Homeland Security (May 2010)

As the pieces start to fall into place indicating Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad was not an isolated extremist or a mentally deranged person but was trained and supported by the Pakistani Taliban and might have had accomplices in the United States, it is time to carefully examine how the Obama administration handled this attack and what lessons it learned from it to protect America from future terrorism. 

The attempted attack in New York City’s Times Square on May 1st illuminated a cluster of challenges confronting counterterrorism officials and policymakers.

The Times Square attempted bombing on May 1 highlighted that there is still work to be done to ensure our Federal watchlisting system effectively contributes to homeland security.

In the last year, three serious terrorist attempts—one of which was successful—have occurred in the U.S.  

The recent attempted attack in Times Square reminds us as a nation that the threat of terrorism continues to be real and our vigilance must be everlasting.

Al Qaeda, its affiliates and sympathizers want nothing more than to attack America again, and they want to do it in New York City.

Today in Washington, common sense solutions to serious policy issues are far too rare.