Govt Surveillance: Part of a Taller Wall?

I've been reflecting on recent criticism the government has received for increased spying within the U.S. in connection with terrorism investigations (as well as other activities, such as secret prisons and rough interrogation tactics).

Here are some articles that appeared this week on TMCnet about web-based surveillance:

U.S. to Probe Contractor's Web Tracking

NSA Web Site Plants 'Cookies' on Computers

From a privacy perspective, I can understand why some observers are disturbed by these developments. But I was also thinking about the difficult position of those trying to govern and protect the populace in the face of brutal and merciless terrorist forces.

In the field of security, I've heard a metaphor that seems applicable to the fight against terrorism: When we build a higher wall, the bad guys make a taller ladder.

So in many situations, security involves a process of constant escalation.

Recently I attended a seminar about innovation in the era of homeland security. The main speaker was a former Bush-administration Department of Defense official who feels that the government is hampered by processes of planning and procurement that inhibit innovation.

As he spoke, I was reflecting that, in some ways, the terrorists have been in a better position to act as innovators. This idea rankles, because I like to think of innovation as a good thing and I hate to think of terrorists in any kind of positive light. But they have been able to "innovate" in some ways that are expensive and difficult to combat -- forming a worldwide insurgency embedded at low visibility in the population at large and causing great injury, death and economic loss, some would say at low cost to their own side.

I was also reflecting that it's hard to believe that real security can continue to be bought at the cost of building higher and higher walls. How does innovation enter in to homeland security efforts? Instead of continually building higher walls trying to stay ahead of those taller ladders, are there ways innovation can be applied, perhaps to create ladder-dissolvers or to disrupt the supply chain involved in ladder construction?

AB -- 12/30/05