"It could be luck. It could be skill."

Still, some analysts and officials insist that the changes haven’t been nearly as sweeping or thorough as most Americans would have expected in the days immediately after Sept. 11. Even the most glaring shortcoming revealed by the attacks — the U.S. government’s failure to integrate intelligence information, share it within the government and “connect the dots” — has not been remedied as completely as it should be, according to experts.

“I don’t want to suggest it’s not better; it is better, … but it’s by no means what you would hope 10 years post-9/11,” said Fran Townsend, who was Bush’s homeland security adviser from 2004 to 2007 and now serves on a CIA advisory panel. “It’s by no means muscle memory where it happens without thinking.”…

Some experts warn that the air of incompetence surrounding some recent terrorist attempts belies an increasing sophistication in bombmaking techniques, particularly on the part of the group that appears to be most actively now targeting the U.S.: Al Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula.

“I worry that the American people think Al Qaeda looks more like ‘F Troop’ than 9/11,” Townsend said.