I posted this in The Politico's "Arena" section, in response to the question, "Recognizing that we don't who perpetrated the terrorism in Mumbai, what are its possible implications for the U.S. and for counter-terrorism generally? Are we vigilant? Are we prepared?"
"The Bush Administration deserves its share of credit for keeping us safe here at home these past seven years, since 9-11. Although, of course, other agencies—most notably the NYPD—seem to have done more with less.
"In the meantime, the Mumbai tragedy reminds us that terrorist enemies are always rethinking their tactics, probing for weakness—and striking wherever they find weakness. So vigilance is always needed; the new Obama administration would be wise to tread carefully as they consider undoing, or in any way undermining, the domestic-security apparatus it has inherited.
"Instead, the incoming Obama people might further study the question as to whether or not the Bush administration’s 'forward strategy of freedom' has been effective. The key issue of homeland security is securing the homeland, not transforming the rest of the world.
"For their part, the Indians have probable cause, at least, to be plenty mad at Pakistan, and they might well take military action against their neighbor. But I doubt that Indian policy makers see any upside to trying to 'regime change' Pakistan with an eye toward occupying and democratizing that country. Which is to say, the Indians will not replicate recent American policy, which conflated vital homeland security measures with volitional foreign policy experiments.
"Now the Obamans have a chance to refocus on American security, more than, say, Iraqi security. But that won’t be easy. Plenty more needs to be done here at home, from securing our border to upgrading port security to improving our disaster preparedness. Because we all know that more terror is coming."
