May 23, 2002
More on Terror
You've probably heard harsh criticism of the Bush administration for not divulging pre-9/11 threat warnings. As a knee-jerk reaction, nearly every day this week there's been a senior official publicly warning that more terror attacks in the US are certain, even imminent. Even Evil Robot Cheney is joining in the 'sky is falling' fray - and as we all know, robots (even evil ones) are incpable of lying. So do you feel any more informed? Do you feel better able to protect yourself and your family now that you know the worst is coming? I sure don't.
Intelligence information isn't like a David Blaine stunt; it rarely comes with a date, time and place - just the notion that 'something's up'. Passing on that kind of nonspecific information, while not scary enough to incite panic among jaded and blase Americans as an increase in the price of a Big Mac would, is enough to give us a vague sense of dread. The same kind of dread we experience when we think the transmission might be going on our car, but it's still driveable. Do we take any kind of proactive measures now or wait until we break down on the Pike?
Waiting for the breakdown (or the bomb in this case) can be a very costly route. But what is the alternative?
If large cities like Boston and New York are targets and nuclear attacks are also a possibility, should I let my husband go into work in the heart of Boston each day? Economically, he has to go since he has sick days, vacation days, but no terrorist threat days in his benefit plan.
If the inevitable happens will he be stuck in the city without a car while things go from bad to worse? I can't get to him or Trevor without at least a 45-minute drive toward the city. I found myself last night trying to remember the back roads from work to day care in the event that highways were blocked or otherwise unusable. I started taking inventory of my 9/12 stash of canned and dry goods - purchased when I was convinced there was going to be an all-out invasion and we would be fleeing west.
Warnings about possible terrorism help no one but the political camp that's doing the warning. It gives them the right to point out their foresight in a post-terror "I told you so" without committing to any real details beforehand. Cover-your-ass politics, thanks for the agita.
Comments