Washington – President Bush said Tuesday that the foiled plot in Britain to blow up jetliners over the Atlantic is evidence the U.S. could be fighting terrorists for years to come.
“America is safer than it has been, yet it is not yet safe,” Bush told reporters at the National Counterterrorism Center just outside Washington. “The enemy has got an advantage when it comes to attacking our homeland: They got to be right one time and we got to be right 100 percent of the time to protect the American people.”
The counterterrorism center is at an undisclosed site in northern Virginia known as Liberty Crossing. It merges hundreds of government experts and more than two dozen computer networks from various federal agencies focusing on potential threats. Its high- tech, 24-hour operations center is among the most sophisticated in the U.S. government.
The nation’s safety looms as a major issue in the midterm elections Nov. 7. Democrats have been accusing the Bush administration of trying to ignite fear among Americans and gain political points by claiming they alone can keep them safe. Republicans say Democrats are weak on national security.
Bush credited U.S. counterterrorism workers with helping bring about last week’s arrests of more than two dozen people in England and Pakistan in a plot to blow up as many as 10 passenger planes.
