More Terrorism Negligence

Round and round it goes, where it stops, no one knows. Today's Washington Post reports the following:

The federal research agency in charge of countering emerging terrorist threats such as liquid explosives is so hobbled by poor leadership, weak financial management and inadequate technology that Congress is on the verge of cutting its budget in half.

The Homeland Security Department's Science and Technology Directorate or something very much like it is not a sufficient but surely is a necessary body for countering terrorism. And yet here is another case of internal bungling, lack of direction, lack of commitment, and institutional inertia keeping us from doing the best job we can of keeping people safe.