A federal jury in Dallas has convicted five men on charges associated with their ties to a prominent Islamic charity that was used to channel money to terror groups.

The verdicts against former leaders of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development came only hours after a federal appeals court in New York upheld criminal convictions of three men accused of helping plot deadly bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa.

Some of these cases were filed a decade ago, underscoring the lengthy path of the criminal justice system which has not always resulted in convictions in other cases.

Make no mistake: we cannot afford to lower our guard for a moment against enemies foreign and domestic who wish to destroy us and our way of life. They have great patience and the fact it has been seven years since a terrorist attack on our soil doesn’t mean they are not plotting to do it again and much worse the next time. These convictions are an important victory in a long war.

Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.