The Vice President and External Affairs Director of the RAND Corporation Washington Office put the attacks of September 11 into perspective and demonstrates how these events not only changed traditional thinking about the issue of terrorism, but also challenged the methods of preparing for and countering this type of attack. The U.S. Government had underestimated the capabilities of terrorists and terrorist organizations and believed that too much attention had been focused either on low-end of threats, like car bombings, or the high-end, such as biological or chemical weapons. Therefore, there was a gap in anti-terrorism defenses where long-proven tactics, such as airline hijackings, were largely ignored in favor of more exotic threats. The United States must be able to respond to a broad range on potential attacks. The United States and countries abroad must set realistic goals and utilize all diplomatic, military, and economic tools in a coordinated, sustained and proportional fight against the never-ending terrorist threat.