BANGOR (AP) – The ability of al-Qaida to wage an organized attack on the United States has been substantially reduced, former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey, a member of the 9-11 commission, said Tuesday.

But Kerrey told about 500 people at the University of Maine that America must think beyond its borders when combating terrorism, the Bangor Daily News reported.

“I believe the homeland is the planet in every conceivable way,” the former Democratic senator from Nebraska said. “Any time we say we don’t need to worry about a foreign attack’ because it’s way over there, that’s a risky proposition.”

Kerrey is among the most outspoken members of the independent panel, formally known as the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, which investigated the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

The commission’s report in June said no evidence exists that al-Qaida had strong ties to Saddam Hussein and that the terror network had envisioned a much larger attack and is working hard to strike again.

In his UMaine address, Kerrey said any lone suicidal follower of bin Laden’s philosophy represents a domestic threat.

“I don’t believe there’s anything we can do with border security or domestic security to prevent someone who wants to wage his own jihad and demonstrate his commitment to that cause,” Kerrey said in his address, part of the Governor’s Distinguished Lecture Series.

Kerrey said American military action in Afghanistan reduced the ability of Osama bin Laden’s terrorists to strike. He said further gains against terrorism can be won through passage of legislation reform the U.S. intelligence community.

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