Terror in the Sky: Christmas Just Isn't What it Used to Be
"Relief
that the attack failed is fully justified. But the nightmare of Christmas in
Detroit has brought even more loathing, fear and distrust into the world …
things that we already had more than enough of."
Troubled Youth: Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab has been charged by the United States with attempting to blow up an aircraft which was enroute from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day.
Somehow, Christmas no longer
wants to unfold with peace, love and joy. This year, we can blame it on Umar
Faruk Abdul Muttalab, the Detroit BBQ-Bomber who, luckily, only managed to set himself
and not his fellow passengers - alight. As a result, from now on, passengers checked
into a flight to the United States will be frisked even more thoroughly and will
not be permitted to go to the toilet for an hour before landing because that seems
to be the best-suited place for preparing to ignite bombs worn on the body.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Let's just be happy that this
al-Qaeda-fanboy-idiot didn't get the idea of igniting the bomb in the toilet
itself: no Dutchman would have plunged to keep him from igniting the blast. And
as a consequence, aircraft toilet visits will be possible only with a sky
marshal escort.
The explosive consisted of 80
grams of Pentaerythritol tetranitrate [PETN], a
strong plastic-explosive in the same family as nitroglycerine, which is used to
produce dynamite. The same stuff was used by the infamous shoe-bomber Richard
Reid, who hid 50 grams of PETN in his shoes. That attempted attack failed as
well. And just like then, it was mostly luck that prevented catastrophe: This
time it was supposedly the detonator, which didn't have sufficient contact with
the explosives hidden in Abdul Muttalab's underwear.
The alleged underwear of Umar Faruk Abdul Muttalab.
After the initial shock, all
that remains is a mixture of helpless anger and cynicism ... sentiments that one
shouldn't be feeling this time of year. It's increasingly clear, however, that
bad news doesn’t spare the holidays. Yes, there's logic behind the careful
selection of this date for an attack by religious fanatics: an Islamic fundamentalist
attack on a plane during the most popular Christian holiday would certainly
have been a huge hit an all of the Internet's Islamist fan sites.
But the attack was
unsuccessful - and there will certainly be many who attribute that to divine
intervention. But stupidity - both in the attempt and the bungling of it - is an
unlimited resource. Divine intervention is hardly necessary.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
What's left is a scorched
terrorist, a shocked public and further restrictions on our freedom to move,
travel or even empty our bladders in a aircraft toilet according to our own
schedule.
Looking at the final two
points, Abdul Muttalab scored a modest success despite himself: Terror always seeks
to disconcert the public. The victims are considered merely tools for
increasing fear and insecurity in the society under attack. Likewise it's also important
harden the battle lines further, increase hatred and aversion and heighten the walls
of separation.
Relief that the attack failed
is fully justified. But the nightmare of Christmas in Detroit has brought even more
loathing, fear and distrust into the world … things that we already had more
than enough of.
