The system is set up so that the politicians can point to it and say "See, we are doing something, and doing it without being politically incorrect." and so that the herd mentality makes people feel protected by the abuse. It is NOT set up to capture terrorists as its primary function. Until there is a cultural shift to dispense with political correctness and/or the herd mentality, there will be no real change.
Regarding the particular story, I agree with Standing Wolf that this is ultimately about socialism - a system that is willing to sacrifice the individual for the good of the collective. In this particular case, the sacrificed is an 8-y.o., but in the minds of socialists/collectivists, it is a small price to pay for the "common good".