I hope he doesn't have to eat these words

Biden: Major terror attack on U.S. unlikely

Excerpt:

"The idea of there being a massive attack in the United States like 9/11 is unlikely, in my opinion," Biden said in an interview on CNN's "Larry King Live."

Instead, groups such as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula "have decided to move in the direction of much more small-bore but devastatingly frightening attacks," such as the failed bombing of a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day.

Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, a Nigerian, has been accused of trying to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253 as it prepared to land in Detroit, Michigan, on Christmas Day.

"I think there are going to be attempts," Biden said, but he praised the successes of the U.S. security and intelligence apparatus in dealing with the threats.

Comment: I hope he is right!

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab & Seat 19A

Why the Jockstrap Bomber picked seat 19A

Excerpt:

If the so-called Jockstrap Bomber had detonated his device, would it have brought down the airplane? Among the many unanswered questions about the plan followed by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab are several involving his position in seat 19A, a window seat in the left side of the cabin. Two questions, particularly: Did he get to choose that seat and, if so, why?

If you wanted to bring down the Airbus A330 with a compact explosive device, like the one embedded in Abdulmutallab’s underpants, you would try to hit the most vulnerable part of the airplane. Al Qaeda’s technical planners have proved themselves experts in the detail of aviation operations. Their training of the 9/11 hijackers was just enough to equip them with the skills to fly an airliner precisely into targeted buildings. They would surely have studied the architecture of the Airbus to decide where a bomb would be most effective. And as an engineering student, Abdulmutallab would have been a quick study.

So, in theory at least, seat 19A would seem ideal. It is positioned exactly over the center of the wings, and under it is a tank capable of holding 41,559 liters of fuel.

Comment: Interesting