What to they teach in a madrassah? Nothing scientific or practical. What they do learn is to recite the 7th Century oriented Koran backward and forward (which freezes the serious student into the 7th Century), they pick up an inclination toward suicidal agression, and they learn how to pull a trigger or light a fuze. Big deal. Not enough.

As the GWOT has proceeded, their technical performance has sagged and ours is getting results. Yes, IEDs hurt, but they are taught monkey-see, monkey-do, using western technology and employed in the safety of their backyards. Once they leave their backyards they become disoriented and they can’t adjust They can’t improvise very well. They’ve been taught to disregard all thought outside the Koran, it is hard to reverse that kind of lesson.

All those first rate Arab-born western educated smart kids they used originally, are now wise to the usual end result. Yes, they can get help from the sophisticated countries, but those countries are drawing a few conclusions of their own.

By all reports the Times Square car bomb is as pathetic as the Reed’s shoe bomb or the undy-bomber’s briefs.

James Bond’s Q would just chuckle. A propane bomb in Times Square will not alter the national will, at least not the way they want.