[bvw]

"Why, for example, would an al-Qaeda sleeper agent make it known to his neighbors that their flying of an American flag irritated him?"

No Beckett's point is not valid and the reported actions of Atta and his crew do indeed have instances where they were fairly open in expressing their anti-American feelings, in insulting people, in being rude, and also where their actions were pretty weird -- like learning to fly a 747 but not how to land it.

While some few can live a double life easily, many are unable to all the time. Perhaps it is the term "sleeper agent" that is misleading. That implies years of formal training in spycraft, a formal selection and screening process, years of training in being a "sleeper". From all reports, Al Queada is much less formal, much less orgamized at that level of training.

[dirtboy]

Now that you bring up that counter point, I do recall thinking after about a month of news about the 9/11 terrorists that these guys were literally walking around with Al Queda lapel pins on. It's not that they were that good. It's that folks in this country just didn't bother trying to connect any dots.

How are you doing, by the way?