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Elaine Scarry on defense policy...
From: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 17:50:26 -0400
Worth reading ------ Forwarded Message From: Adam Shostack <adam () homeport org> Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 17:23:57 -0400 To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net> Subject: Elaine Scarry on defense policy... Very interesting article on responsiveness of the military and passengers, with the implications of centralization and local decision making..
FOR THE PAST YEAR, we have spoken unceasingly about the events of Sept. 11. But one aspect of that day has not yet been the topic of open discussion: the difficulty we had as a country defending ourselves. As it happened, the only successful defense was carried out not by our professional defense apparatus but by the passengers on Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania. The purpose of this essay is to examine the failures of Sept. 11, and the one success, and ask if they suggest that something in our defense arrangements needs to be changed. The difficulty of defense on Sept. 11 turned in large part on the rapid pace of events. But as we look carefully at the timelines and timetables of that day, it is crucial to recall that the word ''speed'' did not surface for the first time on Sept. 11. It has in fact been at the center of discussions of national defense for the last 50 years. Throughout this period, the heart of our defense has been a vast missile system all parts of which are described as going into effect in ''a matter of minutes'': a presidential decision must be made in ''a matter of minutes''; the presidential order must be transmitted in ''a matter of minutes''; the speed of the missile launch must be carried out ''in a matter of minutes''; and the missile must reach its target in ''a matter of minutes.'' The matter-of-minutes claim is sometimes folded into the names of our weapons (as in the Minuteman missile) and other times appears in related banner words such as ''supersonic'' and ''hair-trigger.''
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/265/focus/FailsafeP.shtml -- "It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once." -Hume ------ End of Forwarded Message ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as interesting-people () lists elistx com Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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