Thursday, March 10, 2005

Are We Secure Enough?

Peggy Noonan, one of my favorite girls, has an interesting piece about our ongoing security. She is basically asking why we aren't more prepared for another attack. Here is an excerpt referring to all the new buildings going up in New York:

"We are doing all this building at the same time that various insane and quite evil men are planning on doing away with our city. They won't be happy until those skyscrapers are cinders. And when and if they move, the children playing so happily in our brand new Brooklyn waterfront park are going to get hurt. So maybe we could throw in a fallout shelter? Maybe we could be throwing in a few small health clinics, well stocked for a bad day?"

She also asked a question I have wondered about myself. Since most of our children have never been vaccinated against smallpox, shouldn't we be concerned or getting them vaccinated since we know smallpox is one biological weapon that terrorists may use against us?

Soon after 9-11 I was watching a news show that was telling us ways to prepare ourselves for an attack. It had the usual supply list and such but one thing struck me. They said that if phone lines are down and communication is shut off, your family needs to have a plan on where to meet outside the city you are in. I thought this was a very good idea. I know the agony so many went through in New York when they couldn't find their loved ones. Even though their loved ones ended up being safe, they spent hours, sometimes days in total fear. The program suggested a central e-mail address of a family member in another state to have as a communication station. I realized as I was watching this show how very easy it could be for something to happen where we would need this.

I am a pretty organized person. I always have a plan B. As I was figuring out where we would meet and such, I couldn't help but imagine the worst case scenario. Afterwards I couldn't shake it from my mind. What if there was some sort of chemical weapon or bomb that destroys much of Houston. No phone, no electricity. There is widespread panic. Remember in New York how some daycares that were near the WTC had to be evacuated and for hours some of the parents did not know where their children were? Where are my children? Just the thought of it sends shivers down my spine.

I have to agree with Peggy that I don't think we are prepared. We are hoping that we have done enough damage to the terrorists and that they are so busy blowing things up in Iraq, they will not attack us again. But hope isn't a guarantee. God knows Bush has enough on his plate right now, but where is local government or Congress?

Checking at the at
The Homeland Security Site I found this comforting statement under "Emergencies and Disasters."

"Local and State governments share the responsibility for protecting their citizens from disasters, and for helping them to recover when a disaster strikes. In some cases, a disaster is beyond the capabilities of the State and local government to respond."

Perhaps we feel too safe now. Perhaps we feel the battle is being fought far away from us. I'm not sure how we can prepare, but I do think it is far past time for us to think about it.