Meeting the Homeland Security Challenge: A Principled Strategy for a Balanced and Practical Response

摘要

The following article was written before the events of September 11th. As devastating as that day was,rnwe have chosen not to revise the article. Rather, we believe that the very nature of those attacks onlyrnreinforces our basic arguments. The events of the 11th were not, despite the militaristic tones used byrnnumerous commentators, recognizably military in nature. To the contrary, these attacks were almostrncertainly carried out by a non-state actor and used unarguably non-military means. We do not questionrnthe potential for state-sponsorship or complicity in the events of the 11th, nor do we dispute thernpotential necessity and appropriateness of a forceful military response against any state found to havernknowingly harbored or actively aided those responsible. However, the fact remains that these attacksrnexploited security weaknesses in a key component of our national economy, the air travel system.rnMoreover, other critical components of the national transportation system and economic infrastructurernare equally vulnerable. Accordingly, an effective Homeland Security regime will necessarily involvernsignificantly improved domestic security provisions implemented by government and the private sector.rnThose provisions must be built on a solid legal foundation and must be implemented so as to be effectivernand acceptable, both economically and societally. As Thomas Friedman put it in his New York Timesrncolumn on 13 September, "We…have to fight in a way that is effective without destroying the very openrnsociety we are trying to protect…We have to fight the terrorists as if there were no rules, and preservernour open society as if there were no terrorists. It won't be easy. It will require our best strategists, ourrnmost creative diplomats and our bravest soldiers." In that spirit, we offer our thoughts. Semper Paratus.