Letters to the editor.

Note: This letter has been edited due to space constraints.

Dr. Whitehurst,

I enjoyed reading your provocative article in the October Defense Transportation Journal distributed at the NDTA Annual Forum. I moderated a session at the Forum on Best Practices in Supply Chain Security.

Many of your points are well taken. The aim of terrorists is to terrorize. The bigger the bang for their dollar, the better. Pre-emptive intelligence and cooperation amongst the private and public sectors is the best defense while a Maginot Line to protect every terrorist target should be abandoned.

It is agreed that it is impossible to protect every asset regardless of their stature as primary, secondary or tertiary targets. It is also nearly impossible to develop superlative pre-emptive intelligence as well. What may be more practical is to imbed security throughout the activities connecting institutions, organizations, business enterprises, etc.

Spend less money on guessing the intentions of potential terrorists and instead use fiscal incentives to encourage private enterprise, which owns over 80 percent of the nation's infrastructure, to ensure the greatest resilience possible of their organizations. It is the duty, perhaps the obligation of the owners of our private sector to protect their assets, i.e., shareholders, employees, customers as well as physical items.

We don't need additional intelligence to make us realize the vulnerability of our mass retailers importing from all ends of the earth. We must have the private sector recognize that global efficiency has brought global vulnerability, with transportation as the soft underbelly of the supply chain, because it is the most critical element in the supply chain.

I think the NDTA can be a powerful lobbyist, along with allies in the associations representing transportation carriers and the US Chamber of Commerce which is taking a very proactive position to force the nation to recognize the paralyzing effects of inadequate infrastructure.

Perhaps we can discuss this further at an NDTA event.

"Preparedness is not an accident."

Regards,

Irvin Varkonyi, President, SCOPE, LLP