TERROR ACCOMPLICES ARE KNOWN - AT 7:56 P.M. ET:  In what is being widely described as the most serious domestic terror case since 9-11, authorities now say there are accomplices still at large, but that their identities are known.  We dodged a bullet this time.  From Fox News:

NEW YORK — After interrupting what they believed was a terrorist plot on New York City with a series of raids and arrests, authorities have intensified their focus on possible accomplices of the suspected Al Qaeda associate at the heart of the case, a law enforcement official said Monday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation continues, confirmed that investigators know the identities of at least three people believed to be in on a bombing plot they say might have targeted mass transit in the New York area.

Authorities released a flurry of terrorism warnings for sports complexes, hotels and transit systems even while saying the plot was disrupted before it become an immediate threat. But many questions remain unanswered, including the whereabouts of co-conspirators and whether any may be cooperating with the probe.

COMMENT:  Are we at greater risk from terrorists, now that Obama is in the White House?  I personally think we are, but I stress that this is only an opinion:  One thing we learned about the 9-11 attacks is that Al Qaeda was stunned by the size and scope of our military reaction.  They had gotten used to the Clinton style - grim looks, noble statements, ineffective tactics. 

Bush and Cheney changed that style, much to the horror of the velvet-parlor crowd.  Now, though, Obama is sending signals that we're going back to the 90s, or even worse.  I believe that this can embolden terror groups once more, giving them the sense that even a major attack may not bring sizable consequences, that America is going soft again. 

No one can prove this conclusion, but we've had three terror plots unmasked in the last two weeks alone.  Many Americans don't realize it, but in one, the bomb was already placed and set.  Fortunately, law enforcement had infiltrated the plot and supplied fake explosives. 

We've been good, and we've been lucky.  But there's a law of averages here, and those statistics turn against us if terror groups grow more aggressive.

September 28, 2009