Globally, reports of possible terrorist attacks on US personnel, businesses, or other interests, have been steadily rising. Although no one is providing figures on the total number of threats received, the overwhelming majority lacking any credibility whatsoever. Many reports can be written off almost immediately, as coming from pranksters, cranks, or people just out to yank Uncle Sam's chain (e.g., a caller claiming to have seen robed "Arab terrorists" practicing attacks in the Great Dismal Swamp). Nevertheless, a great many reports require some investigation. In most cases a little probing is enough to dismiss the matter. A handful of instances require more effort, often in conjunction with foreign security agencies. And a small percentage of these turn out to be real. How many, and how effective we've been in stopping them, is a closely guarded secret.