How Safe Now?

In March, a TIME investigation found that U.S. agencies were running into obstacles as they struggled to shore up our homeland defenses. An update: the system is still broken, and much is left undone

THE HUNT

The U.S.-led military campaign has devastated al-Qaeda's training infrastructure, destroyed its sanctuary and scattered its forces. But thousands of al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters survived the war, and some are regrouping at the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The latest fighting is taking place on the border in Paktia province, where some 1,000 allied troops are hunting down about 100 al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters. "That is where most of these guys have gone to ground," a Central Command officer says.

But no one knows whether the most prized targets--Osama bin Laden; his top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri; and Taliban leader Mullah Omar--are among...

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