19 terrorist attacks stopped against US since 9/11

Criticisms of post-9/11 efforts to protect the United States from attack range from claims that America is more vulnerable than ever to the contention that the transnational terrorist danger is vastly over-hyped.[1] A review of publicly available information on at least 19 terrorist conspiracies thwarted by U.S. law enforce­ment suggests that the truth lies somewhere in between these two arguments.

U.S. agencies are actively combating individuals and groups that are intent on killing Americans and plot­ting mayhem to foster violent extremist political and religious agendas. A review of the data suggests several important conclusions:

- Combating terrorism is essential for keeping Amer­ica safe, free, and prosperous.

- Counterterrorism operations have uncovered threats that in some cases, although less sophisticated than the 9/11 attacks and at most loosely affiliated with "al-Qaeda" central, could have resulted in signifi­cant loss of life and property if they had been con­ducted successfully.

- The best means to prevent terrorist attacks is effective intelligence collection, information sharing, and coordinated, determined counterterrorism opera­tions that can stop attacks before they are mounted.

Effective operations often require federal, state, local, and international cooperation.
Few of the planned attacks were potentially as dev­astating in scope as the September 11, 2001, attacks on Washington and New York. In addition, the suc­cessful interdiction of these efforts offers no guaran­tee that future attacks will also be prevented.

Nevertheless, the government's success in pro­tecting the homeland argues that vigilant and proac­tive counterterrorism operations are an essential part of keeping America safe in the 21st century. Future efforts to mitigate the threat of transnational terrorism should follow the example set by post-9/11 operations by respecting both the rule of law and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and the necessity of conducting concerted efforts to seek out and frustrate terrorist conspiracies before they come to fruition.

Thwarted Attacks

Richard Reid, December 2001

A British citizen and self-professed follower of Osama bin Laden, Reid allegedly hid explosives inside his shoes aboard a flight from Paris to Miami and attempted to use a match to light the fuse in his shoe. The explosives were strong enough to cause damage to the plane if detonated. Caught in the act, Reid was apprehended on board the plane by the flight attendants with the assistance of passengers. FBI officials then took Reid into custody after the plane made an emergency landing at Boston's Logan Airport.[2]

Reid was found guilty of charges of terrorism in 2003, and a U.S. federal court sentenced him to life imprisonment.[3]

Jose Padilla, May 2002

U.S. officials arrested Padilla in May 2002 at O'Hare Airport in Chicago as he returned to the United States from Pakistan, initially charging him with being an enemy combatant and planning to use a "dirty bomb" (an explosive laced with radioac­tive material) in an attack against America.[4] Prior to his conviction, Padilla brought a case against the federal government stating that he had been denied the right of habeas corpus (the right of an individual to petition against his or her imprisonment). The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5–4 decision, found that the case had been filed improperly.[5] In 2005, the government officially indicted Padilla for conspiring with Islamic terrorist groups.[6]

In August 2007, Padilla was found guilty by a civilian jury after a three-month trial and a day and a half of deliberations.

Lackawanna Six, September 2002

When the FBI arrested Sahim Alwan, Yahya Goba,