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 he
latest New Yorker has an article on Newt Gingrich titled "The
Worrier." In it, Peter Boyer notes that Gingrich 1) has studied
terrorism for quite a while — not least as a member of the
Hart-Rudman commission on national security, which he joined after
leaving Congress, 2) has influence in the administration, and 3)
is pessimistic about the war on terrorism as it moves on from its
Afghan phase.
Earlier this
month, Gingrich gave a speech to the Heritage Foundation on "Securing
the Home Front in the 21st Century." The whole thing is
worth reading, but here are some outtakes.
On the duration
of the conflict: "[A] state of war has in many ways existed
since 1983. If you look at the list of the 22 Most Wanted, it includes
somebody whose first activity killing Americans was the Marine barracks
in Lebanon."
On widening
the war: "[A]fter Pearl Harbor, we didn't just say, 'Let's
go sink the Japanese fleet.' We said, 'We're now at war with the
Axis.' We took on Japan, Italy, and Germany simultaneously, and
we said, 'Our goal is to win a global war.'"
On the Office
of Homeland Security: "[T]he President took the correct first
step, but if it is the only step, it will be a failure. It is impossible
for Tom Ridge's job in its current form to work beyond the immediate
crisis. Impossible. It's also constitutionally wrong. A presidential
appointee parallel to the National Security Adviser is not accountable
to the legislative branch. On something as important as the survival
of American cities, the legislative branch ought to insist on accountability."
On contemplated
security measures: "[W]e are now engaged in a massive increase
in the complexity of airline travel for no known consequence. .
. . [T]he current questions are totally insane: 'Did you pack your
bags personally?' 'Absolutely. I made sure the bomb was in there.'
What is the point of this? . . . There's a big difference between
being frantic and being effective. . . . The current plan to make
the Capirol a fortress is one that, as Speaker, I blocked. . . .
[T]he Secret Service's lifetime desire to block Pennsylvania [Avenue].
. . is nonsense. It would have had no impact on September 11. .
. . The attitude of security forces when there's a brief period
of panic is to grab as much space, hang tight, and hope that a bulldog-like
determination will give them maximum space."
On what should
be done: "Everybody who works at an airport on a regular basis
should have a biometric check, probably retinal. . . . You automatically
change the entire security system, and it's faster. . . . It requires
a two-track system. . . . [Frequent flyers] walk through Lane A.
We know who you are. We record you instantaneously. It's very efficient.
Everybody who doesn't want to do that, which is your right as an
American in peacetime, there's a line over there. It may take a
while, but they'll get around to you, and you'll get through eventually."
On postwar
settlements: "[W]e have to be generous. . . . [I]f we win in
Afghanistan, which I believe we will, the following week, aid and
reconstruction, new irrigation, new health care, new food. People
around the Islamic world have to see vividly that being on the American
side pays off."
On Iraq: "[I]f
Saddam is still in power and there are no inspectors three years
from now, then we will have lost this war, even if we do well in
Afghanistan, because Iraq is a vastly greater threat to our cities
than is Afghanistan."
Glasnost
The Hudson Institute plans to make a documentary on the fall of
the Soviet Union. "With the CNN series, 'Cold
War' now being shown in the schools, there is a need for a film
that will show Americans what communism looked like from the inside,"
said Hudson head Herb London. The film, which should be finished
late next year, will be based on David Satter's Age of Delirium.
The directors and producers will be Bruce and Jennifer Young. Former
CIA chief R. James Woolsey will serve as executive producer. "We
consider this film to be one of the most important projects in the
Institute's distinguished history," said London.
Worth
Reading
Andrew Sullivan's Thanksgiving
appreciation, first published five years ago.
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