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Two of the top officials on the 9/11 Commission are calling for a review of current US counterterrorism policy 12 years after the attacks on the Pentagon and Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.

Today, the good news is that the chances of 鈥渁 large-scale, catastrophic attack by Al Qaeda occurring in the United States are small,鈥� argue Lee Hamilton and Tom Kean, the former chair and vice chair of the 9/11 Commission.

That, they say, is the result of US counterterrorism operations over the past three years in particular.

At the same time, however, there are more Al Qaeda-allied groups who have put down more roots in more places.

鈥淭he threat we currently face is dramatically different from twelve years ago,鈥� they write in a letter released Wednesday. 鈥淲e need to review our current strategies to ensure that we have the smartest counterterrorism policies in place so tragedies, like the one we are remembering today, do not happen again.鈥�

They point to an extensive range of聽 recommendations outlined in a new report from the Bipartisan Policy Center 鈥� where Lee Hamilton and Tom Kean are co-chairs of the Homeland Security Project.

Among these recommendations is putting the CIA drone program 鈥渙n a more sound legal footing鈥� and creating an independent investigative body 鈥� similar to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) 鈥� to investigate terrorist threats in the United States.

The report lays out a number of possibilities for a more transparent and legally palatable drone campaign, including transferring the program to the military, setting up a court to rule on targeting decisions, or creating an independent committee to review strikes.

The report also calls for the government to incorporate lessons learned from the Boston bombings into the its current emergency-response plan 鈥渢o ensure a more measured reaction to tragic but small-scale terrorist attacks.鈥澛�

The Boston bombings were 鈥渁n undeniably tragic but comparatively modest terrorist incident鈥� that closed down not only the Boston suburb where the Tsarnaev brothers fled, 鈥渂ut the entire Boston metropolitan area鈥� as well as Logan International Airport.

鈥淚t is a problem,鈥� the report鈥檚 authors argue, 鈥渢hat the response such incidents provoke from the government is often disproportionate to the threat they pose to the public.鈥�

Furthermore, it urges the Obama administration to release additional Osama bin Laden documents captured at his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

To date, the government has released only 17 of the thousands of documents that were found at Mr. bin Laden鈥檚 compound, the report notes. 鈥淎ny conclusions drawn from the at present are, at best, an incomplete picture of Al Qaeda鈥檚 intentions and capabilities, as well as bin Laden鈥檚 role in them.鈥澛犅犅�

Those that have been released reveal 鈥渢elling details鈥� of Al Qeda鈥檚 inner workings that could be of use to defense analysts, including attempts by Al Qaeda leaders to assert influence over their affiliates.聽聽

They were often ignored. In a December 2010, an Al Qaeda leader scolded the Pakistani Taliban for indiscriminate attacks against civilians. A letter from bin Laden sent around the same time urges leaders of an east African terrorist group not to announce its merger with Al Qaeda 鈥渂ecause it would be bad for fund-raising and would attract greater attention from the United States.鈥�

Today, Al Qaeda and its affiliates maintain a presence in 鈥渟ome 16 different theaters of operation 鈥� compared with half as many as recently as five years ago,鈥� according to the report.

It is true, the report acknowledges, that some of these operating areas are 鈥渓ess amenable鈥� than they once were 鈥� including, say, Afghanistan and southeast Asia.

Yet there are other places that the report deems 鈥渟ites of revival and resuscitation,鈥� including Iraq and North Africa.

There are locations, too, where Al Qaeda has had the chance to expand 鈥� such as Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Syria 鈥� the report warns.

This is in large part because the Middle East 鈥渋s experiencing a level of instability unknown in recent years.鈥�

In Syria in particular, the civil war may be providing Al Qaeda 鈥渨ith a chance to regroup, train, and plan operations, much as the US invasion of Iraq revitalized the network and gave it new relevance,鈥� notes the report.

While these Al Qaeda groups have been busy expanding in other parts of the globe, within the confines of the United States, the threat of attacks 鈥渉as shifted away from plots directly connected to foreign groups,鈥� in the report鈥檚 estimation, 鈥渢o plots by individuals who are merely inspired by them.鈥�