How I Found Security In An Unsecure World

Who says it's all gloom and doom this Christmas?
Taking our minds off of the economy for a nanosecond let's look at the good news on the geopolitical level.

I know that you think that I'm all about sparkle and bling but I do on occasion step out of my glitter ghetto and attend Bennett Ramberg's seminars on Global Security.

Tonight we had a presentation by Rand senior advisor and specialist on Terrorism, Counterinsurgency and Homeland Security, Brian Jenkins. Brian's presentation was on his latest book "Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?"

The gist of the presentation is too long to go into detail about here but the basic premise is that we are dealing with two unique situations, Global Terrorism or the effect of what Terrorism can do to us and Global Terror or our actual reaction to our expectation of Global Terrorism. Included in this is the distinction between Weapons of Mass Destruction and Weapons of Mass Effect.

Brian's basic analysis comes down to the fact that while we live in a time of nuclear proliferation, especially with Pyongyang and Tehran entering into the nuclear club, the actual threat of a nuclear attack by Al Qaeda is much lower than what the media portrays. It's all about intention and capability.

Al Qaeda has run one of the most efficient media campaigns in history and just because they say they can or will do something, they might not actually, at this point or even in the near future, be able to do so. And with a 24 hour news cycle...the more outrageous the acts that Al Qaeda threatens, the more face time they get in the international media.

This isn't to say that terrorism isn't a continuing threat, as the attack in Mumbai has shown us just last week or so ago. But the havoc created by 10 men with AK-47's and some well placed explosions shows how little it takes, in actual manpower backed by a well orchestrated strategy, to have a tremendous result.

Are there still risks? Of course. But the bottom line is this...don't sit around worrying about another Hiroshima.

OK...now we can get back to the real threats to our way of life: corrupt politicians, over taxation, government waste, inflation, deflation or stagnation whatever your flavor and executive compensation coupled with mass layoffs.

And to shopping!

Mumbai On My Mind

The next time you consider that you local neighborhood police are too, how shall I say this, police-like..keep this in mind, at least they will use their guns when necessary.

From the Belfast Telegraph
Mumbai photographer: I wish I'd had a gun, not a camera. Armed police would not fire back

From Sebatstian D'Souza, the photographer who took this photo

But what angered Mr D'Souza almost as
much were the masses of armed police hiding in the area who simply
refused to shoot back. "There were armed policemen hiding all
around the station but none of them did anything," he said. "At one
point, I ran up to them and told them to use their weapons. I said, 'Shoot them,
they're sitting ducks!' but they just didn't shoot back."

The militants returned inside the station
and headed towards a rear exit towards Chowpatty Beach. Mr D'Souza added: "I
told some policemen the gunmen had moved towards the rear of the station but
they refused to follow them. What is the point if having policemen with
guns if they refuse to use them? I only wish I had a gun rather than a
camera."

Then we have this from Rediff.com
Doctors shocked at hostage's torture

Doctors working in a hospital where all the bodies,
including that of the terrorists, were taken said they had not seen anything
like this in their lives.
"Bombay has a long history of terror. I have seen
bodies of riot victims, gang war and previous terror attacks like bomb blasts.
But this was entirely different. It was shocking and disturbing," a doctor
said.
Asked what was different about the victims of the incident, another
doctor said: "It was very strange. I have seen so many dead bodies in my life,
and was yet traumatised. A bomb blast victim's body might have been torn apart
and could be a very disturbing sight. But the bodies of the victims in this
attack bore such signs about the kind of violence of urban warfare that I am
still unable to put my thoughts to words," he said.
Asked specifically if he
was talking of torture marks, he said: "It was apparent that most of the
dead were tortured. What shocked me were the telltale signs showing
clearly how the hostages were executed in cold blood," one doctor said.
The
other doctor, who had also conducted the post-mortem of the victims,
said: "Of all the bodies, the Israeli victims bore the maximum torture
marks. It was clear that they were killed on the 26th itself. It was obvious
that they were tied up and tortured before they were killed. It was so bad that
I do not want to go over the details even in my head again," he
said.

(Hat tip Instapundit)

Finally, Harry Fenton who blogs on Linda Grant's The Thoughtful Dresser had to fly to Mumbai after hearing that his son and his son's girlfriend were in the Taj hotel when it was under attack.
Here is their story from the Guardian.