By Brigitte L. Nacos
When terrorists drive fear into their target societies, they cause all kinds of rather useless reactions and misjudgments. Thus, the Washington Post reports today that the Homeland Security Department was praised for its response to the discovered terror plot. One wonders, why a Department with the sole mission to protect the homeland deserves praise simply for elevating the useless color-coded terror alert and detailing pretty much the same additional airport security measures as those implemented in the United Kingdom. The real question is whether federal, state, and local governments have taken the right measures to prevent further terrorist strikes.
Deploying the National Guard in airports and searching with dogs for explosives may calm the nerves of travelers and demonstrate that politicians are doing something. But neither National Guard soldiers nor the best trained dogs will find and stop terrorists. Whether directly affiliated with Al Qaeda or like-minded cells, today's most dangerous terrorists are not running around with arms and explosives that could be detected by alert soldiers and dogs. They do not carry machine guns or dynamite in their bags. And after the plot foiled by British authorities, they may never again try to assemble liquid bombs aboard an airliner either. Instead, it is likely that they have already other lethal methods in mind for their future attacks. In short, the new security measures at home and abroad are unlikely to prevent terrorist incidents.
But the latest plot teaches us once more a valuable lesson in counterterrorism, namely, that good intelligence and good investigative work by law enforcement agents are the most effective weapons against terrorism. Add to that international cooperation as it worked this time around: Without Pakistani authorities working with their British counterparts, the plot would not have been discovered, the terrorists not arrested. Thus, intelligence and law enforcement and international cooperation must be strengthened in a struggle that cannot be fought and won by military means.
Senator Lieberman and his Republican friends are wrong, when they make a connection between the foiled plot against American airliners and Iraq--and they know it. There is no link.
The terrorist threat is real and should not be exploited by the self-serving distortions of politicians.
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