Those Miami al-Qaeda Terrorists

So we've finally caught us some terrorists! right next door! All the fear and anxiety drummed into our heads by the Bush admin appears to have been based on fact and due vigilance. ...

Larry Johnson (terrorism expert) at No Quarter suggests that we react with caution to the news:

Some things to keep in mind. First, no weapons or explosives were recovered at the site of the raid. Second, the claim that one suspect "pledged bayat" (swore an oath) to Bin Laden should be treated as questionable. Bin Laden has been on the run since he escaped Tora Bora in December 2001. I don't think he is receiving too many visitors since then.

When this shakes out I suspect we will find a disaffected group of youths who had fantastical dreams of destruction but no real capability to carry out their evil fantasies. Given the Bush Administration's proclivity to play the fear card and use the threat of terrorism to scare the hell out of the public, a healthy dose of skepticism is warranted.

Larry could have added the fact that when the Okalahoma bombing happened, news media automatically assumed it was Islamic terrorists who carried out the attack. Only later did we learn that it was our own home-grown terrorist, Timothy McVeigh.

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