Ten Years on: The Evolution of the Terrorist Threat Since 9/11

Tonight the President will announce a schedule for withdrawals of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, an engagement that started nearly 10 years ago. Ten years after the Twin Towers fell and the Pentagon was assaulted and heroes in the skies above Pennsylvania prevented the Capitol from being struck, Americans are still battling terrorists around the world, here at home, and in cyberspace, and we are still debating what we need to do to prevent further attacks.

With the approach of that 10-year mark and with the removal of Osama bin Laden, it seems to me to be appropriate to try to step back and look at the course of the last decade, analyze whether and how the threat to us and our interests have changed, and thereby try to gain some perspective on where we need to go from here.