Pinky and The Brain

In the 90s there was a well-known cartoon called Pinky and The Brain.  The sketches revolved around two white mice caged in a research lab.  In every episode these two mice tried to take over the world.  It was obviously funny, because it was impossible for them to do it.  Every sketch inevitably ended in their failure, for the simple reason that they were just mice.

Every time I hear about various terror plots across American I think about Pinky and The Brain.  Every time we are put on high alert because of terror cells within I think of these two white mice.  Every time I am reminded that the terrorists are trying to destroy America I am almost as scared as when I watched that cartoon years ago.  If we look at the terrorists we are up against it is not hard to believe we have not been attacked again.  Let’s take a closer look at these terrorists in our midst.

Lyman Faris reportedly wanted to bring down the Brooklyn Bridge with a blowtorch.  The extent of his planning for this massive operation was researching the bridge online and asking a friend if he knew where to buy some welding equipment.  His plan was to bring down the bridge by cutting through the massive suspension cables with a blowtorch while no one was looking.  Apparently even he realized how absurd this plan was.  He sent a message to his friends calling the plot off saying, “The weather is too hot.”

There was a plot to attack Fort Dix.  They were planning on attacking the heavily fortified military base by sneaking in as pizza deliverymen, attacking the well-armed soldiers and then retreating.  Since the men did not have any military training they decided to prepare by going to a gun range.  They filmed themselves shooting the guns and yelling “Alla Akbar” God is the greatest.  They wanted to put the footage onto a DVD, but had no idea how to do it so they dropped it off at the local Circuit City to be transferred.  The video technician called the police.

There was a plot to blow up the Sears Tower.  The FBI recorded this high level terrorist plot as the group of seven men were smoking marijuana.  Their informant in the group was crucial in setting things up.  The men wanted to plan the attack and take pictures of the Sears Tower, but had no money.  The FBI helped them out by buying them cameras and renting a car for them to get to the target.  The FBI even rented them a warehouse to plan things from.  The group had no supplies so they gave the informant a list of things they needed to carry out the attack.  The list included new boots, but oddly enough no weapons.  This led some to speculate that the group intended on kicking the Sears tower down.

Tarek Mehanna was just arrested on terrorism charges.  The media has hyped this as a terror plot foiled.  As was reported on all the networks he was plotting to kill civilians and high-level government officials.  He was apparently planning on shooting people at a mall, but was unable to carry out the attacks because he could not get any weapons.  So a man with no weapons wanted to kill people.  This hardly sounds like a threat to me.  A terrorist is someone who brings terror to others.  Someone who hates others, but cannot do anything to harm them is just a curmudgeon.

In order to carry out a crime one must have means, motive and opportunity.  Motive alone is not enough.  We are often reminded that the terrorists are motivated to destroy America.  This may be, but if they do not have the means or opportunity to take action then I do not really care.  A handful of lone radicals destroying America is about as likely as two mice taking over the world.  There are many people who hate us, but there are few that can actually harm us.  Ignore the media hype and just relax.

October 2009