Today we are painfully aware that having a free and open society means being vulnerable to those who would exploit such freedom. Some believe we need to sacrifice some of our freedoms in the name of safety. They promote more stringent controls on the movement of citizens; more metal detectors, more searches. And yet none of these tactics has worked in the past. Preventing violence and terrorism is virtually impossible. And to put upon the populace the illusion of security by forcing it to cripple its freedom of movement is a cruel hoax indeed.
Have we learned nothing from the Internet. All the encryption and security in the world has not kept the determined hacker out. It just makes them more inventive as the cost of constant escalation becomes prohibitive.
To secure our skies we must place counter measures on airplanes. This means redesigning the access to the cockpit with “Man Traps” a secure area between the cockpit and the cabin where anyone seeking access to the cockpit must pass through and be observed. Man Traps are a commonly used method of securing access casino cages and other sensitive areas. It means arming crew with counter terrorist weapons (tasers to hand guns) It means creating auto pilot scenarios that take piloting of the aircraft out of the cockpits control when needed. It means developing ways to render all passengers helpless via sleep inducing gasses or the like. Be assured that all the pre boarding security in the world will not deter the committed terrorist. So the only option is to have a rapid response capability once they make their intentions known.
But securing the skies is only the beginning. We must become very creative in our approaches to detecting and reacting to terrorism on the ground as well. How can one prevent a car bomb. Prevent a killing spree. Prevent the unleashing of toxic and deadly agents via mere aerosol containers. Even if we examined people every mile of their movement these things could not be stopped. Even under a total police state determined and evil people would find a way.
We cannot give in to fear by punishing the masses with ineffective and onerous methods. We must find more effective ways to detect attack through counter intelligence and to respond to attack as close to detection as possible. I would rather see security forces on every street corner than to see us become a nation that through its own making destroys the essence of our freedoms. Saving Changes...
