Secret Work

I thought this was an interesting Op-Ed by author Brad Meltzer (writing in the New York Daily News).

He explains how he was contacted by the Department of Homeland Security to participate with other people in theorizing how terrorists might choose to attack the country. Among other things, he is horrified at how easy it would be to do so.

I took a terrorism class while in college, and it was one of my favorites. For an assignment we were asked to look at the vulnerabilities of different routes for transporting VIPs to and from the university. It was fun, but I was left with a similar feeling. It seemed far too easy to figure out how to do terrible things.

Since that time I have often wondered why more terrorists are not successful. Indeed, recent attacks on our country have been notable for the incompetence of the perpetrators. You could attribute some of this to the foolishness of their cause, but to expect them to all be so stupid would be a serious misjudgment.

Meltzer came away from the experience with an appreciation for the other people who contributed their time and expertise to the problem of securing our nation, and explains that this was not the first time that Americans have done so. I'm sure it won't be the last.

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