Do we feel any safer?

What is the point of the War on Terror? If our military actions overseas are supposed to be making Americans feel safer, it's not working. According to this Gallup poll, 59% of Americans reported being very or somewhat worried about the possibility of a terrorist attack immediately following the September 11th attacks on New York City and the Pentagon. The trend in this poll appears to have risen and fallen sharply during the periods of heaviest engagement and uncertainty in the Iraq occupation, bottoming out with Americans feeling significantly less worried after the capture of Saddam Hussein in early 2004. The numbers, however, have steadied for the last four years, setting in around %40 showing concern about becoming terror victims in 2006. As of early 2010, 42% still fear attacks, despite the only recent threat being the "underwear bomber" thwarted during the holiday season. Nine years into the war, Despite untold lives being lost, American civilians still feel just as unsafe at home as they did six months after 9/11. If we are really looking to make Americans feel safer, that mission has clearly not been accomplished.