Comment: We Still Lack Protective Imagination

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Richard Forno <rforno () infowarrior org>
Date: July 7, 2005 5:36:05 PM EDT
To: Infowarrior-L <rforno () infowarrior org>
Cc: Bruce Schneier <schneier () counterpane com>, Dave Farber  
<dave () farber net>
Subject: Comment: We Still Lack Protective Imagination


The London bombs went off over 12 hours ago.

So why is CNN-TV still splashing "breaking news" on the screen?

There's been zero new developments in the past several hours.   
Perhaps the
"breaking news" is that CNN's now playing spooky "terror attack"  
music over
commercial bumpers now filled with dramatic camera-phone images from  
London
commuters that appeared on the Web earlier this morning.

Aside from that, the only new development since about noon seems to  
be the
incessant press conferences held by public officials in cities around  
the
country showcasing what they've done since 9/11 and what they're  
doing here
at home to respond to the blasts in London.....which pretty much  
comes down
to lots of guys with guns running around America's mass transit  
system in an
effort to present the appearance of "increased security" to reassure the
public. While such activities are a political necessity to show that our
leaders are 'doing something' during a time of crisis we must  
remember that
talk or activity is no substitute for progress or effectiveness.

Forget the fact that regular uniformed police officers and rail  
employees
can sweep or monitor a train station just as well as a fully-decked- 
out SWAT
team -- not to mention, they know it better, too. Forget that even  
with an
added law enforcement presence, it's quite possible to launch a suicide
attack on mass transit.  Forget that a smart terrorist now knows that  
the
DHS response to attacks is to "increase" the security of related
infrastructures (e.g., train stations) and just might attack another,
lesser-protected part of American society potentially with far greater
success.  In these and other ways today following the London  
bombings, the
majority of security attention has been directed at mass transit.   
However,
while we can't protect everything against every form of attack, our  
American
responses remain conventional and predictable -- just as we did after  
the
Madrid train bombings in 2004 and today's events in London, we  
continue to
respond in ways designed to "prevent the last attack."

In other words, we are demonstrating a lack of protective imagination.

Contrary to America's infatuation with instant gratification, protective
imagination is not quickly built, funded, or enacted. It takes years to
inculcate such a mindset brought about by outside the box,  
unconventional,
and daring thinking from folks with expertise and years of firsthand
knowledge in areas far beyond security or law enforcement and who are
encouraged to think freely and have their analyses seriously  
considered in
the halls of Washington.   Such a radical way of thinking and  
planning is
necessary to deal with an equally radical adversary, yet we remain
entrenched in conventional wisdom and responses.

Here at home, for all the money spent in the name of homeland security,
we're not acting against the terrorists, we're reacting against them,  
and
doing so in a very conventional, very ineffective manner.  Yet nobody  
seems
to be asking why.

While this morning's events in London is a tragedy and Londoners  
deserve our
full support in the coming days, it's sad to see that regarding the  
need for
effective domestic preparedness here in the United States, nearly 4  
years
after 9/11, it's clear that despite the catchy sound-bytes and flurry of
activity in the name of protecting the homeland, the more things seem to
change, the more they stay the same.

-rick
Infowarrior.org




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