by Nathan Hook

Created on: January 11, 2010   Last Updated: January 12, 2010

The events and enduring images from the catastrophic events of 9/11 will forever be etched into the history of this great nation. Yet, despite the horror and the intended harm al Qaeda hoped to inflict on the United States, it did not fall. Rather the attack merely helped unify the national psyche against terrorism and brought swift changes to numerous laws and policies both in the U.S and around the world. For the U.S to fall in a terrorist attack the event would have to exceed significantly, the horrific events of 9/11.

Most people will generally agree that an event capable of bringing down a country the size of the U.S is likely to involve some sort of nuclear, biological or chemical attack on a grand scale.

However, such an event seems increasingly unlikely given the current methods terrorists are employing and the difficulty of obtaining sufficient material of that nature to conduct such an attack.

While some people may be expecting a catastrophic event in the homeland, the general modus operandi of terrorist attacks here has been homegrown and on a much smaller scale.

Motivated by individuals who may or may not have direct connection with al Qaeda and its affiliates, these largely isolated events illustrate the difficulty of organizing a large scale attack on U.S home soil. They are nonetheless, disturbing and more common than many people may be aware.

One of this country’s foremost experts on terrorism and in particular al Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden, is Peter Bergen. Bergen gave testimony to Congress last year regarding the threat to homeland security which makes for interesting reading.

He highlights several individuals and groups who have planned, or attempted to carry out, attacks on targets here and, curiously, overseas. They include: 

*Afghan-American Najibullah Zazi, who planned a possible attack on the New York financial district using materials bought from a beauty salon and who had received training in Afghanistan.

*David Headley, an American of Pakistani decent who had intended to kill the editor of Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, which had published offensive cartoons depicting the Muslim Prophet Mohammad.

Headley was arrested in Chicago in 2009 and according to Bergen, is believed by Indian authorities to have gathered reconnaissance information which helped in the insidious Mumbai attacks.

*Muslim convert, David Boyd, who, along with 6 others, planned to attack a Virginia Marine base in June of 2009.

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