War on terror needs you

Even as the FBI hails as a major success story its breakup of an alleged plot by "radical Islamists" to kill soldiers at Fort Dix, N.J., federal authorities acknowledge the case has underscored a troubling vulnerability in the domestic war on terror.

They say the FBI, despite an unprecedented expansion during the past 5 1/2 years, cannot possibly counter the growing threat posed by homegrown extremists without the help of two often unreliable allies.

One is an American public that authorities lament is prone to averting its attention from suspicious behavior and often reluctant to get involved. The other is a small but growing army of informants, some of whom might be in it for the wrong reasons - such as money, political ax-grinding or their own legal problems.