By Sabin Geyman
In the wake of electronic innovations, we have enjoyed many conveniences. But I miss the time when I could answer the rotary phone that was attached to the wall and be confident that no one was listening to my calls. And I really miss the (pre-Kissinger) days when American industry was tops and we did not feel compelled to give our advantage away to Communists.
James Ball, who writes for The Guardian, is rightfully concerned about the electronic tracking mechanisms that exist online. He notes that RIOT software (Rapid Information Overlay Technology), which was developed by Raytheon, is "impressively creepy. By extracting location information from Facebook, check-ins, and even latitude and longitude details from photographs in which targets are tagged…, it builds a picture of where someone’s been, who they’ve been there with, and where they might go next." Naturally, Ball notes, "draconian governments" have gotten into the act, as demonstrated by controls imposed during last year’s Middle East uprisings and the monitoring and censorship which Communist China regularly imposes on its internet.
In an interview with Jian Ghomeshi of CBC Radio Vancouver’s "The Q," Ball pointed out that algorithms electronically watch for strange behavior, using statistical models to judge what is unlikely and therefore of possible interest. With the combination of RIOT software tracking and location-pinpointing based on cell phone usage, criminals and dictators alike have a veritable gift in knowing who to squeeze and where to squeeze them.
Amazingly, the CBC interviewer actually suggested that some privacy could be given away if it would mean thwarting terrorism. The problem with that, as I see it, is that it would not be hard for a slinky government to stage events to concoct a bogeyman (such as terrorism) when in fact the actual predator might be the domestic government that is itching for dictatorial power or a foreign military (such as Communist China’s so-called People’s Liberation Army) that has ambitions going well beyond terrorist pin-pricks. As Benjamin Franklin put it in 1759, "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
I thank the God of Israel for strong patriotic voices such as privacy expert Katherine Albrecht and radio host Michael Savage. Savage has highlighted the danger that Communist China may have already used EMP weaponry against US interests; and his reality-based fictional thriller, A Time for War, gives a good sense of the kinds of subtle attacks employed by the Chinese Communists.
Electronic sabotage–rising to the level of wholesale military attack–could be the sad result of the diversity-driven appeasement of Communists and jihadists since the Kissinger-Nixon years and 9/11, respectively. William Graham, a science adviser to President Reagan, has assessed that a large EMP blast over US territory would translate to most Americans dying from freezing, starvation, or disease, according to RedState.com. General Habiger, the former head of US Strategic Command, has predicted that a large EMP attack on the US would lead to the collapse of society, and militias, private armies, and warring tribes, also according to RedState.com. Obviously, hardening all critical electronic infrastructure in the US should be a top priority, and some reports indicate that could be achieved for only tens of millions of dollars.
There is ample Biblical precedent for the unraveling of American wisdom and security. King Hezekiah, king of Judah, showed his nice stuff to enemy Babylonians, resulting in devastation for Jerusalem and Judah not long after Hezekiah’s passing. "Hezekiah was pleased, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and his whole armory and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them" (Isaiah 39:2).
It is time to repair our defenses and treat our enemies–Communist Chinese, Communist Russians, and jihadists–like enemies.
Sabin Geyman is a former Department of Defense analyst, Chinese instructor, and journalist. His new book, Testing the Spirits: Exposing Dark Sayings & Embracing the Light of Jesus, is a work of apologetics, with original discussions on national security, Bible prophecy, China, and Israel.