The most dangerous words in anti-terrorism these days are not those issuing from terrorist organizations, but from the mouths of our own population: "It could never happen here!"

These words announce both a mindset of apathy and ignorance of our enemies, inviting our adversaries to attack a target that declares itself to be physically and psychologically vulnerable. We sat complacently behind two oceans and two friendly borders, ignored the fact that the world is an inherently perilous place and had our collective faces rubbed in it on 9-11.

The recent revelations of the very real potential plot against shopping malls in the Columbus area should come as a blaring wake-up call for us, even here in quiet, provincial Cincinnati.

The al-Qaida terrorists have hit us where we do business, where we do government and where we reach out to the world. It is only logical to assume that they will next hit us where we live - our shopping malls, ballparks and recreation parks.

But we have some potent weapons at our disposal: knowledge, understanding, courage and patience.

Our knowledge must extend beyond the cursory "6 o'clock news sound bite" information most of us get by on. We have to know the who and why of these people in order to move to the second tool - understanding. When we comprehend their motives and methods, we are better able to prepare for their next attack - and there will be a next attack - and circumvent future attacks. To do this we need courage, a willingness to stand up against these bullies, by force if necessary.

This struggle will not be won this year or perhaps even in our lifetimes. Terrorism has always been with us in some form or another, and there is no prospect of it fading. The terrorist can attack anything, anywhere, using any weapon or means. The good guys can't protect everything, all the time. It's not a level playing field. It never has been. And the terrorist knows this.

So we need, as our final weapon, patience. The terrorist is in this for the long haul. Many of their causes - real or perceived - are decades or centuries old. We must be willing to stay with this until we have defeated, at the very least, this particular band of fanatic killers.

If we don't learn about the terrorists, we will certainly learn from the terrorists, and we'll learn the hard way.

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Ed Bridgeman, a former University of Cincinnati police chief, is an associate professor of criminal justice at UC and an anti-terrorism consultant.

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