The war on terror has forced us this Memorial Day weekend to be as much on guard against future attacks as on duty to remember those who protected the homeland in the past.

Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller on Wednesday warned that al-Qaida terrorist plans are "90 percent complete" to attempt a devastating attack on U.S. soil this summer or fall. They also appealed for our help in finding seven "armed and dangerous" suspects who could be in the United States and plotting an attack.

U.S. and British authorities also finally indicted and jailed radical Islamic cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri. His London mosque has long been a hub of terrorist planning.

This week's events remind us that since the Sept. 11 attacks, we have moved well beyond any illusion that it couldn't happen here, and that it's now up to all of us to protect the homeland.

We need to study the wanted posters, report suspicious activity, think like a terrorist and exercise caution - not hysteria.

Although Ashcroft and Mueller had no doubt from intelligence intercepts and captured terrorists that high-profile events such as the G-8 summit in Sea Island, Ga., June 8-10 and the national political conventions could be targets, U.S. officials could give no specifics.

But photos and bios of the seven terror suspects, including one American, give plenty of specifics. It's clear the FBI has been hunting them for months and needs help from informants.

The seven are not known to be working together. Most have lived in the United States or Canada and could pass for nationals other than Arab. They are further evidence al-Qaida is adjusting its tactics to evade tougher U.S. security.

Egyptian-born Islamic hatemonger al-Masri is linked to several deadly al-Qaida operations. But his extradition from Britain is no sure thing, and even if successful, will take months. U.S. officials have agreed to comply with British extradition law and will not seek the death penalty.

Those of us outside high-risk New York, Boston, Washington and Los Angeles also should learn from the Madrid train bombings that al-Qaida cells may switch to "softer targets." Those terror targets could be almost anywhere.