More than five years since the cataclysmic events of September 11, 2001, two dynamics have affected patterns of terrorism and counter-terrorism. The first was identified from the outset and relates to the growing emphasis upon anticipatory risk. The second is the increasing threat of "neighbor" terrorism.

The anticipatory risk of mass terrorism casualties or even the nightmare of the use of weapons of mass destruction conduces towards interventions which are preemptive or preventative. The threat of terrorism to life and liberty cannot be addressed simply by ex post facto rectification for the sake of justice. An inevitable consequence of this risk dynamic will be an intelligence-led approach, that is, governmental net-casting for information and for potential assailants on a wide and prescient scale. An intelligence-led approach might be said to reflect "a new and urgent emphasis upon the need for security, the containment of danger, the identification and management of any kind of risk." The broad sweep of such an approach recognizes the pervasive nature of terrorism whilst at the same time seeking to refine intelligence data so as to narrow the range of risks that security agencies should address at any one time. This allows the government to target its resources. The careful buildup and analysis of data also signals the government's assessment of the sophisticated, secretive, and dedicated nature of terrorist groups, features that distinguish them from "ordinary decent criminals."...