Replacing the fallen World Trade towers, the newly redesigned Freedom Tower in New York City features many new terrorist-thwarting measures including a “heavily reinforced concrete core, steel bars on every floor and a lobby set back from the street and draped in protective panels of titanium and stainless steel.”
I’m not questioning that this building is more likely to withstand terrorist attack than the WTC did. But are we going about this the right way?
The Bullseye Problem
Seriously, if we are so sure that this building is going to be the target of truck bombs or airplanes, then why are we building it? To open a new front in the war on terror? To say we can build the unbreakable building? Does anyone recall the Titanic?
The “Just One Better” Principle
No matter how well the Freedom Tower is equipped, the surrounding buildings will not be so terrorist-proof. Nor will the surrounding people. Building something so defensible will just shift terrorists to softer targets. Like malls.
The War on Terror
So we build this enormous monument to freedom with massive defenses against truck bombs, etc. What does this imply about our progress in the war against terror? If we’re winning, shouldn’t I feel more secure? After all, it’s one kind of security to install a home alarm to make my home safer; it’s quite another sense of security to feel like I can leave my doors unlocked. If we’re not fighting a war to win the peace (i.e. security option two), then what are we doing?
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