The Terror of Ignorance
The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 along with its 239 passengers and crew has dominated recent news coverage. Hope for their survival has dimmed, and my thoughts and prayers are with the relatives of those on board. This incident is getting so much attention, though, not only because it involves a large commercial airplane and potential large loss of life, but additionally because of the mystery of what happened. There is apparently no trace of the plane; an oil slick and debris in the sea were apparently not related, and there was no mayday or other indication from the pilots of something going wrong (at least, not that’s been reported). Some sort of accident is possible, but the revelation that two passengers were traveling with stolen passports makes it quite plausible that this was a terrorist attack. Given that likelihood, I would like to suggest that this would be a uniquely devious and disturbing form of terrorism due to our current ignorance concerning what happened, by whom and why. Read More »The Terror of Ignorance