Ted Koppel - The Price of Security

On the eve of the 5th anniversary of September 11, 2001 I am watching Mr. Ted Koppel and his program, The Price of Security, on the Discovery Channel. And I am intently observing what he is saying. One thing that is obvious immediately, this program could never air on regular broadcast television. I won’t say that it is a completely even-handed program; aspects of it are definitely leaning against government policy. But the questions it is raising are important to consider.

Before I say anything else let me mention the following. I am a former Marine, and my father was a Marine who volunteered for Viet Nam (which left him with PTSD and Agent Orange complications). On September 11 I was in Manhattan, in the Helmsley Building one floor below the penthouse. I was a stockbroker and had worked 3 blocks from the exchange for several years, and had been in the Towers or around them dozens of times. I had several friends in or next to the Towers at that time, and had a client that was nearly crushed in her car by a piece of the debris along with her granddaughter and daughter-in-law. Suffice to say I have strong views and memories of that day.

We are in and ideological war, there is no question. We are engaged with an enemy that is fanatical and does not value any life that does not conform to their rigid beliefs. This will be a potentially decade long or greater fight. There will be another successful attack, it is inevitable sadly. Hopefully it will not be nuclear or biological.

That said we must accept several realities. One reality is that Gitmo – Guantanamo Bay – is needed. As in any war, enemies that are captured need to be interrogated to learn more about what is/or will be happening in the enemy ranks. I do not condone torture. But I do realize that just asking nicely where Osama bin Laden is and what he is planning won’t work. And the middle ground between the 2 is very gray. Thus there will be mistakes, and those that make them should be dealt with appropriately. And for those that wish to shout loudly that we should not have this place, show me one hostage that has been taken since the 70’s that has not been tortured or killed. We are pussycats by comparison; the key is making sure we stay that way.

A terrible consequence of all this though is a by-product that seems to be going on without even a comment, or as a whisper when said. Arabs, American or otherwise, are now targets of rage and misunderstanding. The same can be said of Muslims. And in both cases I would say that the majority of people have little to no knowledge at all. Many Americans that I have met across the country can’t tell a difference between an individual from India, a Mexican or other Hispanic, or an Arab. The amount of general information on Muslims is even less, most of that being framed in a negative light (in my experience).

Continued in Part 2...
Final part 3...