Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab succeeded in striking at Democracy even though he screwed up

[zulchzulu]

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab may have screwed up by setting his testicles on fire with the PETN-laced underpants concoction (as seen on TV), but the spurious and cynical effort to take away our rights and to make paranoia and fear the apparent consequence has been very successful.

Yes, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab didn't have a proper detonator attached to his testicular assemblage to blow himself up. But the detonation that did happen was the fear, paranoia and finger-pointing that came from the myriad bloviating Post-Hoc Experts that have given in to the fear, much like the earlier scuttlebutt with the Shoe Bomber's failed attempts at using PETN.

The Republicans attacking Obama for "not making us safe" are indeed complicit cohorts and criminals in aiding Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on his mission of folly. Their message to the World is that our intel is faulty, our leaders are incompetent and that now's a good time to perhaps try again. They broadcast like turncoats in a battle that we're not ready and perhaps want to aid our enemies to strike again so they can brag that their battle coordinates they gave to the enemy were correct.

As anyone knows who has flown in airplanes since 2001, you need to take your shoes off when you attempt to get on a plane. Who wins? Al Qaeda. Richard Reid. And yes, Dick Cheney. All of them want fear and fear is the consequence.

So what if millions of people have to take their shoes off and pull out liquids before they can get on a plane. That's nothing now.

It's a matter of time before everyone has to go through a full body scan to get on a plane. Who wins based on fear?

Al Qaeda.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and his hapless attempt have made America and democracy weaker. It's our leaders and our mainstream media that helped shore up the fear and paranoia that will only get worse and perhaps cause more Orwellian overstepping as the new decade begins.

If you are watching cable news, the photo of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab as a teenager is an odd and unsuspecting consequence of the fear that we are supposed to embrace eagerly and perhaps report our neighbors, our siblings, our sons and daughters and others as possible terror zombies. You could even be interviewed by media stars as you admit your suspicions and get famous. It's a New Witch Hunt.

That's the next step, I'm afraid.

[Clio the Leo]

1. Excellent point. NT