Bob while it is a direct question it certainly isn't a narow question and I will try to answer it for you.
First, one must consider why the US might be a target for an attack. To date attacks by Foreign Enemies appear to be response to the US's unnecessary involvement in the affairs of other nations. I do not say the US should get out of the MidEast because of the terrorist attacks, I say the US should never have been there to begin with.
Domestic attacks seem to be driven by a number of motives. And therefore are a bit harder to address in preventative measures.
Lastly are the domestic attacks committed by the government. The most visible being the attack at Waco.
As far as increasing Homeland security. If we are talking about foreign attacks the US needs to use its intelligence gathering agencies to identify planned attacks before they occur. It is not intelligence (in any sense of the word) to point at Muslims and conclude that they are all trying to attack us, or to point at Christians and declare that they are not terrorists.
Domestically it is the same skills that police use to find out when a drug shipment is coming to town. They need to take proactive steps. But what has been passing for Homeland Security in fact has been mindless reaction.
I do not object to airport security. I object to STUPID THINGS DONE in the name of airport security. I object to seeing an armed "military presence" in the airport. Those guys added NO SECURITY. Confiscating such dangerous contraband as a hair pick, or a 4 inch plastic gun attached to a GI Joe Doll, is stupidity not security. Yes Bob I know you can justify any restriction based on the possibility that any item (including breast milk) might be used as a weapon but so to might someone's bare hands. If you want to prevent hijackings how about all passengers get stripped naked, tied into straight jackets, Hannibel Lechter masks placed over their faces then placed into a wooden crate (with airholes) which is then locked shut.
Our local movie theater in the mall now does not permit anyone to bring in any kind of bags including diaper bags. They say this is about security. Does it make you feel more secure? Quite honestly I believe it is just a way to try to prevent people from bringing their own food and beverages in to avoid the high prices.
I take for granted that there is NO WAY TO GUARANTEE that I will not be the victim of a criminal act. I will not allow that to interefere with how I live.
This is not a new phenomenom. If President Kennedy (with all his security) can be murdered any of us can be murdered.
Let me ask you, do you feel safer now that the government pulls people off of the street and locks them up without taking them before a court, without charging them with a crime, without letting them contact family or counsel?
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