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So, as you may have heard, over the weekend a 19-year-old Somali immigrant named Mohamed Osman Mohamud was arrested for planting a fake bomb in Portland, Oregon. This was the culmination of a six-month long FBI sting, and at no time did the "bomber" have the capability to actually blow anything up. Despite this, the bomb plot made national news.
In San Diego, some Serbian immigrant, George Djura Jakubec, had a garage full of ready-to-go high explosives, but this barely made the local news. (I only found out about it from Unqualified Offerings.)
Here's the thing - when evaluating what threat level something poses, one has to look at not just intent, but capability. A lion may want to eat you very badly, but if it's in a cage, the lion poses no threat.
Right at the moment, the various Islamic fundamentalists that Mohamud thought he was working with seem to not have the capability to be a threat. The Underpants Bomber did not explode, the Times Square guy couldn't get gasoline to burn, the recent package bombs did not go off, and Mohamud never got his hands on a bomb. They are not much of a threat.
On the other hand, Mr. Jakubec had a house full of bombs. He had more capability than all of Al Qaeda combined. Who do you think we should be focusing on?
In San Diego, some Serbian immigrant, George Djura Jakubec, had a garage full of ready-to-go high explosives, but this barely made the local news. (I only found out about it from Unqualified Offerings.)
Here's the thing - when evaluating what threat level something poses, one has to look at not just intent, but capability. A lion may want to eat you very badly, but if it's in a cage, the lion poses no threat.
Right at the moment, the various Islamic fundamentalists that Mohamud thought he was working with seem to not have the capability to be a threat. The Underpants Bomber did not explode, the Times Square guy couldn't get gasoline to burn, the recent package bombs did not go off, and Mohamud never got his hands on a bomb. They are not much of a threat.
On the other hand, Mr. Jakubec had a house full of bombs. He had more capability than all of Al Qaeda combined. Who do you think we should be focusing on?
