The target of terrorism is not the victims of the act itself. The target is all the rest of us. The goal is to get all of us to react to fear. So when a plot to use liquids to blow up commercial jets failed, those wishing to scare us failed as well.
That's where Chertoff comes in to complete the task. ABC news has a new article up where the DHS Secretary offers chilling details of what might have happened. Chertoff knows only too well that the collective worry of US Citizens will keep him in power.
To keep us all in the grip of panic Chertoff offers this bit of wisdom:
"I think that the plot, in terms of its intent, was looking at devastation on a scale that would have rivaled 9/11. If they had succeeded in bringing liquid explosives on seven or eight aircraft, there could have been thousands of lives lost and an enormous economic impact with devastating consequences for international air travel."
They failed. They failed to blow anything up. They failed to scare us. They failed to change our society. But the the good Secretary comes to their rescue and does their work for them. Way to go Chertoff. 
1 comment:
Not to mention that liquid bombing an airliner would be next to impossible, anyway ( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/17/flying_toilet_terror_labs/)
I like the angle that Chertoff is actually spreading what he's supposed to be preventing...so true, and so well put. Great article.
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