I’ve heard a lot of arguments like this lately.

Now, I know, I know: we face a dedicated, determined threat that’s so deadly, (so “existential,” man) that dangerous distractions like the Constitution and critical thinking must be suspended for the duration while we duct tape ourselves to our recliners and dutifully watch Fox News. But I can’t help thinking the Fort Dix plot is part of a pattern: that a good many of the players on Team Jihad just don’t seem all that bright.

Well, blowing yourself up is, by definition, not a terribly bright thing to do. But I have to disagree with esteemed Healey for several reasons:

First, I agree that the danger is being exploited by power-greedy politicians and we have gone too far in eroding our civil liberties. Terrorism, like Drugs, has come to resemble the hobgoblin Mencken warned us about. The Patriot Act was a collection of powers the government had always wanted — and suddenly had the excuse for.

But that doesn’t mean the danger isn’t real or that the stupidity of the recently-busted cells indicates anything. By definition, if there is a distribution of intelligence in terror cells, we will always break up the dumb ones first. Osama bin Laden is not an idiot and neither are the rest of the AQ leaders. And remember, the terrorists have to only be smart once. We have to be smart every time. There was an argument on Sullivan last week about 9/11 being a rare “perfect storm” of circumstances. Well, even if we buy that, how often can we afford a perfect storm? The next one might leave tens of thousands on the deck.

The reason to oppose violations of the Constitution, torture and the erosion of our liberty is not because terrorism isn’t a threat. It’s because they are ineffective ways of battling terrorism. And even if they were effective, the price is too high.

To be honest, I’m shocked we haven’t had more terrorist incididents in this country — in particular the more mundane and easily planned and executed shooting sprees and bombs they have used so often in Israel. We are, and hopefully always will be, an open and trusting people. You would think terrorists would be like wolves among sheep, especially if the Right is right on the “wussification” thing.

Of course, it’s easier to bomb a country that’s only a few minutes’ walk away than one that’s across an ocean. But I keep wondering if the terrorist are coming over here to blow things up or shoot people and then losing the inclination. I wonder if after a few months or years or American TV and American food and American cars and American girls in American miniskirts, they’re deciding they’d rather just be Americans, in action if not in law.