Last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced a heightened level of terrorist threat, and America braced for attack. Responding to a new orange alert, Americans scrambled to buy duct tape and plastic sheeting, while police and soldiers deployed nation-wide to guard against terrorist attacks. For popular frenzy and utter inanity, last week's activities were matched only by the "duck and cover" drills of the 1950s.
Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the administration has issued many such warnings, lately in the form of color-coded terror alerts. But these alerts are of little value in protecting Americans from terrorism. Their true benefit is to the administration, and Americans should consider the political logic of the color-coded alert system before rushing out to buy duct tape.
Accompanying last week's orange alert was the administration's advice that Americans purchase duct tape and plastic sheeting as protection against biological attack. But just as hiding under desks is insufficient protection from nuclear attacks, so duct tape and plastic sheeting are insufficient protection against terrorist attacks. Given the variety and lethality of weapons available to terrorists, Americans cannot achieve any meaningful protection by simply sealing themselves inside their homes. This is especially true in a time when many state and local terror-response programs remain unfunded. Citizens cannot be expected to protect themselves with tape and plastic when local authorities lack even the basic training and equipment to respond to terrorist attacks.
Raising the colored alert level is equally useless in guarding against terrorism. Last week's orange alert was unaccompanied by any specific warning and mentioned neither time, place nor nature of the expected attack. Americans cannot modify their behavior in response to such ambiguous warnings, and so the orange alert did little to protect anyone from terrorism. After Sept. 11, Americans need little alerting to the fact that terror may strike anywhere at anytime -- what they need is specific information about specific threats to their safety.
Given the inability of the administration's warnings to protect Americans from terrorism, the color-coded alert system is more likely the product of political considerations than genuine security concerns.
The first of these considerations is the administration's desire to avoid being blamed for another unexpected terrorist attack. After Sept. 11, the administration was harshly criticized for failing to anticipate the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center. The inability of America's intelligence community to detect such a widespread conspiracy led to several reforms, culminating in the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. But if the administration fails again to prevent a major terrorist attack, America's confidence in President Bush (and his chances of re-election) will be gravely shaken.
The color-coded alert system will spare the administration such embarrassments in the event of another major attack. In the absence of any specific information, the administration can demonstrate its vigilance and awareness of terrorist activities simply by raising the alert level. Although such warnings do little to alleviate terrorist threats, they will protect the administration from accusations of ignorance in the event of another catastrophic attack.
The second purpose of the color-coded alert system is to create a sense of ongoing national vulnerability. In the months following Sept. 11, Bush achieved extraordinary approval ratings. He also convinced Congress to pass such proposals as the U.S.A. Patriot Act (which expanded the administration's law-enforcement powers) and to support a possible war in Iraq. Such victories were made possible by the sense of fear and vulnerability that swept America after Sept. 11 -- in times of national crisis, the president is readily given the support of Congress and the confidence of the American people.
In order to achieve continuing support for its priorities, the administration must constantly remind Americans that they remain vulnerable to terrorist attack. Color-coded alerts are an easy means of accomplishing this. By creating a system of five colors, each representing a different level of terrorist threat, the administration can reproduce the crisis mentality of Sept. 11 (or something like it) simply by raising the alert level. Colored alerts allow all Americans to quickly discern how frightened they should be, and thus, how much confidence to place in the administration.
The color-coded terror alert system is thoroughly useless in protecting Americans from terrorism. It is, however, well-suited to the administration's political purposes. Given the unequal value of the system to the administration and to the nation as a whole, Americans should see the colored alerts for what they are: a way for the administration to win support for its priorities and avoid blame for future attacks. If Americans are to protect themselves from terrorism without descending into a general panic, they should ignore the colored alerts and heed only specific warnings of terrorist attack.
(Alec Solotorovsky is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at asolotorovsky@cavalierdaily.com)
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