"Fortress Boston"

The Drudge Report - as sensationalist as I could ever hope to be - reports (from Florida I might add) that the city is under virtual siege by various law enforcement agencies for the purpose of protecting the DNC from a seemingly imminent terrorist threat. I can report that this is in fact the case...somewhat.

If you happen to be moving this weekend in the Boston area - expect to get tagged. Every - and I mean every - unmarked and rental truck in a ten-mile radius of the city is being pulled over by teams of three and four State Troopers. And not just MA staties. I saw a few RIers in the mix too.

The feds are also in full effect, as has been widely reported. Camo-clad, M-16 totting guards are patrolling the area around the Fleet center. My brother-in-law, a U.S. Marshal will not be making the commute every night back to RI this week. He's staying in town, working heavy overtime. As is my Father-in-law, a MassPort employee. And let me tell ya, there's plenty of un-marked, tinted windowed, white vehicles driving circuits around the city too (wink, wink).

And then there's the air cover. F-16s over the city, and re-fueling craft based out of New Hampshire (one buzzed us as we were headed home on 95 today).

Hopefully this convention, and the next, will be the terrorist non-events of the season. But there's still the question - is all this really necessary.

Three years after September 11th, 2001 and a week since the release of the independent report on the terrorists attacks, can we honestly say that we are prepared to defend our nation against an asymmetrical enemy? I think not.

The DNC is being held under ridiculous conditions. Local, state, and federal authorities are running down every possibility of every potential threat. And in doing so their efforts are divided. It's obvious - from what can observed of the current security measures - that no specific threat has even been identified. Hence there is a very good chance the powers-that-be have exactly zero intelligence indicating that Boston is even a target. Our tax dollars at work. Once again.

The result: Blanket, schizophrenic coverage at a cost of tens of millions of dollars to U.S. tax-payers. You and me.

Honestly, rental trucks? I can tell you I saw - in my one hour trip through the city today - no less than 8 dump trucks cruising up and down 95 without so much as being stopped. Why? No doubt, the staties were specifically told to pullover rental trucks and small container vehicles. So, guess what? That's exactly what they've done, in droves. Everyone else (including small red vehicles traveling at "ludicrous speed") got a free pass today.

The execution is only as good as the direction. If this is the best we can do, we're in worse shape than I thought.