Abdulmutallab's bomb plans began with classroom defence of 9/11

"The son of one of Africa’s richest families was called "Imam" by fellow students as he descended into fanaticism -

The rich kid with a brilliant school record was a ticking time bomb even before he turned up as an international student living in his father’s mansion block apartment in Britain.

Classmates remember Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab as such a pious youth that he was nicknamed “the Pope”.

Suicide bombers typically take half a dozen years to descend from religious fanaticism to “martyrdom”, which appears to be the case for this young Nigerian, a security expert said.

Acting alone as a “clean skin” rather than by mingling with any gang of British plotters, he evaded the kind of close scrutiny that known radical suspects now endure. If, as suggested, he made contact with the Yemen-based cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, an idol for the mass murderer at the US military base Fort Hood, he could have done that via his computer screen."

We need better human intelligence, don't you think???