Weary of dodging bullets

How much longer can we dodge bullets? How many bullets can we dodge?

The attempted Christmas Day bombing of a Northwestern flight to Detroit from Amsterdam is just the latest in a series of near-catastrophes masterminded by al-Qaida or other Islamist groups around the world. Nine years after Sept. 11, 2001, have we learned nothing?

Before the Christmas Day attempt to ignite a sophisticated high-explosive strapped to a Nigerian passenger's leg, there was the Fort Hood shooting, when an Army psychologist with the rank of major opened fire on soldiers. Immediately, political correctness demanded that reporters play down Major Nidal Malik Hasan's Muslim religion and Palestinian ancestry. But it turns out that Hasan was not some run-of-the-mill deranged nut case. He had touted Islamist hatred of the West and advocated allowing Muslim soldiers to claim conscientious objection to fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. His violence was motivated by Islamist hatred of America.

These, unfortunately, are not isolated incidents. American Muslims have been charged with plotting an attack on Fort Dix. American Muslims of European ancestry in Wake County, North Carolina, have been charged with plotting attacks. Other "sleeper cells" have been uncovered before they could carry out their plots.

So far, so good, but how long can our good fortune last? In the days immediately following 9/11, America braced for another attack. Thus far, none has succeeded, but it's apparent that this lack of success if not for lack of trying. Blowing up a federal building or a shopping mall or taking down an airliner would strike a blow at American confidence and might cripple the struggling economy. A bigger blast — a small nuclear device or a "dirty bomb" or chemical weapon detonated in a major city — would devastate the country. Terrorists' sophisticated plots, even though they haven't succeeded, indicate that they might well be capable of creating a catastrophe from which America might not recover.

The Obama administration had better get serious about homeland security, airport security and intelligence gathering. We're extending American civil liberties and criminal justice rights to terrorists intent on destroying this entire nation, but we're not taking seriously the threats these terrorists pose for the United States. We're more worried about "profiling" suspected terrorists than we are about protecting American lives. A successful major attack will not only devastate the economic foundation of the country, it could turn America into a police state focused solely on preventing any additional attacks. American freedoms of speech, religion, press and assembly could be lost to the fear of terrorist attacks.

America's future depends on preventing Islamist terrorists' attacks on Americans.

Detroit wants your business, and your taxes

Members of Congress are eager to toss another $25 billion to the U.S. automotive industry, and industry sources are saying the money can't come too soon. Some are predicting that at least one of the Big Three automakers might not last until the Obama administration, which has supported a Detroit bailout, takes office. The New York Times is reporting today that Democrats supporting the bailout might not have the votes in the lame-duck session to salvage Detroit. Conditions in the automotive industry are dire, with billions of dollars in losses in the last quarter. The News & Observer is reporting that a collapse in Detroit will ripple through North Carolina's automotive supply industry.

But not everyone is in favor of sending taxpayer money to Detroit automakers who have failed miserably to innovate, upgrade or respond to consumer interests. By almost any measure, the Big Three have failed to be competitive with leaner, more innovative and more responsive Japanese and Korean automakers. Detroit is in this mess in large measure because it insisted on maximizing profits by producing huge, heavy, gas-guzzling SUVs. Other factors, such as labor costs, union restrictions, retiree health care and pension costs, play a role, but, fundamentally, Detroit has missed the boat on how to thrive as 21st century automakers. Japanese automakers are building quality cars successfully and economically in U.S. factories, so it's not just the American labor market that's the problem. Detroit trails in quality of construction, consumer comfort and satisfaction and reliability.

Full disclosure: I drive a 14-year-old Japanese-made car, and my wife drives a 7-year-old car made in America by a Japanese company. The two vehicles combined have more than 200,000 miles on them and remain reliable.

A bankruptcy by GM or Chrysler or Ford would ripple through the economy. Automobile manufacturing is one of the last heavy industries left in America. It would be painful. The question for Congress is whether the pain of bankruptcy would be worse than the pain of having taxpayers subsidize the poor decision-making of Detroit's management. One thing taxpayer dollars should definitely not do is accommodate a merger between GM and Chrysler, which has been openly discussed. The proposal is idiotic. Combining two losing companies does not create a winner; it creates an even bigger loser.

Both GM and Ford have new products in the pipeline that could make the companies more competitive. GM's Volt plug-in electric car is especially promising, if the engineering problems can be resolved. But unless the culture changes in Detroit board rooms, these new products, with or without taxpayer subsidies, will not turn the behemoths around. 

Detroit claimed to have learned its lesson in the aftermath of the disastrous oil shocks of the late 1970s, when its giant road hogs were driven from the market by smaller, more efficient vehicles designed to compete against Japanese and European cars. But Detroit quickly shifted to the manufacture of SUVs, taking advantage of Congress' exemption from mileage standards of "small trucks," which conveniently included big, gas-thirsty SUVs.

A bailout of the Big Three might be in the long-term best interests of the country, just as the 1979 loan guarantee for Chrysler proved to be a wise investment, but I'm not convinced yet.