A TSA agent demonstrates how to stand in a Backscatter X-ray technology machine in Terminal 1 at LAX. (Los Angeles Times) The High Cost Of Protecting America -- Doyle McManus. L.A. Times
There's no such thing as too much security. But there is such a thing as security that's too expensive.
Ten years ago, before 9/11 made terrorism our national preoccupation, the agencies that now make up the Department of Homeland Security spent about $22 billion a year on public safety and emergency management. Now Homeland Security is the third-biggest department in the federal government, with more than 230,000 employees and a budget of $55 billion a year.
Read more ....
Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials
Early morning in Libya gives reason to hope -- The National Editorial
Turkey crisis is just start of Israel's diplomatic tsunami -- Akiva Eldar, haaretz
UN Report on Flotilla Incident Exonerates Israel -- Elliot Abrams, Weekly Standard
Is worrying about war with China a self-fulfilling prophecy? -- James Traub, Foreign Policy
Abandoning North Korea -- Morton Abramowitz, National Interest
Japan’s Latest Prime Minister -- New York Times editorial
Can the World Still Feed Itself? -- Brian M. Carney, Wall Street Journal
'There Has Been a Clear Crisis of Confidence': SPIEGEL Interview with IMF Chief Christine Lagarde -- Spiegel Online
How the NYPD Gets Jihad Right -- Andrew C. McCarthy, NRO
9/11: what have we learnt? -- Charles Moore, The Telegraph
It’s Still the 9/11 Era -- Ross Douthat, New York Times
The Worst Mistake America Made After 9/11 -- Anne Applebaum, Slate
What If 9/11 Had Never Happened? -- Niall Ferguson, Daily Beast/Newsweek