Is terror just an exercise in risk management?

DallasBlog.com | Scott Bennett:

“Have you ever put yourself inside the head of a terrorist? No? Well, most people probably don’t. But I have. Back in the 70’s when the Weathermen, Red Brigades and Baader Meinhof gangs were running lose I often found myself wondering just how safe my world was, and just how its enemies might try to attack. ... When I thought these thoughts 30-years ago I assumed governments were watching. I assumed they thought the same thoughts I was thinking and were taking steps. We know now they weren’t. But since that time we have had Oklahoma City and 9/11. Now we have a Department of Homeland Defense. Surely things are different. Don’t bet on it. Safety comes at a cost you see.”

Ed Cognoski responds:

Just last month, the 9/11 Commission gave our government failing grades in preparing our nation for terrorist attack. This is over four years after the 9/11 attack that led to the current war on terror. Airline passenger screening, first responders' communication systems, sharing of intelligence among government agencies, standards for terrorist prisoner detention, and allocating resources based on risk assessment, all were given grades of F by the Commission.

Our President is aggressively fighting the war on terror in Iraq. We are fighting the terrorists over there, so we don't have to fight them here. He refuses to ask Americans to sacrifice. The Iraq war costs are being financed by borrowing. Tax cuts are defended and even expanded. The Department of Homeland Security is viewed by Congress as just another rich source of "pork" to be doled out to home districts. The President's message is this: we're at war, but our consumer lifestyles won't be affected. Civil liberties may be sacrificed, but not our wallets, our iPods, or our vacations to DisneyWorld.

Such a strategy cannot succeed long term. Either the President needs to begin an honest dialog on the true costs of this war on terror, or, in the end, our civil liberties, our economic well being, and our nation's security all will suffer.