Bad news. You are correct in that this is new. Terrorism is cheap, takes few people, and they don't have lands to conquer. As the US learned, I hope, with Afghanistan, conquering the land didn't stop the threat.

The good news is that they do not do any strategic damage. Please do not misunderstand me. The WTC was tragic, cruel and criminal. 3,000 people died and their families suffered beyond reason. And are continuing to suffer. Senselessly.

And, WTC, as big a loss as it is, did not affect the American ability to defend itself from annihilation, invasion, or destruction. The loss of a carrier group would have had more of an effect. It did not affect directly the "American way of life".

The damage terrorists do is to pride, not to the fabric of the society or economy. The damage is usually absorbed the way a very serious bus wreck is. WTC was much bigger, I'm aware, and it was still absorbed on the national scale.

And on the bad news side, WTC did have the affect of changing the American way of life in ways WWII did. Increased inconvenience, increased security, decreased freedoms, massive spending.

However, the country was at some peril then. Now, as a society, as a culture, it's not.

If Churchill said "All we have to fear is fear itself" regarding the Brits at the beginning of WWII, and if that's true, then the terrorists have scored a very, very significant victory.

The US is scared. Won't admit it, but to shut down airports, stop flights, cause passengers to miss connections because a metal detector was inadvertently turned off is an indication of a frightened society.

To infringe upon the personal freedoms of it's civilians, to initiate state surveillance upon a citizenry unsuspected of criminal activity is an indication of fear.

Talking with a friend last night. Because of a broken machine at the Miami airport a flight from Florida from home took him 27 hours instead of 7. Missed the flight in Florida, wound up with 5 segments with the attendant security checks at each airport. He has incipient MS, had to stay awake and move around in this journey, won't go back.

So, while this war is cheap, for them, it's also non-threatening on any large scale. Wouldn't like 'em to get nukes, though.

Arf