The war on terrorism takes many forms. Yet, the least visible may be the most effective. It isn’t intelligence, although that plays a large role in the one thing that matters most: money.
With the failure of Al Queda to mount any catastrophe during the recent holidays, the forces of “good” must be congratulated. If, in fact, several operations were cancelled due to the vigilence of security forces, these very operations served to drain terrorist organizations of their resources, whether successful or not.
Every time an operation is planned, resources are consumed. Every time a terrorist moves from place to place, money is spent. Every delay causes terrorists to expend more money to keep operatives trained and ready. Every cancellation of an operation is money wasted. A continual drain of money, coupled with decreased funding, puts terror groups into a position of having to limit their plans to what the can afford.
It has the added psychological benefit of causing morale to decay. It increases paranoia as members of these groups begin to look at one another wondering who the mole is.
It doesn’t make for exciting television, but it becomes more and more effective as time goes on. We, then, control the clock.