On Being Alert
We are under continuous threat. Here’s what to do.

By NR Editors
from the November 5, 2001, issue of National Review

nce again, the bin Ladenite murderers have done us an unintentional favor. September 11 at least had the effect of showing that we were in a war, and who our enemies were. The anthrax scare has given us a dry run for biological assault.

Anthrax is low on the list of deadly diseases. It can be cured with antibiotics, and it is not contagious. The means used to spread the anthrax — letters to media outlets and Congress, and even the Capitol Hill ventilation system — were thus relatively small bore. The terrorists of September 11 were investigating crop-duster planes, which would have provided greater distribution. It is possible that some of the letters are the work of sickos and copycats — though Iraq's researches into anthrax and the fine grain of the most recent spores make Baghdad a likely supplier.

The federal government needs more vaccines available, not just for anthrax, but for smallpox, which has true plague potential. This must be a top priority for the director of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge. These days all his priorities are top. That is the nature of crises; it is the business of directors to manage them.

The administration must also give thought to the psychological dimension of our defenses. It is easy to understand why the FBI issued an open-ended warning that something could happen, perhaps around October 14. If they were telling local law enforcement, they had to tell the public too (news might leak, and if something had happened without a general warning, there would have been hell to pay). But people cannot simply be plunged into a void of anxiety. The chain of command, from President Bush on down, has to say that we are at war, and under continuous threat; that there will be special warnings from time to time, specific or general, depending on the information available; and that, in the case of a general alert, everyone should be aware of suspicious packages, vehicles, and people, and report them to the local police. Meanwhile, everyone should continue with his life. This is the meaning of alertness — being aware of dangers, while not giving in to fear.

The anthrax scare should make the administration more inclined to cast as wide a net as possible in the war on terrorism, lest we leave the threat alive. For the rest of us, the best response is to go out and have a drink. Remember that the zealot in his cave has a lot more to fear than we do.