As U.S. forces continue storming Baghdad and dismantling Iraqi defenses, all is eerily quiet on the home front. Surveillance aircraft are again patrolling a nation that remains on orange alert. Yet, despite the fears and the warnings, to date there has been none of the terrorist blowback predicted in the run up to this war. Nevertheless, the fight for the security of the homeland continues.
Congress is tangling over how much to spend. Tom Ridge is wrestling with his new department’s organizational chart, and many are wondering whether the government is really on the case, or if would-be terrorists are simply biding their time. Either way, it is still unclear whether the nation is that much more prepared to thwart terrorism than it was before the New York skyline changed.
Guests:
Robert Pfaltzgraff, Professor of International Security Studies at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and founder of the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis
Rita Hoffman, Emergency Management Coordinator in Olathe, Kansas
Nick Licata, city councilman in Seattle