It has been nearly five years since September 11, 2001, and subsequently, there have been no major terrorist attacks on American soil. The day before yesterday, authorities disclosed that a plot was foiled to bomb New Jersey tunnels that lead to New York City. Separately, another plot was stopped where conspirators intended to release gas on subway cars in New York. But apart from these scattered reports, the great majority of Americans are in the dark about what our government is doing to secure us from attacks. There are at least a few reasons our leaders would be reluctant to provide information about foiling more attacks: (1) Why alarm citizens if there are scores or even hundreds of separate incidents? By reporting them, would the average person live in a state of continuous anxiety, believing that at least one, or a few will come off as planned? (2) Reports that give away how cells are detected can enable the terrorists to make adjustments that will facilitate their future success. (3) Investigations in progress can be jeopardized by disclosures. (4) Complacency can set in and the public and legislators can believe that continuing funding is unnecessary or wasteful. It has been said that the problem with deterrence is that you only know for certain when it has failed. Otherwise, you're led to infer that no news is good news, and that simply may not be the case. Still, it's reassuring to know that some of our countermeasures are in place and are working, and to those who are implementing them, you have our respect and our thanks. |
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