The Greatest Threat to Our Nation

Collin Powell thinks terrorists are not the greatest threat to our nation:

"What is the greatest threat facing us now? People will say it's terrorism. But are there any terrorists in the world who can change the American way of life or our political system? No. Can they knock down a building? Yes. Can they kill somebody? Yes. But can they change us? No. Only we can change ourselves. So what is the great threat we are facing?"

Pete Boettke seems to agree:

I would argue that there are no threats to the future of liberty outside of the responses to events by government. If government chooses to respond to an event by moving away from liberty in order to wrest more power in the name of the emergency, then the threat becomes real. There are exogenous shocks to the system (e.g., 9/11) that require some response --- but it is the response, not the shock that has the potential to cause real damage to a society of free and responsible people.

Ultimately, I think they are both right. Terrorism poses its greatest threat not by the things it can directly do to the US (short of a successful nuclear attack or some form of WMD), but in the way we choose to respond to it.

P.S. -- To underscore Boettke's conceren about government response and effectiveness, here are five of the most depressing findings about 9/11.