Terrorism

last updated 8 January 2015

The next time, said Stephen Hedges and Andrew Zajac in the Chicago Tribune, it might be us. It's been nearly four years since terrorists staged their monstrously successful attack on the U.S.; since then, increased security and other counterterrorism measures have made an attack of that scale unlikely. But as last week's London subway and bus bombings have shown, al Qaida has mutated into a deadly new form. Decentralized and more modest in its goals, Islamic terrorism is now targeting 'œsoft targets,' such as subways, shopping malls, and restaurants, using car bombs and suicide bombers to wreak havoc. Since 9/11, 'œthe overall rate of al Qaida–related terrorist incidents worldwide has actually increased,' with attacks occurring at an average of every three months. Bali, Casablanca, Madrid, Riyadh, and now London have all been targeted. Could we be next?

If we do get hit again, said Mike Kelly in the Bergen County, N.J., Record, you can blame the Bush administration. Almost four years after Sept. 11, the White House is fighting terrorism 'œthe same way little kids play soccer'—chasing the ball from one side of the field to the other, with no coordination or game plan. When Homeland Security gets a tip about chemical plants, it focuses on that—for a week or two. Then it's on to bridges, and to tunnels, and to trains, with no lasting security improvements. Our ports are particularly vulnerable: We've spent only $600 million of the estimated $5.4 billion it will take to keep terrorists from smuggling bombs or nuclear material into the U.S. on a ship. It's a simple case of planning for yesterday's attack, said Fred Kaplan in Slate.com. Since 9/11, the U.S. has poured $5 billion into airport security, but a 'œpaltry' $250 million into protecting our public transportation systems. Yet as the London attacks have demonstrated, 'œmass transit is far more vulnerable to terrorist attacks than airplanes were.' We're just lucky it was London this time, and not us.

Instead of blaming the Bush administration, said Peter Brown in the Orlando Sentinel, we should be grateful. Al Qaida hasn't pulled off an attack on these shores for nearly four years now, and it's not because 'œOsama & Co. hate us any less than they once did.' Despite the griping of civil libertarians, it just may be that 'œthe U.S. government's response to 9/11 has been working.' The much-criticized Patriot Act and the arrest and interrogation of scores of al Qaida operatives here and abroad have yielded valuable intelligence and disrupted numerous terrorist plots. And a tightening of immigration policies may have made the U.S. too difficult to penetrate, forcing the terrorists to do their dirty work elsewhere.