Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Underwear Bomber

Perhaps illustrative of my above point about Africa being a potential terrorist recruiting ground of the present and future. The “Underwear Bomber” pleaded guilty in a federal courtroom last week for attempting to blow up a jetliner over Detroit, Christmas Day 2010.

Though, I’m certainly not going to shed a tear for the underwear bomber, I think this case speaks to larger problems that we as a country have yet to meaningfully address.

 Despite our best security, he still found a way onto a commercial airliner and could’ve brought down a plane with 250 passengers onboard. This is indicative that even with the world’s greatest security measures, the terrorists can always find a hole.

My larger point, is the terrorist breeding ground that is Africa. Africa is plagued with bad governance, lack of jobs, lack of education, and just a general lack of opportunity. Terrorist groups prey upon the margins of traditional society, exploiting the isolated and giving them something to believe in.

 The “Underwear Bomber” may have failed in his ultimate goal, thankfully, but that doesn’t mean that there are not other disaffected souls around the world, under the sway of terrorist ideology seething at the thought of finishing the Underwear Bombers work and creating their own legacy.

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