After Moscow: Reject Knee Jerk Security

Jena McNeill / March 30, 2010

Yesterday, a series of bombings in Moscow subway stations killed 39 and injured more than 70. The bombings, conducted by two female suicide bombers, are undoubtedly a horrible tragedy for the families of the victims. What followed, however, was a decision by transit companies across the United States to ramp up security from more officers, tighter physical security at transit stations and bomb sniffing dogs. While these types of attacks may lead Americans to think that the U.S. needs to change its counter-terrorism strategy—the U.S. already has an effective means of stopping terrorism without the need to child proof the transit system.

Such knee jerk responses to terror attacks are not a new phenomenon. After the Christmas Day plot in December, where a Nigerian man attempted to blow up an airplane landing in Detroit, the Obama administration came out with a number of silly airport security measures, including plans to target 14 suspicious countries for secondary inspection—something that made little sense given the fact that terrorists often come through a number of different countries in order to get to the U.S.—most often ones not included in the 14. (more…)