"Let me just be very clear about this . . . Had we had the information that was necessary to stop an attack, I’d have stopped the attack. … If we’d have known that the enemy was going to fly airplanes into our buildings, we would have done everything in our power to stop it."

– Bush, quoted recently here

"Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike?"

– Bush 2003 SOTU

So . . . help me out, Mr. Prez.

Re: Preventing acts of terrorism — is it a mistake to do this only when there is specific information about a pending attack (i.e., when the threat has "fully emerged") . . . or not?