THE BELGRAVIA DISPATCH: Ridge Out

December 01, 2004

Ridge Out

So Tom Ridge is out. How will the first three years of the new Homeland Security Department be viewed going forward? On the plus side of the ledger--the bottom-line--look at the scorecard. Namely, no terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11. On the negative side of the ledger: al-Qs long operational cycles mean the first argument may end up proving cold comfort, the color-coded alert system is likely destined to be viewed by historians as pretty laughable fare, and the whole Steve Flynn containerized cargo meme (and related variants) regarding still extant major vulnerabilities. Discuss as able.

Posted by Gregory at December 1, 2004 01:32 AM

Comments

I watched the RIDGE RESIGNATION PRESSER.

He was impressive. He'd make a formidable presidential candidate. Here's his CV:

1 Vietnam vet - served with Col Hackworth.
2 Prosecutor
3 Congressman
4 Governor - of a big battleground state
5 Memeber of the War Cabinet and Secrtary of a huge Departrment which is central to our GWOT.

No one on either side can TOP that. (Rudy's executive success and leadership is impressive, too - and they are both pro-choice.)

A Tom Ridge/Jeb Bush(VP) ticket would be UNBEATABLE.

I blogged on this earlier. Here's the link...

http://astuteblogger.blogspot.com/2004/11/ridge-resignation-presser.html

Posted by: reliapundit at December 1, 2004 03:35 AM | Permalink to this comment

On the minus side though, is the civil liberties aspect. Plenty of innocent people, particularly foreigners but also Americans, have suffered extra inconvenience, sometimes including deportation, for trivial reasons. The Department of Homeland Security has erred too far on the side of authoriatarianism. Including biometric data in passports, for instance, will do nothing whatever to prevent terrorist attacks. I can't objectively justify that - it's just my take on the tradeoffs. And how does making foreign students have personal interviews before they get visas stop terrorism? It just hands income on a plate to British or Australian colleges. After all, making normal life more difficult is what terrorists want to do.

Again I can't justify this, indeed noone can really know, but I think the AlQ threat to the cities of America and Western Europe is past its peak, and fading rapidly. People are simply much more aware, and they have suffered heavy blows in Afganistan and around the world. Of course, they may - heaven forbid - get lucky again, but I'd have to say the odds are lengthening against them. Not only has there been no attack in the US or the UK (the countries that matter in the GWOT) since 9/11: much of their infrastructure destroyed or in prison and the rest is operating in a much tougher environment. Of course, this is all guesswork, but they haven't hit the US since 9/11, and I think they'd want to hit it asap, if they at all could.

Posted by: PJ at December 1, 2004 04:14 PM | Permalink to this comment

the leaders in computer disk retrieval

Posted by: computer disk retrieval at December 7, 2004 05:32 AM | Permalink to this comment

	« In the Mail \| Main \| Civil War in Iraq (Already)? » December 01, 2004 Ridge Out So Tom Ridge is out. How will the first three years of the new Homeland Security Department be viewed going forward? On the plus side of the ledger--the bottom-line--look at the scorecard. Namely, no terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11. On the negative side of the ledger: al-Qs long operational cycles mean the first argument may end up proving cold comfort, the color-coded alert system is likely destined to be viewed by historians as pretty laughable fare, and the whole Steve Flynn containerized cargo meme (and related variants) regarding still extant major vulnerabilities. Discuss as able. Posted by Gregory at December 1, 2004 01:32 AM Comments I watched the RIDGE RESIGNATION PRESSER. He was impressive. He'd make a formidable presidential candidate. Here's his CV: 1 Vietnam vet - served with Col Hackworth. 2 Prosecutor 3 Congressman 4 Governor - of a big battleground state 5 Memeber of the War Cabinet and Secrtary of a huge Departrment which is central to our GWOT. No one on either side can TOP that. (Rudy's executive success and leadership is impressive, too - and they are both pro-choice.) A Tom Ridge/Jeb Bush(VP) ticket would be UNBEATABLE. I blogged on this earlier. Here's the link... http://astuteblogger.blogspot.com/2004/11/ridge-resignation-presser.html Posted by: reliapundit at December 1, 2004 03:35 AM \| Permalink to this comment On the minus side though, is the civil liberties aspect. Plenty of innocent people, particularly foreigners but also Americans, have suffered extra inconvenience, sometimes including deportation, for trivial reasons. The Department of Homeland Security has erred too far on the side of authoriatarianism. Including biometric data in passports, for instance, will do nothing whatever to prevent terrorist attacks. I can't objectively justify that - it's just my take on the tradeoffs. And how does making foreign students have personal interviews before they get visas stop terrorism? It just hands income on a plate to British or Australian colleges. After all, making normal life more difficult is what terrorists want to do. Again I can't justify this, indeed noone can really know, but I think the AlQ threat to the cities of America and Western Europe is past its peak, and fading rapidly. People are simply much more aware, and they have suffered heavy blows in Afganistan and around the world. Of course, they may - heaven forbid - get lucky again, but I'd have to say the odds are lengthening against them. Not only has there been no attack in the US or the UK (the countries that matter in the GWOT) since 9/11: much of their infrastructure destroyed or in prison and the rest is operating in a much tougher environment. Of course, this is all guesswork, but they haven't hit the US since 9/11, and I think they'd want to hit it asap, if they at all could. Posted by: PJ at December 1, 2004 04:14 PM \| Permalink to this comment the leaders in computer disk retrieval Posted by: computer disk retrieval at December 7, 2004 05:32 AM \| Permalink to this comment		Reviews of Belgravia Dispatch "Best 9/11 Commentary" "Always-Worth Reading" --Andrew Sullivan "Awake" --New York Times "Must-read list" --Washington Times "Always Thoughtful" --Glenn Reynolds, Instapundit "Pompous Ass" --an anonymous blogospheric commenter Recent Entries Grading Bush's Speech: B- An Open Letter to POTUS Bush's Speech Who Me? The Secretary of No Responsibility Kerry's Bad Advice "Last Throes," Or 12 More Years? 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