President Bush said Wednesday that the attack on the U.S. embassy in the capital of Yemen was a reminder that the United States remains “at war” with ideological extremists.

The constant threat of another terrorist attack, organizing the more than 87,000 governmental organizations who share the responsibility of homeland security, and facing the upcoming questions regarding FEMA, the Patriot Act, and border security are among the issues facing the next President.

While the response to Ike was unimaginably better than that to Katrina, public officials are still too quick to “trash FEMA.” This does no one any good in the given environment. It only makes things harder. There is enough anxiety and pressure to go around.

Islamist militants have attacked the US embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa with a car bomb and rockets, causing “multiple casualties,” an embassy spokesman said. Sixteen people, including six soldiers, six militants and four bystanders, were killed in the twin car bombing, the interior ministry said.

Our hearts go out to the families dislocated by the destruction wrought by Hurricane Ike. Going back now, however, isn’t the answer. The mayor of Galveston is literally begging residents to stay away, noting that the city cannot possibly provide a safe environment and is nearing a health crisis. Folks returning are only adding to that crisis.

Evolving pictures and video tell the predictable story about citizens in Galveston who chose to ignore dire warnings to evacuate … going from clowning photo opps on the sea wall as Ike roared in to video of flattened homes and businesses and residents in distress.

Following recent months of aggressive immigration enforcement by DHS, it may surprise some that it would announce a time-out in immigration enforcement. Yet, DHS properly did that when it announced today that it would cease enforcement operations in the Texas regions that are implementing mandatory evacuations in anticipation of Hurricane Ike’s arrival. In logically exercising its law enforcement discretion, DHS announced that there would be “no DHS immigration enforcement operations associated with evacuations and sheltering.” And this makes sense.

This stunning and very personal home video of the 9/11 terror attack on the World Trade Center was filmed from a 36th floor apartment very close to the North Tower. It’s a view of 9/11 that you may not have seen and one that you should. To appreciate it, you need to watch the entire thing.

While there is always more that needs to be done, the operational, communications and coordination improvements on display at FEMA is encouraging. It also reaffirms the original decision that making FEMA a part of the federal department responsible for preventing, mitigating and responding to a disaster on U.S. soil, whether natural or man-made, was the right one.

On this day of sad remembrance, let us also be thankful. If somebody had predicted the afternoon of September 11 that in the seven years to follow, there would not be a single successful terrorist attack in the U.S., nobody would have believed it. There have been challenges for sure – Katrina, the image of the U.S. as a welcoming society, programmatic delays, etc – but the results should make us proud.

Today I find myself joining the rest of the nation in remembering and honoring the memory of those who died on September 11, 2001. I also find myself, like many in the nation, feeling angry and astounded that seven years after the attacks we have yet to find Bin Laden.

Nobody has forgotten 9/11. And yet. And yet, many have put it behind them, and not in a good way. Seven years after the tragedy of that day, it is good that the American public has moved beyond the visceral anguish we all experienced in the immediate aftermath of Osama bin Laden’s declaration - and execution - of war on America. But many have not simply moved on; they have returned to a September 10 mindset. And part of the blame for this complacent mindset must directed at the man who will be our nation’s next leader.

None of us as Americans wanted the attacks of September 11th to occur. We all would have liked the 19 hijackers to have been stopped at the gate and four planes to have landed at their intended destinations. Unfortunately that did not happen for a number of well documented reasons. As much as we would like to turn the clock back to September 10th and return to a simpler time – it’s not going to happen. Our world has drastically changed and it is time we all started changing with it.

As designed, the Department of Defense has taken the lead role on foreign soil in the fight against the terrorist elements in Afghanistan and Iraq. Domestically, in one of the US’ first steps in this same fight, the Department of Homeland Security was created.

For years, leading U.S. counterterrorism experts possessed evidence that al-Qaeda was recruiting, training and positioning operatives for attacks on the West. Their targets included North American and European citizens with passports that allow unrestrained travel to the U.S. without the potential of attracting the kind of attention other travelers would.

Security Debrief and CNN contributor George Foresman, during an interview on CNN, discusses the state of emergency preparedness — what worked, and what still needs to be done.

In recent years, Homeland Security officials have emphasized the need for a risk-based approach to cargo screening to provide a high level of security while also allowing for the free flow of goods into the United States through the international supply chain. Despite this success, Congress passed a law last year mandating the 100-percent screening of all cargo shipments coming into the United States. Rather than implementing such a restrictive mandate, Congress should consider collaborating with the private sector to find sensible alternatives for supply chain security. This is precisely the point that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff made in a recent speech at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C., where he argued that the government should not try to “micromanage the business operations” of U.S. companies, but should look to partnerships between government and industry to protect the cargo shipment sector and our vital transportation infrastructure.

Last week, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff delivered the fourth in a series of talks he has planned following the 5th anniversary of the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. This one focused on critical infrastructure protection. While there did not appear to be much of anything new, it gave Chertoff an opportunity to provide a high-level discussion of DHS’s approach to CI/KR protection and an opportunity for him to chide Congress for its approach to cargo security. In the course of his talk Chertoff did something very few Cabinet Secretaries do – he committed candor. It was refreshing.

It was not too long ago that I was proud to wear a badge watching marchers walk by with signs for one cause or another. The lines of law enforcement officers were there to ensure that all Americans could exercise their rights to express opinions without negatively impacting the rights and freedoms of other citizens. Because of a few angry and violent people, the role of a police officer has had to change. These small groups of people that have no opinions and have no respect for constitutional rights. Destroying property and harming others is not a constitutional right.

In our first major test since the Hurricanes of 2005, America is making the grade and so far, we’re passing. The very places and organizations that showed our nation the painful lessons of disorder and dysfunction three years ago are now the same places and organizations that may become the models for the culture of preparedness that we desperately need to take root in this country.