On the continuing discussion of Iraq and the terrorist threat, I was amazed to hear several perfectly reasonable people suggest that, had we used nuclear weapons on September 12, 2001, we could have sent a message to the Islamic world not to mess with us, and so forth. It struck me as a grossly out of proportion position to take on the problem at hand.

I wonder into what perspective do we all place the events of 9/11/01 in our minds? I see it as a calamitous even, to be sure, and an unwarranted attack on our country. I do not see it, however, as something that should have resulted in a nuclear reprisal.

Furthermore, I see it as an example of gross governmental negligence as well. We had a National Security Advisor who apparently thought her own actions, or inactions, were justified because the terrorists had not been kind enough to give her a date, time, and place of their proposed attacks. We had a security system that allowed a known terrorist cell to train in our country, to use our facilities, and to steal our aircraft to do harm to us. And we had an event that was graced by exceptional good luck to the band of terrorists who managed to kill over 3,000 Americans and put a multi-billion dent in our economy by employing box cutters and a willingness to die for their cause.

On 60 Minutes tonight, Andy Rooney suggested that there is a great deal of hysteria involved in our response to terrorism. He played a clip of Tom Ridge's farewell speech, in which he offered the disturbing idea of how easy it would be for terrorists to poison our food supply and kill multitudes. Rooney thinks we're making far too big a deal about it, and I agree. We need vigilance, of course, but to what degree?

Our recent election turned on the ability of the Republican Party to mine the fear factor--they played up "national security" and ignored, for the most part, other pressing matters, like the shrinking value of the dollar and our growing indebtedness to the rest of the world. Ironically, the residents of the vast area surrounding Ground Zero--who, one would think, would have the greatest reason to be afraid--did not buy this argument. They voted, overwhelmingly, for John Kerry.

So my question is this: How afraid are you of the terrorist threat? More afraid than you are to get in your car every day and risk life and limb on the highways, where, statistically at least, you have a far greater chance of meeting a premature demise than you do from a terrorist attack?

Joe B.

The other day, I got a letter from my home insurance company informing me that I would not be covered in the event of a terrorist attack. I thought about it for a second, and then said to myself, not a big deal. Apparently I am not very afraid.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Not at all. If it happens it happens -- whether I'm concerned about it or not. The threat/possibility has zero influence on my day-to-day life.

I live in a city that is considered as one of the three most likely targets of a large scale terrorist attack. As the English say, the prospect of being hanged focuses the mind.

Getting killed by a terrorist vs. owing the bank for radioactive dirt. God I'm actually thinking about this one. I'd hope for a bunch of telethon's.

I honestly don't enjoy going to large sporting events, I hate crowds in the first place but had to go for family and professional reason. Osama gave me my out.

How scared? None, thanks. Life is anything but secure and thank goodness for that. Let the silly extremeists do their tactics, I will do mine to make sure they remain obscure.

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The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!

Joe,

I am not afraid of a terrorist attack at all. I wasn't on 9/10, or really, on 9/11. I flew from Hartford, CT to Houston on the following Sunday or Monday. There were three people on the plane. I am still not afraid of a terrorist attack.

I am concerned that we are on a path that will weaken us and isolate us. I am concerned there will be a draft and one or both of my sons will get sucked into this monumental sequence of bad judgements. I am concerned with the economic well being of this nation.

While I am not living in fear of being personally involved in, or killed by, a terrorist attack, I do fear the consequences that will result if the same level of competence and study goes into the selecting of the response as has been the case to date. We are already our worst nightmare.

And, I do not believe in a "measured response" if you are going to counter with force. That just means someone has decided it is ok if some Americans die. I do not know how to make that kind of decision. The first choice is to figure out how not to require a military solution. If that fails you go all out. It puts the barrier to shooting the first bullet at the highest point it can be. And minimizes American casualties if you have no choice. We have no record of success with "measured responses" to military threats, and the use of these precision weapons and all this military planning BS about minimizing "collateral damage" that is bandied about to lower the threshold for deciding to sind soldiers. We invent the idea we are going to a little war with much greater control of the horror and violence, because we will restrain ourselves with "measured responses" to reflect how they hit us. And then Americans die needlessly. Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

I can appreciate your concerns, especially about your sons. But your idea that "measured response" doesn't work does not jive with your contention, earlier, that a nuclear bomb could be selected for a specific size, and a specific target, so as to minimize its negative effects. That, of course, is a "measured response," just a nuclear one. I think you are suggesting a scenario that is an impossibility--a non-measured response. The only non-measured response would be to shoot everything in our arsenal--everything.

Joe B.

I'm not afraid and I work in a Terrorist Target building, Prudential Building in Newark, NJ. Recently it was all over the TV that it was going to be a target. Now we have all the streets barracated around the building and army guys walking around. It seems weird coming out of work and seeing more cops than people on the street. It's been like this for months and I hope it stays that way.

Kamil

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Audi TT

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) that you hear about in the news from time to time is only a few miles from me here in Atlanta......so I probably should have some concern about it, I guess.....but I don't.

Terrorism concerns do not affect my daily decisions or actions in any way. I refuse to concede ANY of my freedom or enjoyment of life to such vile scum.

Mike

__________________
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1979 300 SD
350,000 miles
_____
1982 300D-gone---sold to a buddy
_____
1985 300TD
270,000 miles
_____
1994 E320
not my favorite, but the wife wanted it

www.myspace.com/mikemover
www.myspace.com/openskystudio
www.myspace.com/speedxband
www.myspace.com/openskyseparators
www.myspace.com/doubledrivemusic

If I lived in New York, Washington or Houston, or possibly LA, I'd be concerned. Otherwise I don't see any other spots in the US as likely. If I was to guess what is coming sometime in the next 10 years, it will be a Pakistani nuclear device hidden in about 2 million gallons of crude in a oil tanker. Houston would be the most likely target. A bomb detonated in Galveston Bay would kill millions and destroy 90% of the refining capacity of the US, wrecking our economy and halting our military. The next big bang for the buck would be the same scenario - but hidden in a cargo container in the Port of New York, destroying our finiancial community and also wrecking the economy of the US.

Eerie scenarios, unfortunately, also accurate as far as target probability and delivery. I don't think most people understand how vunerable our ports of entry are.

As for myself being scared, I am not scared, but prepared. My family lives far in the country and upwind of the prevailing winds that would spread fallout from the nearest major metro area. We also have a deep well and the ability to feed ourselves for quite a while.

My definition of measured response is one where what you fire is somehow linked to the capability, size and sophistication of what you are shooting at with the intent to minimize the surrounding damage and death. In my opinion it always leads to overestimating your capability and underestimating the other guy's. So more of you guys get killed. An example is how we insist on firing precision GPS guided missiles into exact locations where we later find out there was nothing, or an actual school full of kids. We don't have properly equipped soldiers and vehicles because we bought Nintendo toys instead.

You are right though, you don't just fire everything. You have to make a plan and follow it. The biggest problem is our plan doesn't look far enough into the future to cover us until someone's eye blinks again. That is scary. Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

Not afraid of terrorism. I admit the planes flying into the WTC was an apalling act, however I didn't liken it to Pearl Harbor or Hiroshima. It's not unprecendented, and the response needs to be focused and measured. Using nuclear weapons in response is completely uncalled for. Finding the perpetrators and applying the rule of law is. But I also feel our country needs to practice what it preaches in terms of democracy, human rights and international law.

__________________
'83 240D with 617.952 and 2.88
'01 VW Beetle TDI
'05 Jeep Liberty CRD
'89 Toyota 4x4, needs 2L-T
'78 280Z with L28ET - 12.86@110
Oil Burner Kartel #35

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b1...oD/bioclip.jpg

There is really a lot to think about. In my area fuel and food deliveries would stop and I’m not sure how likely it is for our remote area of the grid to stay up. You’ve really got to think this stuff through – where do you get the feed for the chickens. Number one for me is to get the well on solar, and have a well-developed garden. I need to find out how well diesel stores – I think pretty well, but we should probably have bicycles.
Just how long a period of time do you think someone should be prepared before deliveries resume? Guess I’d better get that mule and a plow - no then I'd have to feed the mule

__________________
89 300E
79 240D
72 Westy
63 Bug sunroof
85 Jeep CJ7
86 Chevy 6.2l diesel PU

"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."
Marcus Aurelius