In 1938, the Nazis had the most advanced and powerful military on Earth while the military in the US was still had Calvary on horseback. After Pearl harbor, however, we quickly upgraded or military to an even footing with them.

The Soviets had enough nuclear firepower to destroy every major city in the US in less than an hour

The US has many times the destructive capacity the terrorists could ever dream of. At worst, the Terrorists could vaporize a few cities or unleash a virus which might kill tens of millions more. The US, with its thousands of Nuclear weapons, could wipe the Middle East off the face of Earth in less than an hour. (If Bin Louden and his ilk had that kind of power, there still wouldn’t still be an United States)

Unlike WWII or the Cold War, there is no equal parity between the two sides in terms of military capacity.

And even the Nazi mastermind weren't tortured by the US.

Plus, information derived by torture is unreliable anyway.

WTF, who let the door to the gymansium open again?

ROFLMAO

I think terrorism and Islamic radicalism pose a pretty big threat. Even if it is not an overt one, they can frighten us into a false sense of danger that is as bad as anything real. It's not hard to do if you are able to convince the target population that the evildoers are living right there among them.

"And even the Nazi mastermind weren't tortured by the US."

I think this is a very good point.