Foreign Policy and the Center for American Progress have combined to produce a Terrorism Index similar to the Failed States Index produced by the magazine and the Carnegie Peace people. The Terrorism Index is based on a survey on 100+ 'experts'. I'm normally quite leery of surveys based on experts, but at least this index does weight the answers of liberals and conservatives in an attempt to improve accuracy. Since the index confirms my opinions, it's probably correct. (You buy that and I have a bridge to sell you.)
The survey did find a surprising degree of consensus among the experts. Basically, they say things are not going well. In fact, they stink when it comes to the so-called War on Terror; less than 20% of the experts feel that we are winning this war. Things also not much better when considering whether the world is a safer place since 9/11; eighty-six percent say it's more dangerous. Our diplomacy sucks; we need to win hearts and minds, rather than rely on military means to win the war. And our primary bulwark against terrorists, the Department of Homeland Security, is seen more as an impediment to protection; on a score of 0 to 10 in terms of effectiveness, the department achieved a score of 2.9.
What should we do? The experts say: spend more money on the Department of State, wean ourselves from dependence on foreign oil and develop better intelligence capabilities.
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