The fear industry

[struggle4progress]

A conclusion to draw from the cover article by Richard Clarke in the January-February Atlantic Monthly is that the United States has no shortage of terrorism targets: malls, subways, amusement parks, the Vegas strip, airports, chemical plants -- you name it, terrorists could bomb it, shoot it up, and commit every other kind of imaginable mayhem.

Mr. Clarke's work as national coordinator for security and counter-terrorism under Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush was to know as much about such nightmare scenarios as anyone this side of Osama bin Laden. And last month he came to Rhode Island to address a hearing on the proposed siting of a liquefied-natural-gas (LNG) terminal in Providence.

The state's shipping channel winds 28 miles up Narragansett Bay, giving Mr. Clarke the opportunity to apply his nightmare formula to the possibility of terrorists' blowing up an LNG tanker along the way. He said that this could demolish parts of Jamestown, Newport, Portsmouth, Bristol, Barrington, Warwick, Cranston, East Providence, and Providence. <snip>

There is no end of things to be afraid of. Gosh, Mr. Clarke, what would a tsunami do around here? But realistic people weigh the risks and move forward.

http://www.projo.com/opinion/editorials/content/projo_20050226_26fear.1d15b84.html

Moral: Fear-mongering, however acceptable it may sometimes be, must never be allowed to interfere with business.