John Mueller: Is there still a terrorist threat?

In the September/October 2006 issue of Foreign Affairs, OSU professor John Mueller has an article titled "Is there still a terrorist threat?" He argues that the best explanation for the lack of terrorist attacks in the U.S. and the failure of authorities to uncover and prosecute any terrorist cells in the U.S. is that there are "almost no terrorists exist in the United States and few have the means or the inclination to strike from abroad."

I think it's a mistake to minimize the threat just as it is to exaggerate it, but I think he makes a strong case that the threat has been greatly exaggerated.

Also see Mueller's related Fall 2004 article in Regulation, "A False Sense of Insecurity? How does the risk of terrorism measure up against everyday dangers" (PDF), which I referred to in this blog post.