well, the point is - it would represent such a major disconnect between their capabilities. all these nukes, all over the US, and they are hijacking planes so they can turn them into cruise missiles?
this is not to say they cannot hit us - they are certainly capable of other things, even WMDs with bio, chem, and dirty bombs are technically feasible for them.
and let me add to that - I just came back from the Belmont Stakes. A large police presence of course, there always is (especially since 9-11). But I did notice that this year, the officers had waist mounted pouches with gas masks in them (the shape gave it away). So that tells you something.
UNITY: The vital key to fighting global terror
Terrorism has replaced the Cold War as the global security threat of the 21st century. But while South-east Asia is keenly aware of the threat and takes active measures to counter it, North-east Asia remains less aware. Meanwhile, a gathering storm looms over Taiwan, which might lead to war between the United States and China - a war which China may lose, in the first round. This is an extract from Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue last night
THE fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 symbolised the end of the Cold War. But I believe the real post-Cold War era did not begin until Sept 11, 2001.
Of course, few people really thought history ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union. History proved far more resilient. Crises did not abate. But there was no widespread sense of a serious global security threat such as that which had infused the Cold War period and galvanised the free world to hold together. Even the 1991 Iraq invasion of Kuwait was dealt with in a relatively straightforward way by a broad American-led coalition, giving rise to the hope that a peaceful New World Order could be achieved.
That hope proved illusory as did the expectation that 'democratic enlargement' was an irresistible trend that would stabilise international relations. Still, as the threat of superpower nuclear conflict receded, there was a sense that the world had reached a geopolitical equilibrium. None of the conflicts in Africa, the Balkans or the Middle East was thought to really threaten the global equilibrium.
Sept 11 swept away these comfortable assumptions. It shook America's sense of security and changed America's definition of its role in the world. Suddenly, America felt vulnerable. To protect itself, America was determined to take the battle to its enemies wherever they might be. Because of its global supremacy, America could and would go it alone, if necessary. Post-Cold War geopolitics is the geopolitics of the war against terrorism.
I believe the fight against terrorism will last as many decades as the Cold War. However, I do not think that everyone sees or understands the challenge in such stark terms. And this is one of the principal dangers of post-Cold War geopolitics.
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/commentary/story/0,4386,254668,00.html
Because the hate us, fear us, and want us dead, and they want to drive stakes into our hearts to make sure we STAY dead?