Clockwise from top left: A Jan. 10 Berlin protest against body scanners; Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (AP); a released TSA image of a body scan; acting TSA administrator Gale Rossides; a TSA agent in action
Did Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Jockstrap Bomber, really fail? In his principal objective, to blow up Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day, he surely did fail. But if you were his Al Qaeda controller, that disappointment would be tempered by some clear gains.
Terrorists make a close study of everything that follows an attack, whether it works or not. Given the gravity of the security crisis facing America, this is a time of surprising transparency in our anti-terrorism agencies. For example, every day brings new details about the de-briefing of Abdulmutallab as the Administration defends its decision to try him in a Federal court.
The motive is obviously to demonstrate that FBI interrogations are far more effective than waterboarding.
The latest picture of these de-briefings includes the influence of Abdulmutallab’s parents, who were flown here from Nigeria. One leaked detail is particularly striking: Abdulmutallab regarded himself as a suicide bomber - he wanted nothing short of blowing himself up, along with the airplane. The fact that he did not has apparently left him feeling ashamed.
In fact, he needn’t feel so bad. He managed to create havoc. And this
is what his handlers will be studying with great attention. (And since
they can read everything we can about the de-briefings they will know
what has been compromised in their own networks and what has not.) The
most obvious effect was to pinpoint the vulnerability of all security
systems to bombs concealed in intimate places of the body. And the
consequence of that, across the globe, has been huge new expenditures to equip screeners with full body scanners.
For Al Qaeda’s handlers, this would be Plan B.
Not only can they rejoice in the economic cost inflicted by Operation Jockstrap, they have been treated to a valuable series of stories about how slack our counter-intelligence services are, how sluggish is their monitoring of passenger lists because the government has archaic computer systems, and they must be really pleased with the politicians who continue to fail to appoint a professional to run the Transportation Safety Authority. (What is it that these pols still don’t get about terrorism?)
Beyond these clear and revealed weaknesses, however, are others that the terrorists will be able to monitor. Indeed, you could say that they long ago wrote the script that our security chiefs now perform on a daily basis. First, the knee-jerk response. Next the concentration of resources to stop the last attempt, not the next. To which add the new dividend which is all the public hand-wringing that shows how dumb we can be.
Yesterday a collection of the nation’s intelligence chiefs testified in Washington that they more or less expect another Al Qaeda attack any moment. That gets them off the hook of looking complacent but it doesn’t suggest their mastery in the art of out-guessing our enemies.
The latest flavor in the academy of counter-intelligence thinkers is the unidentified sleeper - somebody who, unlike loners dispatched after training like the Jockstrap Bomber, has been successfully based here for years and has kept off the surveillance lists. At the same time, they would be scouting for targets and preparing to exploit a weak point that the reactive guardians of our safety have neglected.
The really tough question here is, are Al Qaeda still obsessed with another big hit involving aviation, or was the Christmas Day attack really a very clever diversion, to have us galloping off again in the direction they want us to, while they are aiming at something completely different?
My guess would be that aviation remains the target capable of delivering the most spectacular results required to feed Al Qaeda’s need for mass coverage in the 24-hour global news cycle. People who have looked at our aviation security over the years still point to serious shortcomings - airport perimeters, for one, where missile attacks could be staged, as well as bombs in checked baggage and cargo.
Let’s hope that Plan B doesn’t turn into Plan A next time.
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For Al Qaeda’s handlers, this would be Plan B.
Not only can they rejoice in the economic cost inflicted by Operation Jockstrap, they have been treated to a valuable series of stories about how slack our counter-intelligence services are, how sluggish is their monitoring of passenger lists because the government has archaic computer systems, and they must be really pleased with the politicians who continue to fail to appoint a professional to run the Transportation Safety Authority. (What is it that these pols still don’t get about terrorism?)
Beyond these clear and revealed weaknesses, however, are others that the terrorists will be able to monitor. Indeed, you could say that they long ago wrote the script that our security chiefs now perform on a daily basis. First, the knee-jerk response. Next the concentration of resources to stop the last attempt, not the next. To which add the new dividend which is all the public hand-wringing that shows how dumb we can be.
Yesterday a collection of the nation’s intelligence chiefs testified in Washington that they more or less expect another Al Qaeda attack any moment. That gets them off the hook of looking complacent but it doesn’t suggest their mastery in the art of out-guessing our enemies.
The latest flavor in the academy of counter-intelligence thinkers is the unidentified sleeper - somebody who, unlike loners dispatched after training like the Jockstrap Bomber, has been successfully based here for years and has kept off the surveillance lists. At the same time, they would be scouting for targets and preparing to exploit a weak point that the reactive guardians of our safety have neglected.
The really tough question here is, are Al Qaeda still obsessed with another big hit involving aviation, or was the Christmas Day attack really a very clever diversion, to have us galloping off again in the direction they want us to, while they are aiming at something completely different?
My guess would be that aviation remains the target capable of delivering the most spectacular results required to feed Al Qaeda’s need for mass coverage in the 24-hour global news cycle. People who have looked at our aviation security over the years still point to serious shortcomings - airport perimeters, for one, where missile attacks could be staged, as well as bombs in checked baggage and cargo.
Let’s hope that Plan B doesn’t turn into Plan A next time.
Related Stories on Truth.Travel
Where is the TSA Chief?
Announcing the Kermit Tyler Award for America the Unready
Who Really Picked Seat 19A?
Fearing the Fear Related to the Dec. 25 Terrorist Attempt
What About the Baggage Below?
New TSA rules: Déjà Vu All Over Again
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