, he had served his country, he had never been arrested and most people considered him to be a likeable guy. The ingredients he purchased to make the bomb were not especially alarming either. But this does not mean that certain clues were not available that could have led law enforcement authorities in his direction. For example, he had been seen driving around with a truck full of propane tanks. Most notably, the day before and the day of the bombing, witness had seen McVeigh suspiciously lurking around the Murrah building. According to the Homeland Security Newswire (2010) "The day before the bombing, McVeigh parked a car at the federal building and walked several blocks to an alleyway where another car was parked with a note saying the vehicle had broken down and was awaiting parts. He did that four times in a day" (p. 1). Apparently, McVeigh was mapping out his getaway route. This seems like something that should have been a clue that some type of suspicious activity was taking place. However authorities have learned from their mistakes. Now, many parking garage attendants and security officers undergo what is known as First Observer training. According to the Homeland Security Newswire (2010) First Observer Training follows the motto "if you see something, say something." The activities witnessed do not have to be illegal, just suspicious. McVeigh parking his car and walking back and forth four times in a day was not against the law, but if it had been reported as a suspicious activity, one of the biggest tragedies in history might have been prevented.

Message Received

McVeigh and his cohorts chose a federal building because they were trying to send a message that strong arm tactics such as those committed by the FBI and the ATF in Waco, Texas two years earlier were not going to go unpunished. They chose April 19th because that was the day that the Branch Dividian compound in Waco was forcefully destroyed by authorities. In fact, according to Kenworthy (1997), "He chose the Murrah building, according to testimony, out of the mistaken belief it housed the federal law enforcement officials who ordered and carried out the Waco raid" (p. A01). Thus the message sent and received by law enforcement was that anniversaries and locations both have significance and that extra protection should be assigned during sensitive times in sensitive places. Every September 11, security is increased significantly, indicating that this message has been received and the lesson has been learned. Of course, when terrorists make mistakes and choose the wrong building, it is especially difficult to prepare.

Terrorist Preparation

A terrorist attack as large scale as the Oklahoma City bombing requires careful planning, including the procurement and assembly of the explosive device. In this case, the terrorists… READ MORE

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