Keeping America out of harm's way: from a national health-surveillance network to better whistle-blower protection, security experts provide their com

U.S. leaders and our allies have made great strides in fighting terrorism and increasing homeland security. During the last seven months they have ousted the Taliban, frozen substantial assets used to fund Osama bin Laden and his associates, rounded up hundreds of likely terrorist "sleepers" and enacted a host of measures to try to stop the next attack before it happens.

This all comes at a price: The war on terrorism not only has cost billions of dollars, but precious lives as well. And every step along the way has required expenditure of political capital and high-level maneuvering of the sort that accompanies every initiative originating inside the Washington Beltway. The controversial USA PATRIOT Act, an attempt to balance security with concerns about civil liberties, and continued bickering about screening at the nation's airports show that the war on terrorism has been as divisive as many another war. Even when the United States is united, as polls indicate it is now, concerns about politics and money tend to slow the drive for reform.

Meanwhile, say Capitol Hill insiders, many of the nation's most vital structures remain vulnerable to attack, and measures to reform key institutions such as the Immigration and Naturalization Service still are being battered in bureaucratic turf wars. Does this mean the quest for a secure America has stalled? Not necessarily.