WHO? The World.
WHAT? Might eventually solve the problem of homeland security.
WHEN? Gradually, as WMD is sequestered and critical infrastructure made failsafe.
WHERE? Globally.
WHY? Because homeland security safeguards the world from domestic catastrophic destruction.
Here’s something you won’t get with any other homeland security course, a practical proposal on how to solve homeland security. Let’s begin with the proposition that homeland security is about safeguarding the nation from domestic catastrophic destruction. Now, as you remember, domestic catastrophic destruction is nothing new. Nature and Nations have been causing it since the beginning of civilization. What is new is the threat of domestic catastrophic destruction from non-state actors. The 1995 Tokyo Subway Attacks created the necessity for homeland security. Also new is the ability to create WMD effects without WMD by subverting critical infrastructure. 9/11 brought homeland security to the forefront of US policy concerns. What if we can eliminate the threat of domestic catastrophic destruction from non-state actors? Would we not have eliminated the problem of homeland security? This, I think we can do. We begin by observing that the threat of domestic catastrophic destruction from non-state actors stems from their ability to deploy WMD or subvert critical infrastructure. The significance of this observation is that it makes homeland security a technical problem. The technical problem is how to effectively secure WMD and protect critical infrastructure. Technical problems are relatively easy to solve. Social problems are not. Terrorism is a social problem. Homeland security is solvable if you focus on domestic catastrophic destruction and not terrorism. Step 1, separate technical from social problem. Easy enough! Step 2, solve technical problem. Not so easy, but doable! Again, the technical problem is how to effectively secure WMD and protect critical infrastructure? Effectively securing WMD is perhaps the easiest of the two problems. Since 9/11, tighter measures have been put in place to keep chemical, biological, and radiological components out of the hands of malicious agents. As we pointed out in the last topic, a permanent place to store radioactive waste would greatly improve the situation. Sequestration, keeping harmful components out of the hands of malicious agents works for WMD. It can’t work for critical infrastructure because, by its nature, people must interact with it. Also remember, nothing is invulnerable to attack. A determined attacker will eventually succeed. This means that infrastructure hardening is an expensive and ultimately a losing strategy. But if infrastructure is destined to fail, why not make it fail without causing harm? This is called “failsafe” technology, and it is certainly feasible. Nuclear reactors can be made so they don’t melt down. Electric grids can be segmented so failures don’t cascade. Passenger jets can be replaced by high-speed rail that don’t fall out of the sky. There are many different ways to make critical infrastructure failsafe, so it doesn’t pose a threat of domestic catastrophic destruction. Some means exist, and better means may yet be invented. But the immediate replacement of our current infrastructure is too expensive to contemplate. It will happen nevertheless, over the decades as old infrastructure is replaced by new infrastructure. So eventually, we can contemplate a day when we are no longer threatened by catastrophic destruction from non-state actors wielding WMD or subverting critical infrastructure. Homeland security solved!