What was the purpose of the terror plot?

I hadn’t posted anything yet on the foiled terrorist attempt of last weekend, because none of the stories I had seen made any sense of it and what its objective was. This article, at the Boston Herald, comes closer to useful information than others, with its indications that the bombs were supposed to blow up in mid air, but it also makes it clear that U.S. authorities still do not know what al Qaeda was planning to accomplish.

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James P. writes:

Seems to me the main target was the aircraft and the air transportation system, not the ostensible targets in Chicago to whom the packages were mailed. I think the plot was “designed to fail” — i.e., they sent the tip themselves. They want to learn our current procedures and how we react to this type of attack. Secondarily they want to make us spend a lot more money on security. For less than $100, they will cause us to spend billions x-raying each package sent via aircraft, which is great cost effectiveness from their perspective.

N. writes:

I completely agree with James P. on the purpose of the latest scheme. Please note that both Federal Express and United Parcel Service now refuse to accept packages from Yemen. Now, how much money could we save in x-raying cargo, if none of it came from Islamic countries where some “tiny handful of radicals” were plotting to send explosive packages into the air cargo system?

This latest little attack is actually another example of why separationism is the solution to the problems resulting from Islam.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at November 01, 2010 07:48 AM | Send