Getting Real About Threats
If another attack is inevitable, how can we brace ourselves?
Remember, the purpose of terrorism is to get us to overreact and put fear in our hearts. [But] it is our job as citizens not to overreact. Let's keep it in perspective: Between 2001 and 2006, nearly 3,000 Americans died from terrorism, but 30,000 died from food poisoning, 240,000 died on our highways, and nearly 600,000 died from medical mistakes.
But we have gone six years without another attack, so we must be doing something right.
You can't measure this with a single yardstick. We want to put gates, guards, guns, and gadgets around things, but the more important measures are about resilience in our infrastructure, doing a better job controlling loose nuclear material, and preparing for a disaster.
You're a big advocate of a national ID program. How does this make us more secure?
I know some people worry about the privacy issue of national IDs. I just find it hard to understand why they feel secure with today's system that allows any competent teenager to steal one's identity, or any competent terrorist to obtain a fake ID. We must have a secure, reliable system of identification.
You're not too high on the federal government's ability to respond to disasters.
We cannot expect the federal government to do everything. Too many people expect the government and the military to protect them, but the military plays an incredibly small role in homeland security. I think we can do a lot more.
Still, your book is pretty scary.
Life is scary—drunk drivers, violent criminals, natural disasters—now Americans just need to add terrorism to the list.
advertisement
