Harper is "Naive"

Today, Harper announced a 250 million initiative to bolster security for the transportation network. Harper's logic:

"Canada can choose to ignore terrorism and suffer the consequences, or we can take action..."

"This is how the fight against terrorism will be won, modernizing equipment and procedures, plugging the holes, filling the gaps, thinking one step ahead of the agents of hate," Mr. Harper said.

Harper refers to Canadians naivete, in not appreciated the scope of the threat from terrorism. I would suggest Harper is naive if he truly believes the "fight against terrorism" will be won by spending a massive amount of money on security measures. Today's announcement, coupled with the other expenditures for border security, etc., are essentially a waste of money in a practical sense. Sure, Canada can shore up "hard targets", but the infinite availability of other targets only serves to re-focus a would-be terrorists sights- in other words, unless people aren't allowed to congregate, the risk will always exist. Look at your own community, think to yourself how many high density targets there are and then try to fathom a world where we eliminate any vulnerability. This is not to suggest that we don't need airport security, protection at the reactors and other obvious targets, but Harper seems to believe that we can "win" the war on terror by investing in security.

I am starting to believe, and this point has been addressed by Bin Laden, that the actual victory for the terrorists will be achieved, not by acts, but through financial ruin as a consequence of fear. With this sentiment in mind, O'Connor's request for an additional 15 billion for defence is another example of how we may spend our way into uncertainty and weaken our balance sheet. There is no question that the Americans have paid a massive price in the post 9/11 world, which has jeopardized their future economic health in an unprecedented way. Canada appears to be headed on the same path, despite the fact that most of the overtures attempt to do the impossible. You can't have a free society and absolute security, the two are diametrically opposed propositions. If Harper actually holds the view that we can stop terrorism through expenditures, then he falls right into the trap of economic consequence. There is a reason financial institutions are preferred targets, Harper accomplishes the goal without realizing it. Our futile attempts to create an fortified island play into the hands of the forces that are supposedly addressed.