5 Myths About Keeping America Safe From Terrorism -- A Commentary

From The Washington Post:

With President Obama declaring a "systemic failure" of our security system in the wake of the attempted Christmas bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner, familiar arguments about what can and should be done to reduce America's vulnerabilities are again filling the airwaves, editorial pages and blogosphere. Several of these arguments are based on assumptions that guided the U.S. response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks -- and unfortunately, they are as unfounded now as they were then. The biggest whopper of all? The paternalistic assertion that the government can keep us all safe without our help.

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My Comment: I do not share many of the opinions of this author. For one, I believe that securing borders does help. Two .... if intelligence knows that there is an extremist threat against us .... an offense is the best defense. And three .... average citizens within the Muslim community have rarely been helpful in deterring threats.

But I will agree with the writer's premise that Government cannot protect us .... and I will also agree that terrorism is not our biggest threat. I also wish that many in the Muslim community were more vocal on denouncing extremist elements in their community, and two .... I wish that our intelligence and assistance from our allies was more significant and accurate.

Are there many myths in keeping us safe .... I would not use that term. I would just say that many of us have a different opinion but our overall intent and objective is to keep us safe.