Just a little Bomb

I was listening to the news on the radio this morning in my car, and I was struck by one item from CBS. CBS described the new terrorist bomb seized by American forces as one that was constructed by "the remains of al Qaeda". Indeed, the reported talked about the "remains" of al Qaeda one year after the killing of bin Laden. Really? All that there is of al Qaeda is "remains". According to the dictionary, synonyms for remains include "relics" and "leftovers". Indeed, the word "remains" carries with it the idea that most of something is gone, and the small portion that is left are the "remains".

This is a dangerous deceit by CBS. Al Qaeda is far from gone. Al Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula is in control of large parts of Yemen. In the horn of Africa, al Qaeda is also quite evident. It is true that in Afghanistan and Pakistan, many leaders of al Qaeda have been killed, but this seems to have led to al Qaeda moving its operations rather than it dying off. All one has to do is look at the recent history to see that this is the case. In 2001, al Qaeda carried out the 9-11 attacks. After that, the American counter attack led to al Qaeda's not being able to hit targets in America for many years. Only in the last three years have we seen an uptick in such attempts. There was the attempted bombing of a plane over Detroit (the so-called underwear bomber), the Times Square bomber, the Fort Hood terror attack, and a series of other attempts. This new bomb is just another in a long line of recent attempts. Indeed, if anything, al Qaeda's attempts to hit the USA have increased in the last three years. It is hardly a remnant.

I realize that CBS wants to buy into the Obama line by indicating that killing bin Laden has mortally wounded al Qaeda. I wish that were so, but it clearly is not. We need to keep vigillant to the threat of al Qaeda. It is very, very real.