Volume 52, Number 1 · January 13, 2005

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Review


The Truth About Terrorism by Jonathan Raban, is a long piece, but wortht he read for the insights it offers into the actual, versus the promoted, nature of terrorism.

The article reviews several important books on modern issues of terrorism. One of the quotes is from a recent book by Stephen Flynn, "America the Vulnerable". Flynn offers these thoughts:

"The secretive, top-down, us-versus-them culture that is pervasive in government security circles must give way to more inclusive processes.... Rather than working assiduously to keep the details of terrorism and our vulnerabilities out of the public domain, the federal government should adopt a new imperative that recognizes that Americans have to be far better informed about the dangers that they face.... How much security is enough? We have done enough when the American people can conclude that a future attack on US soil will be an exceptional event that does not require wholesale changes to how we go about our lives.... We must continue to remind the world that it is not military might that is the source of our strength but our belief that mankind can govern itself in such a way as to secure the blessings of liberty."

I recommend the whole of the article.

Especially to Martin.

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