[ I wonder if these attacks are over, and what kind of legislation we're likely to see in response... --Declan]

Perspective: "How ironic, that this is all happening under the shadow of the Statue of Liberty. Some of us may not have been born to see Pearl Harbor in 1941, but I can assure you that none of us will ever forget the attack of the WTC in New York City, September 11, 2001, a date that may become of more historical significance than we can currently imagine. Semper Fi," ...a New Jersey volunteer bringing "a pick, shovel...and a hard stomach." ------ Perhaps borders and transportation will widely field biometric and biochemical surveillance countermeasures. The surreptitious collection of suspected terrorist biometrics for border security, along with surreptitious polygraphing might have provided additional security, especially in coordination with intelligence agents in the field. (If part of an organized terrorist attack, our intelligence agencies *should have* their mugs.) That could have been an aerosol cloud full of blister, blood, choking agents.... Still, while we are all flying the flag, I just hope we don't forget what it stands for in the policy aftermath. To say we had forewarning is an understatement, and name-calling, retaliation, and yadda-yadda does nothing to address our intelligence and security failures. GAO reports critical of airport security: http://www.federaltimes.com/issues/crackdown.html http://www.janes.com/transport/news/jar/jar000616_1_n.shtml (It seems like there was something very recent, but I can't find it. I can't pull up GAO.gov.) I hope this will be seen as a mandate to engage in the aggressive acquisition of foreign intelligence sources, and a coordinated counterintelligence strategy. Human Intelligence might make a much-needed comeback. All we needed here was one placed HUMAN asset. One guy. ~Aimee