Is real, it is serious, it is growing, and it constitutes one of the greatest threats to our national security and, indeed, to global security.

Jihad is holy struggle, a legitimate tenet of Islam meaning to purify oneself or one's community.

How you define a problem shapes how you address it.

We know from the material that was recovered from the bin Laden compound that bin Laden was looking at the 10th anniversary of 9/11 as an opportunity to strike yet again at the U.S. homeland.

The preservation of our national security and the laws that define us as the United States of America demand that we understand the intersection of the two - indeed, how they reinforce one another.

The risk of just one terrorist with just one nuclear weapon is a risk we simply cannot afford to take.

Al-Qa'ida does not follow a traditional command structure, wear uniforms, carry its arms openly, or mass its troops at the borders of the nations it attacks. Nonetheless, it possesses the demonstrated capability to strike with little notice and cause significant civilian or military casualties.