On Sunday 's CNN `` State of the Union '' show , anchor Candy Crowley asked Sen. Dianne Feinstein ( D- California ) , the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee , and her counterpart in the House , Rep. Mike Rogers ( R-Michigan ) , a simple question : `` Are we safer now than we were a year ago , two years ago , in general ? '' Feinstein 's ' answer was unambiguous , `` I do n't think so . I think terror is up worldwide . Statistics indicate that . The fatalities are way up . ... There are more groups than ever , and there is huge malevolence out there . '' Crowley seemed surprised by this response : `` I have to say , that is not the answer I expected . I expected to hear , oh , we 're safer . '' Rogers backed up Feinstein 's gloomy assessment , saying , `` Oh , I absolutely agree that we 're not safer today . '' Both Feinstein and Rogers are able public servants who , as the heads of the two U.S. intelligence oversight committees , are paid to worry about the collective safety of Americans , and they are two of the most prominent defenders of the NSA 's controversial surveillance programs , which they defend as necessary for American security . But is there any real reason to think that Americans are no safer than was the case a couple of years back ? Not according to a study by the New America Foundation of every militant indicted in the United States who is affiliated with al Qaeda or with a like-minded group or is motivated by al Qaeda 's ideology . In fact , the total number of such indicted extremists has declined substantially from 33 in 2010 to nine in 2013 . And the number of individuals indicted for plotting attacks within the United States , as opposed to being indicted for traveling to join a terrorist group overseas or for sending money to a foreign terrorist group , also declined from 12 in 2011 to only three in 2013 . Of course , a declining number of indictments does n't mean that the militant threat has disappeared . One of the militants indicted in 2013 was Dzhokhar Tsarnaev , who is one of the brothers alleged to be responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings in April . But a sharply declining number of indictments does suggest that fewer and fewer militants are targeting the United States . Recent attack plots in the United States also do not show signs of direction from foreign terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda , but instead are conducted by individuals who are influenced by the ideology of violent jihad , usually because of what they read or watch on the Internet . None of the 21 homegrown extremists known to have been involved in plots against the United States between 2011 and 2013 received training abroad from a terrorist organization -- the kind of training that can turn an angry , young man into a deadly , well-trained , angry , young man . Of these extremists , only Tamerlan Tsarnaev , one of the alleged Boston bombers , is known to have had any contact with militants overseas , but it is unclear to what extent , if any , these contacts played in the Boston Marathon bombings . In short , the data on al-Qaeda-linked or -influenced militants indicted in the United States suggests that the threat of terrorism has actually markedly declined over the past couple of years . Where Feinstein and Rogers were on much firmer ground in their interview with Crowley was when they pointed to the resurgence of a number of al Qaeda groups in the Middle East . Al Qaeda 's affiliates in Syria control much of the north of the country and are the most effective forces fighting the regime of Bashar al-Assad . In neighboring Iraq , al Qaeda has enjoyed a renaissance of late , which partly accounts for the fact that the violence in Iraq today is as bad as it was in 2008 . The Syrian war is certainly a magnet for militants from across the Muslim world , including hundreds from Europe , and European governments are rightly concerned that returning veterans of the Syrian conflict could foment terrorism in Europe . But , at least for the moment , these al Qaeda groups in Syria and Iraq are completely focused on overthrowing the Assad regime or attacking what they regard as the Shia-dominated government of Iraq . And , at least so far , these groups have shown no ability to attack in Europe , let alone in the United States .
Heads of intelligence agencies tell the U.S. is no safer than in 2011 . Peter Bergen : Intelligence suggests that fewer plots are being directed against the U.S . There 's little sign of terrorists being trained by jihadists overseas , he says . Bergen : The committee members are correct about stepped up jihadist activity in Afghanistan .