We all watched in horror as Mumbai, India was ravaged by a small band or well armed and well trained Muslim extremist.  We saw, not blind desperation fueled by American injustice as Deepak Chopra would have you believe, but cold calculated murder.  Western targets were singled out in premeditated acts of savagery.  Jew's in particular, tortured and then murdered, were singled out for this heinous act of violence. It was a man made catastrophe beyond description.

The tactics used to create such havoc and blood shed were as elegant and simple as they were terrifying and evil.  A small band of armed men opened fire in public places.  A small innocuous group willing to trade their lives for as many innocents as they could cull was able to shut down one of the world's leading cities for nearly 60 hours, claim the international spotlight for their cause and take the lives of nearly 200 people (wounding hundreds more).

The above scenario, while tragic, is only the tip of the iceberg if we are too believe the reports coming out of our Intelligence community.  The Associate Press has got their hands on one of the briefings that was given to Vice President-elect Joe Biden today.

The report claims that a nuclear or biological attack on US soil is "likely" by 2013.  Anthrax remains the most likely biological weapon, however flu strains such as the one that killed nearly 40,000,000 people at the turn of the 20th century are also possibilities. There are still enough rouge states and "non-government actors" with access to nuclear weapons or materials to create a credible threat to the United States.  A mass casualty event is still the primary goal of the Terrorists.

The report says the potential nexus of terrorism, nuclear and biological weapons is especially acute in Pakistan.

"Were one to map terrorism and weapons of mass destruction today, all roads would intersect in Pakistan," the report states.

In fact, commission members were forced to cancel their trip to Pakistan this fall. The Islamabad Marriott Hotel that commission members were to stay in was blown up by terrorist bombs just hours before they were to check in.

"We think time is not our ally. The (United States) needs to move with a sense of urgency,"

So as the incoming administration is getting its briefings we are seeing a move toward not the promised policies of "tolerance" and "diversity" but toward "staying the course" in the War on Terror.   There is a very thin line standing between a Mumbai style massacre in an American shopping mall or a man made epidemic being released on New York City.  Maintaining our vigilance and our will to fight the War on Terror is going to be key.  If we let our guard down or grow too complacent the front will switch from foreign soil to our own backyard.

I do not write this to create a sense of fear or foreboding, but to bring awareness to the fact that we are no longer isolated (or insulated) from the effects of Terrorism and we have a responsibility to be both aware of what is going on and supportive of our men and women in uniform who are making every effort to contain and defeat this kind of radical Islamic terrorism that is threatening our shores.