NU Online News Service, Oct. 27, 11:20 a.m. EDT

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. --Hanging over thecollective heads of Americans trying to recover from the recessionare a handful of threats, each with the potential to block the roadto prosperity, a military expert here said.

Five possible roadblocks to economic recovery are Iran, China,cyberspace, Mexico and terrorism, General Michael Hayden, retireddirector of the Central Intelligence Agency, told attendees of theProperty Casualty Insurers Association of America meeting here.

While large-scale attempts at terrorism have been thwarted byintelligence, the general, who also is former director of theNational Security Administration and deputy director of NationalIntelligence, said less-complex strategies are likely to succeed.Those plans, he added, will be "less lethal but more numerous."

The question now posed is one of civil liberty--as in how muchAmericans are willing to give up to pursue smaller-scale attacks,he wondered aloud to the insurance industry executive attendees,noting it's likely that Americans are not willing to give up muchmore.

"Somebody who makes policy needs to say that," the general said."Lack of success is not the same as failure. This is inherentlyhard."

The second question, he said, surrounds the needed ability tokeep legitimate secrets in a culture that increasingly demands moretransparency.

Still, the country is doing "pretty well" in its war againstterror. "It is much more difficult [for terrorists] to mount apreferred brand of attack," Gen. Hayden said.

Some other threats he mentioned have not been dealt with. Iran,the top sponsor of terrorism, is on its way to gaining nuclearcapability. "If that doesn't make you double-clutch, I don't knowwhat will," he said.

Behind terrorism, Iran was the second-most discussed topic whenhe was in government, Gen. Hayden said, but a concrete course ofaction has not been determined and will probably not need to beuntil the next presidential term. Although serious, Iranian nuclearcapability is "less urgent than the press would have you believe,"he said.

While China is not an enemy of the U.S., the general said he waspersonally in "awe" of the sophistication of China's espionageefforts against the U.S. Doing business in China has becomeincreasingly difficult, he said, likening the country to a teenagerwhose strength and capacity outpaces judgment.

The cyber world, he observed, is a "dangerous place," with noone identifiable enemy to target. What's more, cyber terrorism is"in your backyard," with the capability of directly impacting anenterprise. Gen. Hayden downplayed so-called "cyber PearlHarbors."

Regardless, "this is a problem whose time has come," Gen. Haydensaid of the Web.

Finally, the drug war in Mexico has grown so serious the Mexicangovernment has lost control in some critical areas of the countyand the U.S. is debating whether to judge the Mexican drug lords asan insurgency--an important distinction in terms of the kind ofassistance offered by the U.S., he said.

The general said that our country's defense agencies need to berecapitalized to defend against threats beyond the war on terror.Much of the focus so far has been squarely on terrorism.

"That is a very serious challenge," Gen. Hayden added.