No More Splendid Isolation for the Lap Bomber

No More Splendid Isolation for the Lap Bomber
by Baron Bodissey


"From the moment Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab’s pantsload of PETN failed to detonate properly — which may mean the young Nigerian will have to sing soprano when he finally joins the heavenly choir — government officials and the media were united in their insistence that Mr. Mutallab’s attempt to bring down Flight 253 on Christmas Day was an “isolated incident”.

It was hard do deny that this was a terrorist attack — even we, the great unwashed out here in Bubbaland, would have seen through that dodge — but every talking head on TV avoided using the “I”-word. Despite the avowed connection to Al Qaeda and Anwar al-Awlaki, the young man was diagnosed as “isolated”, and may in fact have been a mental case who needed to be in an isolation ward."