[VOA]

Does this mean it was more of a world-wide plot than the Britain to America flights?

Italy surely is a big symbolic target for the Islamist for a couple of reasons.
1. Despite some love-taps, Italy has generally been with the Coalition
even in Iraq.
2. Now that Spain has already fallen to Islam's reconquista (politically),
Italy is another chunk of territory that the Islamics think should be theirs.

By the way, after 9-11, on item that sealed my views on the radical Islamics
was the printing of some surveillance tapes the Italian police had
made of Al-Quida cells hiding out in Italy.

When the Islamics started b-tchin' about how awful Italian food was...
that's when I REALLY knew these guys are In-Freakin'-Credibly NUTS.

[twigs]

The Vatican is there, the head of the historic Christian church. The Islamists are after symbols and this is their most hated. When I visited Italy last year, the Vatican was the most secure--by far--of any place I went.