Stephen Flynn of the Washington Post writes a pseudo-authoritative opinion piece entitled 5 Myths About Keeping America Safe From Terrorism. No, the Czar will not go into the details of his argument, as you can simply read the supplied link. Instead, he will merely go point by point.

1. Terrorism is the gravest threat facing the American people. Specious argument, because no one is really saying this. However, the Czar agrees this would be a myth only on a technicality, as terrorism is one of many threats facing America—and a crucial element to foreign policy our present administration appears to deny. Flynn appears to astonish us with a too-brief discussion of risk versus reward (yes, more people are killed by flu than terrorists, but we also take expensive steps to prevent flu), but makes a good point that we must react better than we have been. However, again, no one seriously believes that terrorism is the ultimate fear facing Americans.

2. When it comes to preventing terrorism, the only real defense is a good offense. And again, no one is saying this. Flynn appears to suggest that offense does not work; however, he actually argues that offense is essential, but that defense plays a part. This is so undeniably obvious that one is encouraged to ask what the source is of Flynn’s belief in the commonality of this statement. Folks, no one is saying offense is the only solution; what critics are saying is that the President fails to understand the sheer effectiveness of offense, whereas his predecessor certainly did. Take a look at their respective track records.

3. Getting better control over America’s borders is essential to making us safer. Why is this a myth? Flynn reminds us that recent attacks generally originated from lax airport security, and threats did not walk across from Mexico. But why not continue to prevent the possibility? Flynn forgets that the Millennium bomber was stopped…where? At the border. He also ignores the many threats that are prevented by border deterrence—these cannot be counted. Flynn may have been better served by stating “Stricter border control is the only defense,” with which the Czar would agree. Border control is an absolutely essential element in a multi-part defense strategy. How could this be a myth?

All systems, by nature of their multi-step processes, produce gaps. The more complex the system, the greater the number of gaps. As a result, terrorists need merely study the systems in enough holistic detail to discover the failure points in any system.4. Investing in new technology is key to better security. Well, it is a key. Generally, the Czar agrees that full body scan detectors now being rushed into airports will fail to stop all imaginable attacks. All systems, by nature of their multi-step processes, produce gaps. The more complex the system, the greater the number of gaps. As a result, terrorists need merely study the systems in enough holistic detail to discover the failure points in any system. The Abdulmutallab attempt is a perfect example: the terrorists recognized that Yemeni airports were waiving the need for passports or identification from Somalis, as each is largely unobtainable from the non-functional Somali government. Fine: they then leveraged a weakness within Copenhagen’s government to get their suicide bomber on a flight to Detroit. Again, no technology system in the world would have prevented getting the suicide bomber on a flight to Detroit: a full body scanner might have detected the explosive agents in his underwear, but that becomes—in the full scheme of the operation—a technical detail. Put the scanners in: they still have a means of getting terrorists on flights; they need merely swap out one technical detail for another to set up their next attack.

5. Average citizens aren’t an effective bulwark against terrorist attacks. Flynn is obviously right, but his logic in presenting this is way off the mark. He blames the Bush administration for its heavy-handed seizing of control, and lays equal blame at the Obama administration. His examples? UAL 93 and Jasper Schuringa. Excellent examples of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. But where are his examples of the Afghanistan invasion of 2002? Of Iraq in 2003? Of the many FBI and CIA personnel who detected, identified, and disrupted dozens of attacks in the last seven years? Was it an ordinary citizen who hunted down the Beltway sniper? Was it a common Ohio plumber who captured KSM in Pakistan? Flynn is right that some folks write off the idea of average citizenry helping stop terrorism. But his dismissal of the government’s role is equally ill-argued: citizens have stopped far fewer events than government officials have. And when the government fails, it is foolish to assume that the public necessarily inherits responsibility. Again, this has to be a bipartite solution.

Flynn is way off the mark on his argumentation, either suggesting that non-opinions or extremely rare, extreme opinions are common assumptions. By setting up simple targets and arguing them, he serves only to inflate his own appearance of expertise. And when he tackles a real myth, he is too quick to lay blame without stopping to examine the assumptions behind it. His analysis is glib, and seems more like cocktail party fodder intended to shock marginally informed people.

And so the Czar asks, “Are there no other myths that might have been better examined?” How about these whoppers: 1. Terrorism is the result of the West imposing its culture on the East. 2. Fighting a war against terrorists cannot be won by military means. 3. We cannot win until terrorists learn to love their children more than they love dying. 4. The terrorists were not in Iraq until we invaded. 5. Detention coupled with extreme interrogation techniques produces little useful information to prevent future attacks.

Take those on.

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.