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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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February
2006
Volume
10 - Number 1 |
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The Terrorism Risk a Personal Perspective By Nick Shapiro What Every American Can Do to Help After the government’s horrific response to Hurricane Katrina, many people across the country started to worry about how prepared we were to respond to another terrorist attack, maybe one that even dwarfs September 11, 2001. I worry about our risk to terrorism here in America and I have decided to learn more about emergency management so I can help mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks as well as natural disasters. However, even though I have decided to dedicate my career to emergency management, I know that even the best emergency management system will not save us all from terrorist attacks. I believe there is more this country must do to effectively minimize our risk to terrorism and solving our emergency management problem is just one piece to the puzzle. Our entire country must make sacrifices and not just rely on Homeland Security. People in this country critique our government’s ability to prevent and respond to terrorism (AND RIGHTFULLY DO SO!) but at the same time sit back and fund our enemies by treating gasoline as if it were some limitless entitlement. I think most Americans need to understand that terrorists fund their operations with money they get from people who sell oil to oil companies before they sell it to us. The countries that have the money to give cash to families of suicide bombers or send boys to madrasses are getting that money from people who are addicted to oil. Even the biggest oil man in town said we were addicted to oil in his State of the Union Address last Tuesday night. Bill Mahr said, “It’s a funny thing about Americans, we love to bitch about paying too much for things we really need and are a bargain, like gas and postage stamps, but we willingly shell out outrageous amounts for gourmet coffee and special smelling soaps. Two dollars a gallon to go ten miles is too much, but five to the parking valet to go ten feet is okay.” I agree. We need to stop worrying so much about the price of gasoline and start considering its cost. The local, state and federal governments have a responsibility to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks, but unless we figure out a way to stop the terrorists from wanting to kill us, they will continue to try and will most likely succeed in attacking us here in America. As emergency management professionals sort out the best way to manage the risk to terrorist attacks, the entire country as a whole must look at what all of us can do to help mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks. I think in the mean time one good idea is to free our selves from the slavery of cheap oil. |