How ironic , the American cowboy image could become the best deterrent against terror

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Mighty Military Machines Offer Little ProtectionBy AVIGDOR HASELKORNAvigdor Haselkorn is the author of "The Continuing Storm: Iraq, Poisonous Weapons and Deterrence" (Yale University Press, 1999).March 29 2002What has taken place Sept. 11 and since then in the United States and in Afghanistan and what is unfolding in Israel these days are all parts of one picture. Its many details signify nothing less than a shift in the fundamentals of national security.Events in the U.S. and Israel point to a disconnect between military power and national security. The traditional view that a strong military machine would provide security and deter attack on the homeland is a shambles. The hallowed notion that large defense outlays and the fielding of the most modern armies would ensure a nation's survival has been shown to be a fallacy.The Israeli Defense Forces, or IDF, are generally viewed as without equal in the Middle East. The country's military power is immense by any standard. Despite this overwhelming military superiority, the nation faces its gravest challenge since the 1948 War of Independence. All this is a result of a confrontation with an opponent whose force size is a fraction of the IDF's and whose troops are lightly armed and poorly trained. Moreover, the fact that the IDF's strength has barely been degraded by the recent fighting has not altered the fact that few in Israel feel secure. Israelis must be asking themselves what good these military formations and advanced weaponry are if no city is safe from daily enemy raids.Likewise, the attacks on the United States were not the product of some high-tech terrorism as Hollywood scriptwriters often prophesied. To the contrary, the evil ingenuity of Sept. 11 was the simplicity, even primitiveness, of the operation.The only weapons the hijackers brought into the U.S. were themselves. The only infrastructure used was cash. And yet the results were absolutely devastating. The degree of damage from the attacks was unprecedented in U.S. history.In this sense, the attacks on the United States and the unfolding terror war in Israel highlight a fundamental shift in the annals of military history. Terrorism's main aim is no longer political theater. Rather, it has become a strategic weapon through which sub-national outfits aim to destroy regional and even global superpowers.Indeed, the United States was targeted precisely because it symbolizes the apex of Western economic, technological and military superiority. Israel is another test case.The mighty have naturally responded by seeking protection behind their well-oiled military machines. But as in Afghanistan, they could discover that there is no army to fight, and the number of casualties inflicted on the enemy cannot even be gauged accurately.Even a high toll does not necessarily dampen the enemy's quest for martyrdom. The sense of insecurity at home is only marginally alleviated by successes on the battlefield.How will this revolution end?There are two possibilities. One is that, after suffering repeated atrocities and failures, our value system will change so that modern armies will be given the go-ahead to use any means to crush the enemy. Inflicting "collateral damage" would no longer be a taboo.In other words, like our enemies, to ensure victory we would adopt a doctrine of total war.Alternatively, the gap between military power and national security would have to be filled by hardening the civilian population. Defending civilians, which during the Cold War was tantamount to endangering the stability provided by mutual assured destruction, is already very much on the agenda, but not only as the domain of government agencies and security personnel.For example, the Israeli government has authorized putting more licensed handguns on the streets in the hope of citizens being in the right place at the right time to prevent terror attacks. Accordingly, the Israeli army will issue handgun permits to 40,000 reserve duty officers of the rank of captain and above.How ironic that the American cowboy image could become the best deterrent against terrorism yet. http://www.latimes.com/templates/misc/printstory.jsp?slug=la-000022594mar29