How could we have been so far off in our estimates of Saddam Hussein's weapons programs?

You are witnessing ... the third great totalitarian challenge to open societies in the last 100 years.

Militant Islamists pose a serious threat because they attack the most essential element of an open society: trust.

Trust is built into every aspect, every building and every interaction in our increasingly hyperconnected world.

Without trust, there's no open society because there aren't enough police to guard every opening in an open society.

How can we protect ourselves ...?

First, we can turn off the TV.

... It is hard to imagine FDR instituting a color-coded system of terrorist alerts ...

The vicious cycle at this point should be clear.

The public fixates on low-probability but vivid risks because of images we absorb from television and from politicians. This cycle fuels the public's demand for draconian and poorly designed laws and technologies to eliminate the risks that are, by their nature, difficult to reduce. We have the ability to resist this dangerous cycle by choosing leaders who will insist on laws and technologies that strike a reasonable balance between freedom and security.

Islamic militants in Saudi Arabia with links to Al Qaeda appear to be making a concerted new effort to destabilize the Saudi government by assassinating top security officials.

"The Saudis have done a good job ... but they continue to be very dangerous."

"It's what we don't know that worries us."

... "People often focus on facilities and weapons, but an equal threat is the nature of these scientists, and what their connections are, and how well they are screened and monitored."

Americans are hearing plenty about America's war of choice in Iraq but almost nothing about the war that ... might actually have done something to arrest the threat of terrorism.

The news is not good.

Visibly shaken, General Musharraf appeared on national television Thursday night and blamed "terrorists and extremists" for the attack.

"This is a targeted action; I am the target," he said. "These blasts have given new strength to my resolve to eliminate terrorists and extremists from the country, and God willing, this mission will be accomplished."

Osama bin Laden has vowed to launch a "back-breaking attack" on the United States by February.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf narrowly survived a second assassination bid in less than two weeks on Thursday when suicide car bombers attacked his motorcade, killing themselves and at least 12 others. At least 46 people were injured in the attack.

Last Sunday night, a powerful bomb here came within seconds of killing the military ruler of Pakistan, an impoverished, nuclear-armed country that sits near the epicenter of the American-led campaign against terrorism. Who would have succeeded the president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, and taken control of the country's dozens of nuclear bombs is unclear.

Analysts contend the use of C-4, along with the sophistication of the attack, suggests involvement by Al Qaeda.

"[The army is] the most powerful political force. It has really overwhelmed the state and society."