[iwar] [SIMSOFT] NPR Commentary (fwd)

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From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net>
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Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2001 22:54:52 -0700 (PDT)
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Subject: [iwar] [SIMSOFT] NPR Commentary (fwd)
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<http://www.simson.net/pipermail/simsoft/>
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2001 19:00:36 -0400

On Friday at 4:40pm, National Public Radio aired my commentary on the
aftermath of the terrorist attacks in New York City. 

The NPR show is archived at
http://search.npr.org/cf/cmn/cmnpd01fm.cfm?PrgDate=09/21/2001&PrgID=2. 

You can hear the commentary using Real Audio by clicking this linke:

http://www.npr.org/ramfiles/atc/20010921.atc.13.ram

Frankly, I think that my delivery is rather stiff, and you would be
better off reading it.  Here's the commentary:

On the Boston subway last week, the loudspeaker warned me to report any
unattended packages.  A few miles away at Logan Airport, travelers were
being subject for the first time in years to intensive and frequent
checks of their IDs.  The airport is also closing 2000 parking spaces in
its garage under the FAA's new rules, because they are within 300 feet
of a terminal. 

In Washington DC, Congress is making it easier for the FBI to wiretap
and intercept email.  New Hampshire senator Judd Gregg is calling for
the installation of "back doors" in computer encryption programs --- a
proposal that's been vigorously opposed by the computer industry as
anti-democratic and technically unworkable for more than a decade. 

As America prepares to make war on global terrorism, it's clear that we
have started by making war on business as usual, convenience, and
perhaps even some of our freedoms. 

But it's a mistake to see security at odds with freedom, with our
survival hanging in the balance.  Of course it's important to be on the
constant lookout for terrorists and others who would do us harm, but
it's equally important to realize that none of the enhanced security
measures that have been proposed or implemented in the wake of the
September 11th.tragedy would have prevented that tragedy from happening. 

>From what we have learned so far, it's clear that the majority of the
attackers were in this country legally, with valid passports and visas. 
They did not have a history of terrorism and they did not have
outstanding warrants.  Had they been prohibited the use of knives on the
airplane, they could have smashed their First Class plates and glasses
and used the shards as weapons --- or they could have overpowered the
crew with their bare hands. 

So what could have prevented the tragedy --- and how can we prevent
similar acts of terrorism in the future? For starters, airlines and the
FAA should be better prepared for dealing with in-flight emergencies. 
Pilots should be armed with non-lethal weapons such as stun guns.  They
should have video cameras so they can see what's happening back in the
aircraft, and their own bathrooms and galley so that they never need to
open the cockpit door.  And that door should be made out of steel or
unbreakable Kevlar, so that there is no way to force it open. 

We need to similarly harden the rest of our society.  Our warships at
sea are equipped with sophisticated anti-missile systems that can detect
and shoot down an incoming cruise missile or kamikaze fighter; the Bush
administration should deploy similar systems around what's left of the
Pentagon and our other landmark skyscrapers, rather than continuing to
pursue its National Missile Defense program.  Businesses, meanwhile,
should start moving their headquarters out of densely-populated target
cities like New York and Washington, and to America's second and
third-tier cities --- many of which have not participated in the
economic boom of past decade. 

Last Tuesday's attack is the worst ever on US soil, but it won't be the
last.  We need to be better prepared: these terrorists have bigger aims
than blowing up a few innocents on the Boston subway. 

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