Bruce Schneier is a renowned Internet security guru, having written books on cryptography and network security. Beyond his speaking schedule at major international conferences, universities, workshops and government sessions, he is the founder and CTO of Counterpane Security. Counterpane is a managed-security firm that supports Internet security for large, global corporations and organizations, managing intrusions, Denial-of-Service attacks, etc. which require constant diligence from trained professionals.
I am a big fan of Schneier, having been involved in Internet security for a few years myself, and appreciate his candor and clear-headed speaking/writing style.
He posted a story today on his blog which completely bitch-slaps the current GOP "Fear Factor" campaign. Some sample excerpts are below the fold, but do go and read the entire piece. This article might be getting "Slashdotted" right now, so be patient.
The point of terrorism is to cause terror, sometimes to further a political goal and sometimes out of sheer hatred. The people terrorists kill are not the targets; they are collateral damage. And blowing up planes, trains, markets, or buses is not the goal; those are just tactics. The real targets of terrorism are the rest of us: the billions of us who are not killed but are terrorized because of the killing. The real point of terrorism is not the act itself, but our reaction to the act.
And we're doing exactly what the terrorists want.
<snip>
Our politicians help the terrorists every time they use fear as a campaign tactic. The press helps every time it writes scare stories about the plot and the threat. And if we're terrified, and we share that fear, we help. All of these actions intensify and repeat the terrorists' actions, and increase the effects of their terror.
I have been forwarding Schneier's blog entry to my wingnut friends/family, should be interesting feedback. For you all, it's preaching to the choir.