Elaine Scarry on defense policy...

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

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



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