Preventing every terrorist attack is unattainable goal

By GottaLaff

I used to have a chemistry teacher whose mantra was "It's all relative." He said it incessantly. We all hated it, but that didn't make it any less true. It's always good to look at the big picture and try to put things in perspective.

It's unspeakably horrific when people die due to some deranged extremist who thinks his reward will be a bunch of beckoning virgins in the sky, but sadly, we can't stop them all with Peeping Tom imaging machines:

[T]he truth is that there is no absolute security -- short of conceding victory to the terrorists by making it impossible for foreigners to visit the U.S., hellish for Americans to fly and difficult for all to live normal lives. [...]

The Christmas Day episode highlights three critical points.

First is how much progress U.S. intelligence has made. The 9/11 attacks were blamed on a failure to "connect the dots." [...]

Simply singling him out for a body search might have done the job. The intelligence community certainly failed to connect the dots, but at least this time it had the dots.

Second, the Christmas Day plot demonstrates that much of what passes for security is a waste of time and money. [...]

Finding the right balance is terribly difficult, but what's needed is less mass screening of all those proverbial grandmothers. [...]

Rather, what we need is more screening and profiling based on intelligence to provide grounds for suspicion (which should have included the would-be Detroit bomber) or on suspicious behavior (like having no luggage or paying cash for the ticket).

Third, the public furor over the foiled plot shows that more perspective on terrorism is essential. Terrorism frightens Americans because it seems so random. But it does not kill many. [...]

Some honest talk would be useful, so that when the next major attack comes -- as it surely will -- we can respond rationally and not just emotionally. [...]

When it comes to weathering terror attacks, the reaction of Israelis is instructive. After every bombing, they clean up as fast as possible. Thus, life can go on and the terrorists won't be given a victory. By contrast, Americans let fear of terrorism stop life. So the terrorists win.

Interesting take.