Terrorism -- a risky business?

Risk, it seems, is 90 per cent perspective.

The attack on New York by Muslim extremists on September 11, 2001, and its aftermath is a case in point.

Three thousand deaths in one horrific act in the heartland of capitalist commerce seared into American hearts and minds by the most dramatic scenes ever seen on television. Planes crashing into towers, towers collapsing like card houses, thousands running through smoke and debris for their very lives -- not science fiction but mesmerizing reality, and all live on TV. Paranoia was struck into the hearts and minds of Americans like nothing since Pearl Harbor.

The response was overwhelming. The President of the United States declared a War on Terror, claiming terrorism to be the challenge of our time. He has invaded two countries, threatened others, implemented the greatest assault on his citizens' civil liberties in living memory and called the international community to arms.

The paranoia is understandable, but what exactly is the risk? What are the chances an ordinary U.S. citizen will be killed by terrorists? Quite low, actually. Three thousand in one year is a lot but a lot less than the 12,000 Americans who were murdered by other Americans in 2001, most with handguns, and this goes on year after year after year. If President Bush really wanted to save American lives, he would wage war on handguns, not terror.

The possibility of a Canadian being killed by terrorists is roughly the same as being eaten by sharks or stung to death by angry bees -- almost nil. We did have one monstrous attack, the Air India bombing, but that was an internecine quarrel originating in the Indian subcontinent, not an assault on Canadians as such, and that was 20 years ago.

For most peoples throughout the world, Bush's emphasis on the threat of terrorism is a bad joke. Yes, 3,000 Americans died in one day, but that was one day. Three thousand African kids die of malaria every day. This is a real problem. Listening to the president's incessant harping on a relatively minor matter while real problems kill millions is nauseating.

The United States is the most influential nation on Earth. Neither Americans nor the rest of us can afford a president who doesn't understand risk.