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Citizen Army
By Ilana Freedman
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June 25, 2006 -- THE ONE PERCENT DOCTRINE BY RON SUSKIND SIMON & SCHUSTER, 367 PAGES, $27 The sensational story of a 2003 al Qaeda plot to release cyanide gas in the New York City subways, revealed in Ron Suskind's new book, "The One Percent Doctrine," has overshadowed the more significant strategic policy issues that he raises relating to the way in which we define strategy in our war against terror. The fact that this plot was halted not by our own efforts but by Osama bin Laden's second in command in no way diminishes our own responsibility to remain vigilant. |
In the book, Suskind claims that after 9/11 the Bush administration instituted a dangerous policy to treat every terrorist threat with the potential for inflicting mass casualties as a virtual certainty, regardless of its probability.
According to Suskind, this policy maintains that if there is even a 1 percent probability of a high-impact terrorist attack, it must be treated as if it were 100 percent credible.
Suskind implies that this policy is misguided and as he said in a recent interview, it "sends us into a tactical ferocity where we're following everything . . . often with the full force of the United States."
But Suskind is wrong. Preparedness is not tantamount to panic. In a case where a chemical, biological or radiological attack might be in the planning stages, even a 1 percent probability is too high a risk to ignore.
America cannot afford the luxury of disregarding even one potential plot to create a mass casualty event.
Every potential threat must be examined and tested. If it is not and a massive or even a moderate strike occurs, Americans will be justified in assailing the White House for not having done enough.
This war is unlike any other before it. Never has America encountered such a globally distributed enemy, representing no country, wearing no uniform and having no national responsibilities. What terrorists like al Qaeda do have are considerable resources within our own borders and a driving ambition to replace Western democracies with a radical Islamist form of government through jihad.
As this past week's arrests in Florida highlighted, there are already cells in virtually every American state. Would-be terrorists wander freely within our communities, quietly developing their plans and using our freedoms to lay groundwork for the destruction of the society we cherish.
It will take only one missed clue, one warning ignored, to set the stage for another major terrorist event.
But we are not powerless against this enemy, and we have the resources to fight this war. Our stance must be one of constant vigilance in which no potential threat is too small to be taken seriously.
Suskind's book may be sensational, but he got the fundamental message wrong. We are a nation of 300 million "first defenders." We are the nation's early-warning system. Citizens make up America's first line of defense, and we are a powerful resource in the war against terrorism.
First, though, we must acknowledge the danger, recognize the urgency and understand that we are accountable for our own safety. Suskind underestimates the power of the American people now that they understand this is not just the White House's war - we are all on the front lines.
Ilana Freedman is an expert in counter-terrorism and an intelligence analyst. She is CEO of Gerard Group International LLC, consultants in homeland security.
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