RE: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] Terror Alert Levels

["McNutt, Justin M." <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

> Something has me a little peeved.

The thing that peeves me is that Bush's critics get off-topic.  One can prove pretty quickly that the alert levels are based on this evidence or that evidence, and if it's based on evidence, then it isn't political (probably - let's stick to simple explanations for the moment).  However...

1)  Regardless of the motivation, constantly high alert levels are counterproductive.  Ask Brent Deterding (SANS expert) here on the list.  If you never back down to "normal", people just plain stop worrying about it.  It's not so much, "boy who cried wolf" as it is "the sky is falling".  It just *CAN'T* be as big a deal as 'orange' if it isn't affecting the nation more than it is.  The alert levels are not appropriate to the level of threat.

2)  Furthermore, there's a lot of talk about this threat level or that threat level, but the real arugments are:

   a)  That many of us actually don't want additional security precautions, because having freedom in the first place entails accepting a certain amount of risk, and it's well worth it.  "People who are willing to give up freedom for the sake of short term security, deserve neither freedom nor security." (Benjamin Franklin)

   b)  No one is talking about what is being done to reduce the *causes* of the threat.  We're just trying to be the strongest, most impregnable country in the world.  But it can't be done.  You just can't defend against everybody, especially if your own citizens and allies are among the suspected.  Some diplomacy is in order here (and it needs to get on Fox, not just p.10 of the Trib.).

You're right about Bush's critics in the sense that they get caught up in being Bush critics.  Who gives a turkey whether or not the threat level was politically motivated?  That's just sniping.  Stick to the relevant points.  Same goes for Clinton critics (who amazingly enjoy it so much that they're still at it), Gore critics, Kerry critics, Guliani (sp?) critics, etc.  I wish they'd stop wasting our time with petty potshots.  Big PITA...

--J

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