Since Sept. 11, 2001, we’ve not had a major terrorist attack on U.S. soil. I would not have believed that on the evening of 9-11. Through a combination of response and dumb luck, our government has managed to protect the American public from the horrors of ideological death and destruction, a horror that has become too familiar in other parts of the world. Our “homeland security” protections on American soil, together with our international intelligence efforts and pro-active military involvements (too proactive, perhaps, in the care of Iraq) have stopped another “big plot” from hatching in one of our cities. For that, we must all be grateful.
Unfortunately, while the big plots haven’t gotten anywhere, a different kind of terrorism has asserted itself in recent years, with small but fatal consequences and unsettling implications. I’m thinking about the “one man”, self-inspired terrorist plots, such as the shooting spree by Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan at Fort Hood, and the airplane explosion attempt by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab over Detroit on Christmas Day. These kinds of terrorism are harder to detect and stop. They involve a certain kind of person with a certain mentality, who absorbs an “idea in the air” like an infection; i.e. what some psychologists and sociologists call a “meme”.
It only takes one big, well-publicized terror incident (e.g., 9-11) » continue reading …
