I too wondered why they didn't just shoot him, but I think the most plausible answer is that they simply reacted by running. It is hard to tell
exactly how they recognized that the guy had explosives strapped to his body, but once they realized it, they apparently were able to get a good lead
on him, which in my opinion indicates that the bomber might have been pretty far away when he was detected. I suppose it could have just made more
sense for them to put even more distance between themselves and the bomber, as opposed to standing still, lining up a shot, and hoping to kill him,
which would have allowed him to close some of that distance.
Think about this too: the easiest part of the human body to hit, or the part most likely to be hit, is the torso, where he had the bomb strapped.
There is always the possibility that you stand there while he is moving towards you, and your shot hits the explosives and causes them to detonate. It
just makes more sense to run if you think you can get away. But like someone said, maybe they were accomplices or something. Who knows? It is possible
if not plausible.
I imagine the shockwave from that explosion really hit them hard as well. Most people haven't been around explosions, so they don't realize the sheer
force that is generated, even from a great distance away. Even a single pound of tannerite, which is a legal binary explosive that can only be
detonated by a high velocity impact, which is why it is mainly marketed as an "exploding target" for marksmen, will create a large shockwave.
I remember we were out shooting in our pasture one day, and we had one pound containers of this material that we were shooting at...I went inside and
was sitting on the toilet, lol, and someone shot one of these. Now it was a few hundred yards away at least, and it sounded like something ran into
the side of my house. And it is even more powerful when standing nearby. You feel the compression wave. And this is not as powerful as the explosives
that were used in that vest, so the shockwave must have been crazy.
I would imagine that the only people who have experienced conventional explosives like this are some military personnel, and people who are around
such things due to their profession. For those who've gone through military basic training and have gotten to throw grenades, even those can be felt.
Crazy stuff.
Explosives are just plain scary things. What I cannot imagine is being on the receiving end of something like that. Like being hit by an IED while in
a vehicle or something. The only upside to being exploded would be that it is probably painless, IF you are at the epicenter. Even during war, when
bombs and stuff are dropped, must be extremely horrifying, since even if not in the blast radius you can feel and hear the detonations.
While we're on the topic, think of the innocent civilians on the receiving end of explosions greater than that seen in the video due to military
forces indiscriminately bombing "terrorists." I feel that most people don't grasp the true nature of explosives, and when they hear about a bomb or
something like that, they are not able to truly appreciate the devastating effect that is created. Explosives are horribly weapons, plain and simple.
Even during wartime they are horrible weapons. And yet these are not considered weapons of mass destruction, even though they truly are.
edit
on 4/23/14 by JiggyPotamus because: (no reason given)
edit on 4/23/14 by JiggyPotamus because: (no reason given)