Minor point of fact: 8 Americans, 20 total dead, 40 Americans wounded, 194 total wounded (although that includes minor wounds, according to the article).
I disagree that the embassies and the USS Cole were "hard" targets. IIRC, the Cole was in a civilian port in Yemen, and the embassies were not guarded better than the "soft" target last year. (Feel free to correct me if my recollection is wrong.) Plus, these were attacks in foreign countries where there were either:
- large groups of people sympathetic to Al Qaeda, or
- ineffective policing, or
- both.
The attack in Saudi Arabia is what Al-Qaeda did before they got more successful and well organized. I take this as proof that they are attempting to regroup, each "successful" terrorist act is used as advertisement for like-minded recruits. And I take it as proof that they are still committed to attacking Americans.
How can you NOT see that as proof positive of the effectiveness of the WOT and Homeland Security? I watched the Pentagon burn in person....every one of us here thought that we were seeing the beginning of a major terrorism war against us. Many were saying that 9/11 was just a taste of the horrors to come. No one was saying that we would be safe from attack....nor do I believe that Al Qaeda intended to stop after 9/11. Yet 9/11 is starting to look more and more like an aberration as time goes by. Why? My answer is to credit the WOT and HS policies. When we say "no attacks since 9/11" we mean that we are seeing nothing of the usual scale of Al Qaeda....nor attacks on targets favored in the past by Al Qaeda.
Do you "get it" now??
The threat from Al Qaeda has been diminished, I'd be a fool to say otherwise. It is clear to me that, regardless of other efforts in the WOT, the attack on Afghanistan disrupted plans and made it harder for Al Qaeda to function.
And because that threat is diminshed, it means that they will not be able to attack in the way they did until they can regroup. I'm not so certain as you that this isn't happening.
The attack last year is both proof that Al Qaeda has been weakened, and that they still have the will and desire to attack. I think that, unless the WOT is effective, we will start to see larger and bolder attacks.
I think the WOT hasn't been proven a success yet.
You seem to think so, Rik, and I hope you're more right than me.
But can I ask one thing: Next time this topic comes up, would you acknowledge that there has been an attack since 9/11? Minimize it as much as you want, but please acknowledge its existence.
