Condition Orange

With the Terror Alert system raised to "Orange," it seems a good time to reflect on what another 9/11 level attack would mean.

Given the level of destruction incurred over two years ago, one could argue that the United States has been relatively restrained in its response. Certainly, we have ventured farther afield militarily than we did during the Clinton administration, but as Senator Hillary said, September 11 gave us a will and resolve that was absent during her husband's years (although I believe a similar will and resolve could have been harnessed after the first WTC bombing in 1993, had the president shown some courage and not treated it as a law enforcement problem).

So far, we have deposed tyranical regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq. Colonel Khaddafi in Libya, having witnessed our resolve to rid the world of terror, has come crawling to the table lest he suffer a similar fate. Still, I believe the world has only seen the tip of the spear. Should another attack of the scale and "effectiveness" of 9/11 occur on these shores, I would expect to see shock and awe of a scale not yet contemplated. The sleeping giant has been nudged, but is not yet fully awake.