[exchpaypalgold]

First, I think you need to accept that the terrorist always has the advantage, and no amount of preparation can defend you from terrorist attacks. Because a terrorist chooses the time and place and method of the attack, after you have put all your defenses in place, and since you can't defend everything, the terrorist will always have targets.
And unlike conventional conflict, the terrorist has no need for sustained effort, a terrorist can expend everything on an effort, and afterward when everyone is searching high and low to root him out, he's got nothing left to hide except the very bare bones of the organization, which only has to avoid destruction, wait, and rebuild when the time is right.

Jets and tanks and rifle companies aren't very useful when you are fighting shadows.
Those things need to be focused on real targets that have mass and inertia, and can't get out of the way.
And when you attempt to use that type of asset, it creates smoke and confusion, which are the very things that the terrorist thrives on, because the main power of the terrorist is that he's not really there, he has no headquarters, no capital, no main base, nothing to lock on and destroy.
When the public demands action, it plays into the terrorist's hands, because it covers his escape, and creates the conditions that feed him with recruits. Better to let the terrorist feel secure enough to show himself, let him feel that he has won, that his great enemy is completely helpless, so that he comes out and shows himself, and by doing so, becomes vulnerable to those weapons that you actually possess.