New civil defense

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Nov 12, 2004

Not long ago we called for a bold new approach to civil defense, given the ability of terrorists to strike at any time and any place, our vast number of soft targets, and the inability of first responders and government security personnel to guard against every possible contingency. The slaughter of Russian schoolchildren by Chechen separatists we said calls for a new approach in which average Americans are trained and possibly even armed to intervene if terrorists strike at targets where they count on their victims being helpless and unarmed.

We're probably still a wake-up call or two away from adopting such an approach, but one recent news story suggests the Bush administration and Department of Homeland Security are following up on their pledge to get American civilians more involved in their own defense.

The department, it seems, is asking thousands of long-haul truckers to keep an eye out for suspicious, terror-related activity, in a program called "Highway Watch." Launched in the late 1990s with the goal of enhancing roadway safety, the program has been adapted to meet the world's harsher new realities. More than 15,000 participating truckers go through a training program that educates them about what they might be watching for as they crisscross the country. They are provided with a hotline that connects them to first responders. Their reports are fed into a database from which patterns might be detected.

In Colorado, the program is coordinated by the Colorado Motor Carriers Association. According to a wire service report, it is being expanded to include school-bus drivers and newspaper delivery people. Together, they will help serve as the "eyes and ears of homeland security," one program trainer said.

Some might worry about turning such people into snoops. But we see little potential downside and much to be gained in getting Americans from all walks of life more involved in fighting the war on terror. Whether or not a tip from some alert long-haul trucker or mail deliverer foils an attack, such efforts empower Americans to take a greater responsibility for ensuring their own security, rather than serving as the passive and defenseless victims terrorists expect us to be. The war on terror can never be won by the government alone; the concept of civil defense must be revived and updated to help harden the soft targets all around us.

Welcome aboard, Adm. Keating

We welcome to Colorado Springs Adm. Timothy Keating, the new commander at U.S. Northern Command, and bid farewell to his predecessor, retiring Gen. Ralph Eberhart, who took command at NORAD in February 2000. Eberhart saw a dramatic expansion of his responsibilities after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, as the nation elevated emphasis on homeland security, resulting in the creation of Northern Command. He deserves special recognition for his outstanding work stewarding that transition. And we're sure Keating will fill those big footsteps. We thank Eberhart for his service and wish him the best of luck in all future endeavors.

Keating wasted no time in emphasizing that because he's a Navy man, the first to lead the North American Aerospace Defense Command, the nation's coastal defenses as well as its airspace would receive their fair share of attention.

"Believe me, we have a formidable, layered defense in place, active and effective, right now," Keating said upon taking command Nov. 5. "There's a lot more going on out there than some folks know."

Americans can rest a little easier with leaders such as Eberhart and Keating, as well as all the dedicated military pros at NorthCom and NORAD, helping keep the homeland secure.

'Born again' Carville? Not hardly

Democrat strategist James Carville had us for a moment when he recently said his party needed to be "born again," though we knew he wasn't suggesting that it begin courting the Christian right. He simply meant the party needed a compelling new story and message to carry to the American people if it hoped to reverse a string of defeats. And there's no question it does.

But Carville lost us when he went on to suggest that one way Democrats could do it is to re-invent themselves as the party of fiscal discipline and smaller government. According to a report in The Washington Times, Carville suggested the party "embrace a reform- oriented, anti-Washington agenda. That would require the ability of members of Congress to reject pork projects for their districts and stake the party's fortunes on fiscal discipline." Fat chance of that happening.

It's not that there isn't an opportunity. The Republicans abandoned that political high ground when they became the majority party in the 1990s and began acting and spending like one.

Democrats' current harping about deficits is tactical and opportunistic, given its own history of unchecked spending when Democrats controlled Congress and its continuing relish for big government solutions to every conceivable problem.

Only a professional political strategist such as Carville could believe a party's guiding political philosophy is something that can be changed as readily as a pair of socks. Carville and other Democrats can't be both "born again" and that cynical. The party's conversion won't be solved by a sudden and implausible U-turn, but could start with an acknowledgment that the government isn't a god, providing everything the people need.