Are We Any Safer?

Are we safer now than we were before 9/11? According to this article in today's Washington Post, the answer is impossible to know because our security infrastructure has become so massive that no one can possibly coordinate it or fully comprehend it.  Some examples:  1,271 government agencies and 1,931 private companies work on matters relating to security, counter-terrorism, and intelligence; 854,000 people hold top-secret clearances; there will soon be 33 buildings, occupying space the equivalent of 22 U.S. Capitols, housing top-secret intelligence work; and 51 different federal and military organizations track the flow of money to and from terrorist networks. No one knows how much all this is costing, and no one knows if it is effective. It's a little disturbing to read.