On the Risk of Terrorist Attack on Public Transportation in the U.S.

Ashley Halsey III reports: "Although terrorists have attacked trains and subway systems in Europe, there is relatively little risk that they will assault similar targets in the United States, according to the nation’s transportation security chief."

That would be Peter Neffenger, administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), who lays out a case for the relative safety of public transportation systems in the United States in the article. Some of his case is built on evidence from "a vast national intelligence network," writes Halsey, but "the rest evolves from common sense or, perhaps, seeing the situation through a terrorist’s eyes." According to that reasoning, argues Neffenger, public transportation systems don't offer "maximum return" to the risk of exposure in an attack.