The terrorist profile and the problem with lawfare

NY Times:

How to Stop a Future Terrorist Who Hasn’t Broken a Law?


Officials have struggled to stop people who seem to be building toward violent acts, but avoid crossing legal lines that could tip off the authorities.
When you limit yourself to lawfare in response to an enemy engaged in terrorism you put citizens at risk.  If the terrorist suspect is a noncitizen, deportation is an acceptable alternative.  If the terrorist is already a civilian, the response will require intense and costly surveillance if you are going to thwart a terrorist attack.  The FBI probably lacks the resources for that kind of intense surveillance.  The most effective way of keeping Americans safe is to destroy the enemy in his base of operations.  In the case of ISIL it means directly taking away its base of operations.

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