As the fifth anniversary of September 11th approaches, the United States must reevaluate the state of its national security. With all eyes on the Middle East, what progress has been made in the global war on terror? Is America safer now than it was five years ago? Is intelligence information...

Stuart Levey and others on progress and challenges in the War on Terror.

Somali pirates have evolved from a small group of bandits into a sophisticated global organization with hijackers, investors, guards, professional negotiators and money laundering agents working in tandem. This efficiency has made it very difficult to counter the threat of piracy but targeting financers and negotiators is part of a more proactive strategy being adopted by the United States.

The Obama administration is expanding its use of drones to target terrorists while shrinking the legal ground on which the attacks are based, isolating the CIA and putting drone operators at greater risk.

The Iranians are not going to stop waging war against us--they've been doing it since 1979, they believe they are winning, and they will continue until they or we have won.

For the most part, the U.S. government is indifferent as to whether beneficiaries of American taxpayer dollars are doing business in Iran, so the United States is indirectly subsidizing Iran.

Iraq has, it appears, robbed the Bush administration of its will in the Middle East and beyond.

The Iranian president increasingly appears an outcast if not a lame duck.