In Defence of the US

Keeping a Cool Head

In the face of escalation of the terrorist alert in Britain the US have not changed their alert status. Although I have written previously why it would seem like complacency on the part of the US, I have also written that there are two sides to the same coin. Now I would like to play the Devil's advocate and demonstrate why such a policy is the best answer to terrorism. I'd like to argue that keeping a cool head in the face of world wide terror panic might possibly be the best thing to do. Perhaps this is the consideration that the leaders of the US had in mind when they decided not to increase security measures.

The Essence of Terror

The whole point of terrorist attacks is to instill fear in the population. If people live in fear, not knowing when or where the next attack will come, then the terrorists are achieving their goal. Terrorism is a way for a weak minority to bully a much larger population. Much like coping with the class bully, it is often best to ignore him. Another goal of terrorism is to exhaust a great deal of the terrorised people's resources while using very little resources. If hundreds of thousands of people are delayed by various security protocols than the terrorists have again achieved their goal. Standing brave in the face of terrorism and leading lives that are as close to normal as possible. If the US are increasing their vigilance without formally announcing an alert, than they are showing the terrorist that their acts of violence are insignificant and frighten no one. At the same time they are really watching for the first move that would indicate the need for an immediate preemptive move. This method also aims to exhaust as few resources as possible while still containing the potential damage of terror. If that is the reasoning, all I can say is: Good luck USA!