Frances Fragos Townsend and Ret. Maj. General Donna Barbisch have some advice for how President Obama should approach the war on terror: Don’t underestimate the threat, and don’t just throw money at the problem.

In New York to talk about weapons of mass destruction at a Center for Security Policy event on Tuesday, Townsend, former homeland security adviser to President Bush, and Ret. Maj. General Donna Barbisch, former Defense Department director of the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear program integration, stressed that while Obama could usher in a new era of diplomacy and fence-mending when it comes to how the U.S. deals with terror threats, he can’t let up on hunting the terrorists down — whether they be Al-Qaeda or anyone else.

Obama’s decision to give his first formal presidential interview to Al-Arabiya was "really smart," Townsend said, but "even if people around the world like us better, let us make no mistake: We are not going to prevent an attack by being liked more."

Barbisch cited particular concern with biological weapons, also known as "the poor man’s weapon of mass destruction."

"You can make ricin in your bathtub," she said, stressing the need for the public-health community to be involved in any preventative security efforts here at home. 

Her advice to Obama as to how to handle this particular threat? Don’t put up a "false wall" and pretend we’re safe from biological warfare if we’re far from prepared. "We’re spending way too much money on things that don’t make a difference," she said.