i'm not a fan of chertoff, but i'm glad that someone had the guts to utter this obvious truth out loud. stoking and exploiting peoples' fears about terrorism has become business as usual in our political discourse. it's really refreshing to see someone buck the trend. if only chertoff's boss were listening.
the bottom line is that there is no way to stop every possible terrorist attack, even if we had an unlimited supply of cash. no matter what system you have in place, there will be holes. there always are. no system is perfect. we just have to learn to live with that reality. pretending there is such a thing as 100% security just makes people more panicky when reality inevitably falls short. unfortunately, a panicky populace often serves someone's political interests. so statements like chertoff's will continue to be the exceptions, not the rule.
