If you are referring to the incident at OU (belly/center/OK)... I just don't see it.
I think Hinrich was working with local dudes who probably decided to bring their own personal Jihad to the infidels. If this is what al Qaida has been lowered to, we might as well declare victory now and have a party in the street. Sure, it could have been much worse than it ended up being... but, one bomber at one game? Even in a terribly defeated state, I would expect more than that from bin Laden, et al.
We won't have to gather information for days and days to have a slightly coherent picture of the next attack on America coordinated from the top.
Many claim, some on the TM included, that they think the operational capability has been severely hampered. I just don't see how anyone can come to that conclusion at this point. Sure, we are having major victories in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. That said, I do not personally believe that the people we are fighting in Iraq are the EXACT SAME individuals we would face here. Now, I'm not claiming they are not terrorists... they clearly are. I'm just not convinced they are the guys who would have been flying planes into our buildings. They are foot soldiers, on a mission to die. We don't send our scientists and thinkers to the front lines of battle, why would they?
The U.S. is much more protected than it was on 9/11, but we have a long way to go. There are many ways a major attack could be pulled off here. We are still target #1 on the list. This is becoming a game of patience, and the longer it goes... the more al Qaida gains the upper hand. I wish we weren't so used to instant results here, it makes me worry about people sounding the all clear too soon.
I agree completely. They may or may not have access to nukes or other WMD, but if that's the best they can do then they really have been all but defeated. I don't believe that for a moment - there are far too many ways to hit us badly that don't involve WMD.
Nope, that's not what I meant. it seems to me they'd want to make a gigantic statement showing the holes in America's security allowing a biggie AQ most wanted to appear on American soil prior to a major attack. Any way they could embarrass and/or demean America for the world to see would be an exemplary goal for them IMHO.