Times Square

Times Square

It is a favorite hypothetical of theorizers: a bomb is in New York City, but you only have one hour to disable it before it goes off. Its location is unknown, and whoever planted the bomb is being detained by the police. What do you do?

This hypothetical became dangerously close to reality last weekend, when a S.U.V. packed with explosives was detected in Times Square. The suspect, though not yet arrested, was caught on a security tape by the police; the car's owner has been identified. Times Square and the surrounding area were evacuated; the bomb was disarmed. This time, at least, our nations first lines of domestic defenses worked perfectly. 

But, inevitably, this is not always true. Due to human error, poor information, or otherwise, mistakes- fatal, often, when dealing with national security- will be made. Surely the Christmas (underwear) bomber's ability to get so far as to be lighting an explosive on an in-air plane indicates an error in the system. It was not the first domestic security error of the Obama Administration, nor will it be the last. The best the Administration- any administration, for that matter- and the country can hope for is that the errors are not titanic and that all can be and are quickly fixed. 

Current Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is charged with the huge task of assisting President Obama with protecting the nation in an age where, because of the technology readily available and polarization between racial, ethic, and geographical groups throughout the world, protecting America is an increasingly difficult thing to do. Surely, from time to time, our security will be breached. The best we can do is to have a strong reactionary system, just like the one that reacted to this weekend's bomb in New York. Luckily, no damage occurred, as the bomb did not go off. However, it is important to remember that, as mistakes are inevitable, even when dealing with national security, next time, we might not be so lucky.  

[photo via New York Times]