Can we please get rid of the
Homeland Security Advisory System already?
Remember? That's the nifty color-coded "terror alert status" indicator that was cooked up by some marketing firm to inform the populace how scared we should be. This thing has been useless to the national interest and it's time it went the way of the metric system (not that I have anything against the metric system, but let's face it, it's just not gonna happen in America).
In the few years we've had this joke of an alert system the nation as a whole has seen it's "threat level" moved to Orange ("high risk of terrorist attacks") exactly five times for a total of 93 days. That's roughly three months; a whole three of the 58 months that have intervened between today and 9/11. Or, if you prefer, three of the 52 months since the system was adopted. The last time the entire country was brought back down to Yellow ("significant risk of terrorist attacks") was January 9, 2004. Most of us have been there ever since.
The thing just doesn't get used.
Or when it is used, it's fairly clearly not used for reasons of public safety. The last time the threat level was raised for specific cities (New York, DC, & Newark) was just days after the Democratic National Convention in 2004 -- despite the fact the threat was based on information that was four years old -- a not-so-subtle reminder by the people doing the raising to the people doing the voting to be afraid, be very afraid. The system didn't return to Yellow until a week after the election.
What a coincidence...
And when it's not being used for blatant political purposes, it's being used because someone screwed up.
Whenever the levels are raised the public is treated to the same sorry song and dance: we're advised of a "credible" threat, given no details or specifics (or apparently very outdated information), told to be vigilant (but to go about our everyday lives), and then are provided with a flashy demonstration on the terror fighting properties of duct tape. This is no way to disseminate information to the public, but is instead intended to further confuse the masses and thereby allow their general sense of fear to fester in our lack of knowledge.
The only time the Bush administration has provided the public with evidence for raising the terror alert gauge was in the wake of the London transit bombings last year. In that case the Orange alert was given only for mass transit systems -- it does not take a national security advisor, a Homeland Security department, or an expansive intelligence network to give the people a "heads up" after a terrorist attack.
This bit from an older CNN.com article says it all:
Former White House counterterrorism coordinator Richard Clarke, speaking on ABC's "This Week," said the Bush administration's color-coded warning system is "a laughingstock" among state, local and business officials he has talked to.
"I've talked to a lot of state directors of homeland security, state officials, mayors, heads of big companies, and they all say they don't take it seriously," Clarke said.
Please, let's just get on from this ugly little incident and retire this worthless example of institutional fear-mongering to the Hall of Shame of Communication Gimmicks where it belongs. I used to notice that the "threat alert status" indicators were popular side panel decorations on conservative web sites, but that fad seems to have passed and some of these sites are even taking them down. I can't think of a better sign that it's high time to just ditch the whole thing all together.
[Sorry. I may just be whining about something that's clearly headed toward obsolescence, but it's been bugging me of late -- kind of like going on vacation and getting that feeling that you left the oven on.]