Know Your Enemy
This week I read an op-ed in the New York Times in which writer Jeff Stein described the responses he received when he asked U.S. counterterrorism officials and members of Congress whether they know the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite. (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/opinion/17stein.html) To his purported surprise, a number of his subjects had no idea. Stein argued that if the decision makers in our War on Terror are underinformed, their decisions may put the country in more danger.
I’m not trying to turn this blog into a political forum; this article put me in mind of an important issue in corporate security. As much as our national security concerns have been changing over the last few years, this should serve as a reminder to all corporate security executives to carefully examine the threats to their organizations and facilities on a regular basis. Just as escalating Sunni-Shiite conflicts in Iraq may be reshaping the face of the enemy in the War on Terror, the changes this conflict and other events have recently wrought on our country may be reshaping the threats to your organization. Don’t overlook them.
Those are some good points, Marleah. Today I came across an article that mentioned ten common household items which could cause death or injury to a pet or child. While most of the items on the list won’t come as a surprise, I still think it’s worth a look. (I didn’t realize that table salt was on the list… apparently as little as half a teaspoon of salt could be problematic for an infant or small pet.) It’s a good reminder that when securing a house (or business), both external and internal threats should be considered.
Stein’s column was excellent. I too was thinking about how well security can identify friend or foe, approved and disallowed.