Taking Terrorism Seriously, Again

Taking Terrorism Seriously, Again

Bored with the war on terrorism?

For months, I have been concerned about a sense of complacency setting in. Nearly five years have passed since 9/11 with no new attacks on U.S. soil.

This has caused some to suggest that our intelligence-gathering programs should be shrunk and our effort to take the fight directly to the terrorists abandoned.

It's as if the war on terror is a television show that, while once popular, has seen its ratings decline and faces cancellation. Isn't there anything more entertaining on?

The shocking plot to blow up passenger airplanes headed from London to the U.S. ought to refocus our attention, as should the arrests being made here in our country of individuals who may have been in the early stages of planning terrorist strikes.

The fact is that guarding against mass murder by fanatic adherents of radical Islam is a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week job that requires all of the human and technological capabilities that the U.S. and allies in the war on terror, like Great Britain, can muster.

A tip from the Muslim community helped spark the investigation that foiled a slaughter in the skies that would have taken thousands of innocent lives. Those sorts of leads are golden, but penetrating al Qaeda and related terrorist groups with informants and covert agents remains daunting. Our human intelligence capabilities are improving, but there are language and cultural barriers that will take time to fully overcome.

The U.S. compensates with its superiority in technological surveillance. But that edge has been squandered in recent months, as terrorists have learned about the inner workings of our most supersecret programs through leaks breathlessly amplified by our own news media.

When I was an FBI agent, I wouldn't have made many arrests if a mob suspect was warned beforehand that his phones were being tapped and that a big undercover investigation was underway.

I have no doubt that the surveillance programs put in place to protect us after 9/11 are less effective today because of these reckless revelations. As co-author of anti-terrorist financing provisions in the PATRIOT Act, I was incensed when the cover of an important international initiative to track terrorist blood money was blown by the New York Times.

My concern is that the building blocks of a coordinated campaign to fight terrorism, from legal intelligence programs to our mission in Iraq, are being removed one by one.

The arrests in Great Britain should remind us once again of what is at stake and why such preventative measures are vital. A vague lead set in motion a long investigation that averted a catastrophe. There are many terrorists who would perpetrate a similar horror within U.S. borders if they could.

In the wake of 9/11, many--myself included--warned that winning the war against global terrorism would require patience and perseverance. Only now is the world beginning to recognize how entrenched and adaptable this enemy is. We have every reason to be optimistic about the final outcome, because there is no stronger force than freedom.

But we must recognize that unlike a television drama or a video game, this war is real. The terrorists take it very seriously, and we must as well.

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