Seems like the burden is on the USA to demonstrate the quality of our intelligence next time, but that should be the only burden.
Unfortunately, there is a greater burden that will not easily be overcome. This is the burden of division that has been established by the political left in our country. They are now challenging the whole concept of a War on Terror, whether we have been attacked, and whether we are really in one.
They are promoting 9/11 as a freak event spurred by a small and fragmented terror group rather than the first strike by a large, coordinated terror group operating under the protection of certain states.
This may sound like I made it up, but in our local papers, the Dem activists have been pushing this for months now in the letters-to-the-editors section. They quote Nueremburg trial statements to the effect that Bush has used 9/11 to create a sense of fear so that he can take over our country ala Hitler. Farenheit 911 has been absorbed by many and now is a perpective from which all facts are considered.
Its gonna be a much harder slog in the future.
You're right - sometimes I wonder if it's even possible for the US to defend herself properly anymore.
I think it's a smart move for the President to raise this publicly - admit that there were intel mistakes, and move on. The Iran crisis shows every sign that it could escalate next year and if we need to call up our military once again we have to defuse the "faulty intel" issue off the bat.