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There should be no doubt that we have been lucky since 9/11. However, we may both be safer and less safe due to governmental action and inaction since then. Within the narrow confines of safety at airports and on airplanes, per the modus operandi of the 9/11 terrorists, we are safer. However, due to the aggressive neo-con use of harsh interrogations tantamount to torture, weakening of civil liberties and freedoms and war mongering in Iraq and Afghanistan, we have become ever more hated by Islamic terrorists. It should be clear that we have not defeated the terrorists, only shifted their activity to easier locations. Al-Qaeda plans its major actions years in advance and have increased their capabilities in many countries. It is much more dangerous for Americans in many overseas locations than it was before 9/11.

It is true that besides the Anthrax terrorism, there have been no broad-based or large scale terrorist actions within the US, since 9-11. Also, counterintelligence and focused monitoring have been effective within the U.S., though the cost has been enormous. We Americans pay through taxes for troops of gum shoe types and also by sacrificing our civil liberties. There was no need to sacrifice freedom and democracy for minimally improved security in America. We are still extremely vulnerable to attacks on our nuclear power plants and military sites, our key bridges, tunnels and other infrastructure and high density buildings and installations. Well-planned truck or car bombs could still be disastrous.

The truth is that the big leap in security on airplanes was made between the three hijacked jets into WTC North and South and the Pentagon and the plane that went down in Pennsylvania. The reason is that we learned that we must react if on a hijacked plane or otherwise understand the danger potential of such a situation. We were sitting ducks until 9-11 and we learned that before the it was all over. The power of the people for self-protection is greater than any government programs, services or administrations.

Since 9/11, greater cooperation across dozens of intelligence services and other branches of the government has been pushed by forming the Department of Homeland Security. A purposeful approach to safety verification and vigilance is self-evident. However, the strict air transportation related checks have not been extended to other areas of high risk. Immobile barriers are not evident at all high density facilities. Ironically, 5 years after 9/11, a small airplane was flown into another New York City high-rise, so even the aircraft safety procedures are suspect.

We have been lucky to avoid more infrastructural attacks in the U.S. Considering the size of the US and the sheer volume of foreigners, it is amazing that there have not been more wacko terrorist attacks like those on the Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the Colombine High School and at Virginia Tech. Indeed, America has witnessed homegrown private terrorism as well as terrorism by our government, such as at Wacco, Texas and elsewhere.

Loss of absolute freedoms guaranteed by the US Constitution is still something America is uneasy about. Extraordinary renditions, treatment of suspected enemy combatants by use of torture in "harsh interrogations" and legalized murder by new "rules of engagement" are all legally suspect. Loss of sacred rights and freedoms including Habeas Corpus, right to legal counsel, right to privacy, right to freedom of movement, freedom from unfair discrimination, etc. are all very concerning. Yes, we appreciate safety, but we also require respect for the supreme law of the land, the U.S. Constitution. When we lose that, what is the rest worth?

Learn more about this author, Robert C. Sage.
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