Terror Attacks

Mailed printer toner cartridges filled with chemicals planned to explode midair on its way to Chicago--- wow, al-Qaeda is sure getting creative and desperate to keep on hurting and scaring. The packages were traced back to Yemen where U.S. born al-Qaeda operative Anwar al-Awlaki is believed to be hiding out, keeping busy by inciting hate and inspiring such terror plans (recall the underwear bomber last Christmas). Luckily, the mailed bomb packages were intercepted in England and Dubai after a tip from Saudi Arabia.

With this latest scare, there's been pressure on Yemen to crack down on festering terrorism. Al-Awlaki has been on the CIA's hit list since April and now the Yemen government has finally brought a charge against him, in absentia.

Just take a moment to appreciate the breathtaking international scope of all of this-- from Yemen to Chicago, stopped in Dubai and England, involving the Saudis. Terrorism really does transcend boundaries. The critical question is: Has global counter-terrorism become as effective and coordinated to fight back? This time we've been lucky... who's to say next time? And where's the United Nations in all of this? Shouldn't the UN be more proactively spearheading and improving global counter-terrorism efforts?

Surprise, surprise, another terrorist-related arrested with links to Somalia. Fox news reported:

Mohamed Hamoud Alessa, 20, of North Bergen, and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, 26, of Elmwood Park were charged with conspiracy to commit international terrorism and were picked up by the FBI before boarding flights to join the Somali Al Qaeda affiliate Al Shabaab, officials said. Both men are believed to be American citizens. The two men were arrested following a years-long investigation and were charged with conspiring to commit an act of international terrorism through a group tied to Usama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network, a federal law enforcement source told FOXNews.com.

They say there was no specific threat at the airport, but clearly the FBI are on to something. For now, we must stay tuned and understand that the threat of homegrown terrorism still exists. Click here to learn more about the threat of homegrown terrorism.