What a becoming change to read the new Department of Homeland Security Secretary state his goal as “maximize our security, but not security at any price.”
The fuller quote confirms my take: “DHS must base its work on priorities driven by risk,” said the new Secretary, Mr. Chertoff. “Our goal is to maximize our security, but not security at any price. Our security regime must promote Americans’ freedom, prosperity, mobility, and individual privacy.”
It seems the DHS is finally realizing that fingernail clippers aren’t the problem; plastic explosives that are not screened on those little trolleys that cause us so much travel-pain are. Perhaps they will stop confiscating pen knives and making up laws that cannot be revealed to the public, presumably fearing that if the public knew the law, the public would then break the law, but as long as the law remains a secret, only law-breaking terrorists will, er, break it.
Hey, how about taking that evident skill in paper-pushing bureaucracy and setting up a division to track down those baker’s dozen missing Russian nukes that seem to have magically been sent to Africa and then vanished?
Security at any price is not acceptable. Security that puts more translators to work, that trains more cops to recognize suspicious behavior, and that educates the public on what to do if someone tries to bum-rush the cockpit door is smart security that we should gladly pay for.
My man Bruce Schneier has much to say on the topic of security, risk management, and these modern times. I’ve collected the best in my bookmark tag ‘security’.
July 28th, 2005 | Best, Current, Security | 7 comments