Tomorrow is 9/11/04. It's been 1095 days since al Qaeda claimed credit for a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. This drought is not for lack of effort on the part of Osama bin Laden's disciples. So what has kept us safe from such attacks within the United States for three years?

One answer is the single-minded pursuit of security on the part of John Ashcroft, Tom Ridge, and others similar to them. The ACLU doesn't like them, but more importantly, neither do terrorists. Another, less-explored answer is the utter incompetence of many Islamic terrorists. Sure, they've pulled off something as satanically ingenious as the 9/11 attacks. But they've also demonstrated cartoonish bumbling in some of their ambitious, but failed, attempts at mass murder.

Consider that among the reasons the 1993 World Trade Center bombers were caught, in the words of the 9/11 Commission, is that one of the conspirators, “Mohammed Salameh, who had rented the truck and reported it stolen, kept calling the rental office to get back his $400 deposit." That truck, of course, was used as a giant bomb in the attack.

In Sudan, bin Laden and associates paid $1.5 million for weapons-grade uranium--or so they thought. The commission noted, "Al Qaeda apparently purchased the cylander, then discovered it to be bogus."

In late 1999, the Millenium Plot to blow up LAX failed because an al Qaeda operative cracked under pressure and exhibited extreme foolishness. Ahmed Ressam, a common criminal who graduated to terrorism, was arrested attempting to smuggle large amounts of explosives into the United States. Ressam boarded his car smuggling the explosives on a Canada-to-U.S. ferry, and waited until all of the cars had disembarked thinking that this would enhance his chances of success. It didn't. It drew attention to him, as did his strange behavior and anxiousness. The 9/11 Commission Report notes that as the INS agents inspected Ressam, he "panicked and tried to run away."

Three weeks later in January of 2000, al Qaeda attempted to blow up the U.S.S. Sullivans, a destroyer in the Gulf of Aden. The terrorists failed because zeal overcame common sense when they overloaded their boat with munitions and inadvertantly sank the murderous vessel.

Following the 9/11 attacks, al Qaeda terrorist Richard Reid attempted to ignite his sneaker, which was really a bomb, in the presence of other passengers on board a transatlantic flight. The passengers subdued him and foiled his plot. The event demonstrated the paradoxical nature of al Qaeda--capable of something as clever as a sneaker bomb and as idiotic as attempting to light it in such a conspicuous manner. Did Reid never figure out that he would have had more success in the bathroom?

It's a curse that so many Muslims are willing to engage in acts so evil. Thank God that so many of them are incredibly stupid.

I think in Reid's case location mattered. If he tried to ignite his sneaker in restroom it wouldn't have had the same effect on the plane.

Dont forget the DC snipers. As evil, al Qaeda sympathizers, they were successful and stupid.

i would have to think that in some way reid knew he was doing wrong and almost wanted to be stopped. if not the guy really was a bonehead. If i were sitting next to him i may have thought he was just practicing giving Hotfoots?