Dick Cheney has cautioned Americans that another terror attack against them is a certainty. His warning comes as the row over intelligence failures leading up to the September 11 attacks intensifies. The vice president's words have to be taken seriously despite the fact that they appear designed to distract from the storm clouds gathering over the White House.

Cheney and the National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice have launched a campaign tailored to absolve the administration of President George W. Bush of any blame over the intelligence fiasco that preceded the worst allegedly foreign act of terrorism on U.S. soil. The Bush administration is under fire for failing to act on early intelligence reports indicating the method of attacks that brought the country to its knees in the immediate aftermath of September 11.

Factors behind such a lapse must be investigated thoroughly, if necessary on Capitol Hill. But the Americans should also look within and examine the need to remove the cause for antagonism felt them. An even-handed approach to the Middle East crisis is a good starter as is the need to respect the rights of the hundreds of Muslims taken into custody in the aftermath of September 11.