Attempted airplane bombing reminds attacks are inevitable

Americans need to face a sad truth that they already know: We will be hit again by terrorists. We knew that a day after 9-11 and we were reminded again when a young foreigner tried to ignite an explosive substance on a plane in Detroit.

We can devise all kinds of advanced technology. We can strip search everyone getting on an airline. We can attack remote villages with drones. We can do all that and still understand that we will be hit again. It's an unfortunate part of life for everyone living on this planet these days.

This latest incident also shows that no matter how vigilant we are, there will be a breakdown in security at some point and the terrorists will exploit it. As many have said, we can be right 1,000 times but all it takes is that one time when we aren't and then it happens.

We're lucky this failed bomber had such bad luck. In fact, the same substance he used is what the "Shoe Bomber" used years ago. PETN is a highly explosive white powder found in primer cord. It burns at 22,000 feet per second and is surprisingly powerful.

As common as the stuff is, the bad guys have been unsuccessful making it explode. In this last incident, it burned, but didn't explode. We're lucky.

So now we're reminded that people want to kill us on our home ground. And we're reminded that it's impossible to have perfect security every second of every day. Somewhere along the line there will be a failure, and something, somewhere, is going to slip through.

Yes, we will resolve to not let this happen again. We will tighten up airport security. We can blame anyone we want to blame. And we will get hit again sometime in the future. Maybe tomorrow, maybe 10 years from now, but it will happen.

In the meantime, we must keep taking the fight to these people who want to kill us. We can mix diplomacy with an iron fist to terrorism. Our allies and enemies need to understand this. It might not stop an attack, but it at least makes it clear what happens when it occurs.