Richard W.
Where do you get your information? Are you privy to their strategy?
"Denial" is not a river in Egypt.
I don't buy this line of reasoning. If you try, I know its tough, to think of this from their perspective, their goal is to set off a world jihad against the US. If that can be done without risking the possibility that muslim countries will be horrified (i.e. by using a conventional instead of a nuclear attack) then why do it? On the other hand, if they tried to accomplish this goal through conventional means and there is no sign of such a jihad congealing then maybe it becomes time to risk it. Sentiment is welling up that the US is bombing innocent muslims. So there will be less sympathy when such an atrocity is committed.
Stating that must make you feel better. But put yourself in Bin Laden's position. Would you use your best weapons at the start of the war. I know if it was me, I would be saving the best for last. From what I have read, that is what many in our military believe.
Not necessarily. We are used to thinking in terms of one single “conspiracy” at a time. But in the old days, the Communists in America had different “cells” that worked independently. That way, if one cell was discovered, no one in it knew what the other cells were doing. It’s possible that many different militant Arabic cells are at work here in the US, and different ones might do different things as time goes by.
Must respectfuul disagree with you. Perhaps they just obtained it or perhaps they're just getting it to the location where they want it or perhaps the enemy perceives a psychological benefit in ratcheting up the level of violence rather than leading with his best punch.
That is conventional warfare thinking. The goal of terrorism is long term.
I sincerely hope that you're guessing right here.
But you are just guessing.
Feb. 26, 1993 - WTC Building 2 takes a bomb probably intended to fell the building.
5½ years later
Aug. 7, 1998 - Bombing of the USS Cole, intended to sink it.
2 years and 2 months later
Oct. 25, 2000 - Simultaneous bombings of US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
11 months later
Sept. 11, 2001 - WTC and Pentagon bombed by airplanes. One plane in 4 failed to hit the target.
(What's the next timeline? Keep cutting the time in half.. so that's maybe 6 months..)
What happens in THIS COUNRTY approximately 6 months after 9/11? That's the OLYMPICS my friends. In February. If that's not a very sweet target for a terrorist attack, I don't know what is. Even if the target is not the Olympics per se, security is going to be so concentrated there that other places may be somewhat lax during those weeks.
This would be why there has not been another attack even with the US military pounding on Afghanistan the way they have. There have been many posts here and elsewhere along the "if they had it they would have used it" variety. Personally, I don't like waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's no way to live.