Achilles Heel?

Quiz time!

So, what all does aQ's semi diminished ability to strike spectacular strikes, failed airborne chicanery from hopelessly backwards areas like Yemen (cos they don't know the secret!) and Great Satan's south 40 have in common?

Actually - a bodacious amount m'seur! 

One of Great Satan's hoochies lays steel on target with a hot! piece that includes the following money shots ala nat'l sec

"...Al Qaeda may be in trouble; it can no longer afford to lose its operatives in failed attacks. But that also may mean something more nefarious: We need to watch our borders more closely for anonymous entry. A key underlying concern caused by Mexican cartel violence on our border is possible exploitation by terrorist organizations, most particularly Hezbollah (Iran's terrorist arm) and al Qaeda. Recent arrests of senior Hezbollah operatives working closely with cartels out of northern Mexico and al Qaeda's interest in the Colombian FARC are just a few of the reasons for heightened concern.

 "...What does a crisis on our borderlands have to do with a cargo plot originating in Yemen, now said to have been just 17 minutes from at least one detonation? Mounting evidence suggests that al Qaeda needs anonymity on the front end of operations - and our borders between ports of entry are a near-guaranteed way to preserve that anonymity. One way to achieve mayhem is exactly what al Qaeda tried with the cargo-plane plot - sending nearly undetectable packages filled with PETN (pentaerythritol tetranitrate), mailed by using a stolen identity, authorities think, through a vulnerable aviation system. Our physical borders offer something similar: likely undetected operatives using any identity (or none) through hundreds of miles of scantily patrolled, vulnerable U.S. borderlands. 

"...This affords al Qaeda the ability to use a suicide bomber without the United States ever being able to positively identify the perpetrator forensically. Anonymity means success because the United States knows nothing, can place no responsibility on al Qaeda and cannot go after the organization afterward unless al Qaeda decides to take credit. If you are al Qaeda and losing ground in the war on terror, that may look like a pretty good outcome.


"...There is no doubt that the battleground against terrorist operations is wide and requires constant upgrades in the areas of intelligence, information-sharing, immigration and aviation security. However, securing our physical borders has long been doable. What has been lacking has been the will to do it. If we are concerned as a nation that al Qaeda may be moving toward anonymity, that is just one more sound reason to make our border secure and stop pretending it already is.

Pic - "Fencin'"