In August 2006, Russell “Mohammed” Defreitas, a retired employee of New York’s JFK Airport, confided to an acquaintance his “vision” for a jihad terror attack that, he said, would make the attack on the World Trade Center seem small. The plot involved placing bombs in jet fuel lines in the airport, thereby destroying the airport and probably killing thousands. Besides the mayhem and economic devastation this plot would cause, Defreitas seemed to have been fond of it because of its symbolic value: “Anytime you hit Kennedy, it is the most hurtful thing to the United States,” he told his acquaintance,...