The Great Myth of the Fifth Column: Garbage In/Garbage Out

Norman Cohn opened the preface to his 1975 book "Europe's Inner Demons: An Enquiry Inspired by the Great Witch-Hunt" with these words:

This book began as an enquiry into the origins of the great European witch-hunt. It ended as something wider. It argues that the stereotype of the witch, as it existed in many parts of Europe in the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, is made up of elements of diverse origin, and that some of these derived from a specific fantasy which can be traced back to Antiquity. The essence of the fantasy was that there existed, somewhere in the midst of the great society, another society, small and clandestine, which not only threatened the existence of the great society but was also addicted to practices which were felt to be wholly abominable, in the literal sense of anti-human.[emphasis added]

Right. Sleeper cells and all that. Good thing we are no longer susceptible to such mass hysteria in our post-Modern Age...

Meanwhile, the criminal conspiracy that truly threatens all of our lives and futures operates in the open and under the auspices of the public trust. It stokes fears of a fifth column at its convenience--the Reichstag fire syndrome--through bureaucratic means. After all, a bureaucracy is like a computer: it operates in accordance with certain set assumptions and protocol. The division of witch-hunting is entirely predicated upon the belief that there are witches to hunt. This belief includes the profile of a witch. Wherever there is a division of witch-hunting (a.k.a. "homeland security") there will be witches to hunt. It is a fait accompli.

Garbage in/garbage out.

I am not suggesting that the only individuals involved in terrorist activities are state actors; no one holds a monopoly on criminality. I am suggesting that bureaucracies are particularly adept at creating self-fulfilling prophecies. 9/11 was a criminal act. Had it been treated as such, instead of cynically and hypocritically exploited for political purposes by criminals in suits and uniformed punks, we would be living in a safer world with less government interference in all of our lives and poof! the witches would only come out on Halloween.