February 17, 2016 

OPEN LETTER TO APPLE REGARDING FBI DEMAND 
Simple cost/benefit analysis overwhelmingly favors Apple's position

Mr Cook

From the perspective of Americans, a simple
cost/benefit analysis overwhelmingly favors Apple's
position to deny the government's demand.

The fear of terrorism is vastly overblown - 
http://www.twf.org/Library/Terrorism.html

"On average far fewer Americans are killed each year by
terrorists than are killed by lightning, deer
accidents, or peanut allergies."

For comparison, according to the CDC, "foodborne
diseases cause approximately 76 million illnesses,
325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the
United States each year."

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, former
Defense Secretary McNamara, in his 1989 testimony
before the Senate Budget Committee, stated that defense
spending could safely be cut in half over five years - 
http://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/13/us/spending-can-be-
cut-in-half- former-defense-officials-say.html

The fear of Islamic terrorism was deliberately created
to "justify" defense spending - 
https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/green-peril-creating-islamic-fundamentalist-threat

Were Apple to concede to the government's demand,
Americans would not be measurably safer. The further
erosion of privacy would move us closer to a
totalitarian state.

Enver Masud, President
The Wisdom Fund
TWF.org (est 1995)