Threat of terrorism in U.S. is growing

In the days after the Sept. 11 attacks, the United States identified the al-Qaida terrorist organization as the top rung of a tall ladder of groups and individuals whose aim is to inflict pain and suffering on Americans.

With broad support, both at home and around the globe, U.S. forces began attacking Afghanistan, the recognized base of operations for al-Qaida leaders. From the outset, the Bush administration has insisted that the network of terrorism goes far beyond the confines of Afghanistan.

Acts of terrorism attributed to al-Qaida are on the rise again, demonstrating that the destruction of training camps and the deaths of some key leaders -- possibly Osama bin Laden too -- has been only a temporary setback for terrorist organizations around the world.

It appears that al-Qaida operatives and terrorists sympathetic to their cause are, indeed, just about everywhere -- even throughout the United States.

Six men indicted this week in Buffalo, N.Y., for allegedly supporting terrorism is only one indication that terrorist cells exist in this country. U.S. officials have said there could be hundreds of such groups around the nation.

In testimony during Senate hearings last week, CIA director George Tenet said there is good reason to believe al-Qaida is likely to target Americans again, possibly at multiple locations in this country.

For weeks, congressional hearings have tried to determine what information U.S. intelligence agencies had before the Sept. 11 attacks and how that information was used. Tenet told the Senate hearing that the situation today is comparable to the situation in the summer of 2001.

Knowing that the potential for attacks is high, however, doesn't ensure that new attacks can be thwarted. Terrorists, as we have so painfully learned, don't follow any rules or stick to any pattern. Their biggest weapon is doing the unexpected.

So while congressional investigators continue to probe what went wrong prior to the attacks, U.S. agencies are doing everything they can to prevent more terrorism on U.S. soil.

According to the Justice Department, those efforts have been successful to a large degree. Countless acts of potential terrorism have been exposed and the perpetrators arrested. No one will ever know for sure how many lives have been saved because of this vigilance and swift action.

The fact remains that we are a nation of liberty. As such, we are exposed to madmen and their schemes to do harm to Americans in any way possible.

No amount of security or limitations on our freedoms can ever guarantee there won't be any more terrorism in the United States. But any effort to shine a bright light into the dark holes where those who plot mayhem hide is welcome. The government has had some recent successes. It will need many more.