Say Anything Blog

Sheesh:

The analysts discussed several of the “nightmares” that might arise in this world where Muslim rage continued but without the discipline of a controlling central organization.

“My doomsday scenario, aside from weapons of mass destruction, is personalized jihad,” explained one analyst. “Everyone gets to do it on their own. Anyone can take a knife and stab someone in the back.”

A related concern is the devolution of targeting. With al-Qaeda, targets were selected to meet certain criteria of economic and symbolic importance. But as U.S. counterterrorism operations disrupt al-Qaeda, one analyst noted, “that pushes targeting down in the ranks.”

The analysts recall the anxiety produced by the Washington area sniper attacks in October 2002, in which random shootings by John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo created a fear that nearly paralyzed the region. That illustrates the damage that personalized jihad could do.

I’ll admit that, upon the successful disruption and frustration of organized international terrorist networks, the resulting havoc that could potentially spring from lone-acting personnel from said networks is a serious point to consider.

But there’s a larger point to take from this: We are so close to having successful disrupted and frustrated al Qaeda that questions like the one above are now pertinent ones to be asking.  That in and of itself is happy news, and terribly inconvenient for liberals (especially those in the media) who are incapable of admitting to any level of success in the war on terror.