Emergency.Blog

"Terror Porn"

Posted: 03/07/2007

Terror Porn

by John Stossel, published by HumanEvents.com

Politicians and security analysts constantly remind us that a terrorist attack is just a matter of time. Clark Kent Ervin, former inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security and author of "Open Target: Where America is Vulnerable to Attack," says we must have tougher security at stadiums, shopping malls, and even schools. "We can have deterrence measures like police patrols ... greater use of bomb-detecting dogs, and bomb sensors, other such technologies ... random bag searches," he told me. "If terrorists see that such measures are in place, they're less likely to strike."

This seemed illogical to me, and so I was delighted to discover the book "Overblown: How Politicians and the Terrorism Industry Inflate National Security Threats, and Why We Believe Them." Its author, Ohio State political science professor John Mueller, points out the folly of arming shopping-mall guards: "A terrorist would say, well, if that mall has guards around it, I'll go the one that doesn't. ... If you protect one thing and you simply displace the terrorist to a different threat ... it's an exercise in futility."

Mueller also says the threat to the average American is overblown. "Your chances of being killed, at present rates, by an international terrorist outside of a war zone is something like 1 in 80,000," he says. "It's about the same as being killed by an asteroid..." ( Article continues at: http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=19699 ) The author is co-anchor of ABC News' "20/20".

[The opinions stated are those of the authors and HumanEvents.com. They do necessarily not reflect the views, position, or opinions of Emergency.com, EmergencyNet News, nor the Emergency Response & Research Institute (ERRI). This article is presented here to offer an alternative viewpoint and prompt discussion and thought about terrorism issues and U.S. national homeland security. Comments, questions, compliments, and criticism should be directed to the author and publisher.]