Since the September 11, 2001 event until 2013, the government has spent more than $500 billion on intelligence. The total spending on military and non-military intelligence during the Cold War era up to the 1980s was $71 billion. That indicates that the past 17 years has been much more paranoid and distrusting than the war on Communism of before.

IMO, it has nothing to do with war or communism or terrorism or anything else - just labels to keep the money going in one direction..its about the final wealth transfer (theft of tangible assets,) from the real producers/tax payers, to the powers that be.

Then there's rest of it...and that when it get's really bad...