[rainsford]

It's hard to say whether they're really "bad at catching the red flags" or not because we're looking at the data after the fact, knowing exactly how the situation turned out. Everything looks like a serious, obvious warning sign once the data has been pre-filtered and given context by the fact that we KNOW these people were planning a terrorist attack.

The other thing to consider is what flags actually allow the authorities to do unless the flags rise to the level where the police can actually arrest the suspects or follow them around 24/7.