She makes a few valid moderate points, towards the end, but only after feeding into the collective irrational fear of terrorism. Yes, terrorism is by its very nature a surprise. So it really could come it any time, at any place. So the solution is to create an office to coordinate the powers that be in response to it? How would firemen, police officers, and increased patroling of our border with those terroristic canadians would have stopped the september 11th attacks? Those attacks were self-limiting, with modern communication technology bumping up the pace of the response. Passengers, ie citizens, not police officers, not border patrols, and not firemen stopped the last set of terrorists in that hour, and later, stopped the bomber with the explosive shoes.
Dangerous terrorists are dangerous because they are smart. Smart terrorists will go where the authorities are not, and act before the authorities can stop them. The terrorists everyone is up in arms about generally die in the process. And am I the only one who noticed that they haven’t attacked us effectively since then? I remain unconvinced that the Anthrax came from the people who brought us the aeronautical urban remodeling. No matter how much power we give the authorities, no matter how many of them we put out on the street, the authorities cannot be relied upon to protect us everywhere, all the time.
Nor is war exactly effective in eliminating terrorism. Missiles, bombs, and other powerful artillery are not going to stop a terrorist, though they may create a few out of the relatives of those killed. If you doubt me on these points, check out the current status of israeli and palestine.
Overall, my point would be that empowering the police, and other institutions of authority will not protect citizens. Then there’s bombing the brown people, otherwise known as a hair of the dog that bit you. It will simply be scratching a fresh case of poison ivy. The best first step to eliminating terrorist threats would probably be removing the motivation for the terrorists and their support networks. Another good one might be to strive for improvements in communication technology and the freedom to use it as well as universal self-defense training, ie, the very things that have already worked. But that last one smacks a bit too much of an empowered people, and there is no greater danger the power hungry can imagine than a constituency that no longer needs them.
I believe the stress on funding responce teams is important. It has not been completely explored. Responce teams are a necessary defensive posture, and are much more practical then most offensive manuevers. To get those firemen, police and other organizations organized for an event that can’t be prevented is extremely important, and noone would know that better then a New Yorker I suppose.
I double glanced at the statement about the northern border as well, as a Californian raised in a very conservative community, I have it bred into me to always be looking for them Mexicans comin over the southern border, who gives a damn about the northern one! Then I considered the various angles, and noted that Clinton’s state is along the northern border, and that potential breaches of that border would be a concern to her constituents, which is why she addresses it. Our border with Canada is very weak, and people who would like to do harm can get through it fairly easily. Right before New Years 2000 they prevented a number of potential terrosit attacks who tried to enter the US through the Canadian border. Between Ontario/Quebec and the New York border, there are two, maybe three large, serious tough border crossings. One in Niagra Falls, another north of Niagra Falls, and one south of Montreal. There may be some others, but I assure you there are also some very small weak ones as well. Staffed by a handfull of officers on a reletively small highway in the middle of upstate New York. People with the intent can get through those places.
Having lived in Toronto for two years, I know that they have a massive amount of immigration taking place right now. In fact, in 1999/2000 while I was there, Canada actually fell short of their imigration quota by nearly 40%… yet the number of people who arrived was still staggeringly high. Toronto itself has become the most multi cultural city in the world, with massive muslim, chinese, eastern european communittees growing at an explosive rate. While the vast majority of these people may hold no ill will, Canada could be a potential conduit for getting the wrong people in the right place in the United States, therefore it is an issue to New York state, the border of which is a mere hour from Toronto.
How would you make the border stronger? I don’t have a really good answer for that, and Hillary might not either, but it is a concern for her constituents, and she expresses that it is something she would like to see stressed and studied and explored in the dealings of home land security.