Bruce Schneier, one of the foremost experts on Network & Information Security, has written an essay on terrorism and aviation security that’s currently running on CNN.com, and he spent a bit of time recently with Maddow, as well. The essay on CNN.com is a bit long, but definitely worth the read. He dares to point out the glaringly obvious truths about our government’s current anti-terror strategy.
The best defenses against terrorism are largely invisible: investigation, intelligence, and emergency response. But even these are less effective at keeping us safe than our social and political policies, both at home and abroad. However, our elected leaders don’t think this way: They are far more likely to implement security theater against movie-plot threats.
This type of “security theater” was something the American Public readily accepted during the early post-9-11 period; we were scared to death, and thinking with all the rationality of an injured animal. Today, however, even pilots are questioning the reactionary security measures the TSA has implemented. Schneier’s take on the new measures is even more contemptuous; he terms them “magical thinking”.
Schneier opines that by acting out this “security theater”, our governments are simply empowering the terrorists to accomplish their ends. I find his opinion on how we should treat terrorists refreshing, intuitive and logical:
By not overreacting, by not responding to movie-plot threats, and by not becoming defensive, we demonstrate the resilience of our society, in our laws, our culture, our freedoms. There is a difference between indomitability and arrogant “bring ‘em on” rhetoric. There’s a difference between accepting the inherent risk that comes with a free and open society, and hyping the threats.
We should treat terrorists like common criminals and give them all the benefits of true and open justice — not merely because it demonstrates our indomitability, but because it makes us all safer.
The White House and officials at the TSA and Justice Department need to stop and listen. Our current strategy has largely kept terrorists from hitting targets on US soil – if not abroad – but terrorism and extremist rhetoric is on the rise. The Christmas day episode over Detroit is being interpreted as a stark warning that the current system is far from perfect. I think the real question should be “In the long view, is it working at all?”
