The right way to twart terrorism

The British intelligence agencies involved in breaking up a planned terrorist plot to blow up transatlantic flights to the US should be congratulated for their efforts against terrorism.
Perhaps the United States should take a lesson from the British efforts. The fundamental lesson here is simple - the greatest weapon in twarting terrorism is intelligence. There is no substitute for good intelligence. No number of stealth bombers, flanks of soldiers, tanks, fighter aircraft could have twarted this terrorist plot. Only men and women who diligently found clues and sifted through data in an honest, rigorous fashion - these were the key "soldiers" in combating a potential terrorist attack.
America seems to have learned this lesson the hard way. George Tenent's "slam dunk" with respect to weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, as well as Bush and Cheney's bloodthirst for waging war against the wrong enemy, have mired the United States in a lost cause and aided Al Qaeda more than if we had directly given them money and weapons.
It is unfortunate that America does not put emphasis on intelligence in its leaders, voting for those with "personality" and chummy demeanor over those who can think through problems with a chess grandmaster's critical skills. Regardless of the intelligence of our leaders, we need bright, thoughtful people in charge and in the rank and file of homeland security and anti-terrorist efforts to continue to ensure the safety of America.