COVINGTON — As much as U.S. Rep. Ken Lucas hates to admit it, life in America — from the way we fly to the way we spy — was irrevocably changed after last week's terrorist attacks.

        “I don't want to succumb to the terrorists,” Mr. Lucas told about 30 people, mostly military veterans, who gathered Tuesday at the American Legion Post in Latonia.

Rep. Ken Lucas heard some tough questions about readiness and the abilities of the FBI and CIA Tuesday at American Legion Post 203 in Latonia. (Enquirer photo) | ZOOM |

        “But one of their goals was to change the way we live,” he said. “We have to try and continue living the way we did before the attacks, but I'm afraid some things are going to change.”

        Earlier in the day, Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Louisville, had a similar message during a conference call he made from Washington to Kentucky journalists.

        Even the way the country strikes back with military force will be unlike anything Americans have seen before, Mr. McConnell said.

        “We're going to confront this in the most aggressive sort of way,” he said, “but people's expectations need to be lowered.”

        America's military response “won't be like the Persian Gulf, when we had the satisfaction of watching our sophisticated weaponry knocking out targets.

        “We're going after a very elusive enemy that hides in holes,” Mr. McConnell said.

        Assuming the first strikes are in Afghanistan, where terrorist and Sept. 11 “prime suspect” Osama bin Laden is thought to be hiding, it will be difficult to inflict much aerial damage on a country that lacks basic infrastructure or military targets, Mr. McConnell said.

        “They don't have military bases. They don't have an airport of any consequence, no bridges of any significance,” he said. “This is going to be a much more difficult enemy to fight than Americans are used to.”

        Mr. McConnell and Mr. Lucas, a Boone County Democrat, said one of the most noticeable changes Americans see will be at airports.

        Added security is likely to increase the time it takes to check in and board a plane.

        “It may take an hour-and-a-half to two hours,” Mr. Lucas said. “But that's one of the prices we're going to have to pay for safety in the air.”

        World War II veteran Johnny Peluso, a former mayor of Newport, asked Mr. Lucas if armed federal marshals will begin flying on commercial airlines as a way to protect passengers.

        “I know they used to do that, and we didn't have these problems,” Mr. Peluso said.

        Covington resident Butch Keller, a Korean War veteran, complained to Mr. Lucas that Americans' intelligence networks broke down, allowing the attacks to take place.

        “Where was the FBI, where was the CIA?,” Mr. Keller said. “If they had been doing their jobs this wouldn't have happened.”

        Mr. Lucas, while not specifically agreeing with Mr. Keller, did say the government was going to make changes to allow those and other agencies to more effectively gather intelligence and spy on U.S. enemies.

        Mr. McConnell also said that Congress and the White House will move to give the FBI and CIA “the tools it needs.”

        There will be additional funding and changes in laws and regulations, possibly including lifting a ban on assassinations of foreign leaders and allowing the CIA to aggressively recruit more spies, including those who have violent and criminal pasts in their home countries. Changes would also allow more streamlined wiretapping ability to monitor suspected or known terrorists.

        “The CIA has been under-funded for years,” Mr. McConnell said. “That is going to change quickly.”

Fatal shot not likely accidental
Testimony today
Thomas' last minutes tracked in testimony
Hijack this: Passengers now ready to do battle
Local crew helped by just listening
Loved ones memorialized
Pilots union urges people to be alert on board
Public donations a concern
50,000 sought for rally
Students worry about draft
The Selective Service System
Council tries to untangle its own Genesis probe
Flag giveaway didn't include trainer's two prized banners
We're no radicals, Sikhs caution
What Sikhs believe
RADEL: Then and now
County targets flood-prone houses in Delhi Township
Health forums planned
213 local students named Merit semifinalists
Tristate A.M. Report
Cell-phone ban for drivers may be on hold
Four killed as cars exceed 100 mph
D.C. reps update Kentuckians
Once-troubled center funded