Month: August 2004

As a reader pointed out down yonder, there is a second offensive toy that has been produced and bundled with candy in Florida. This toy appears to depict Usama bin Laden standing between the WTC towers. (And, it looks to me, as if he is preparing to knock them over.)

As before, the candy company explained that it bought the toys sight unseen and did not realize what it was sending out. It has now recalled the toys.

The importer previously defended the first 9/11 toy discovered. No word on whether it also defends this one.

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Remember 9/11?

Remember how horrible it was?

Remember all the even more horrible terrorist attacks that followed it?

You don’t?

Neither do I.

This raises a hopeful possibility: Maybe al-Qa’eda has spent its force.

Maybe we’ve neutralized so many of its leaders and footsoldiers that it isn’t able to project the force it did on 9/11.

Maybe it played its hand too early and didn’t have the accumulated strength needed to pull off similarly horrible attacks. (Maybe there just aren’t that many fanatical Muslims willing to kill themselves in the pursuit of jihad.)

Maybe it’s a combination of the these factors.

What I know is that, despite all its posturing, al-Qa’eda hasn’t (yet) been able to pull off a similarly horrible attack in the three years that have elapsed since 9/11.

What I’m sure of is that al-Qa’eda would have carried out a similarly horrible attack if it had been able to do so during most of that time.

What I’m worried about is that al-Qa’eda may have been able to accumulate enough resources to attempt such an attack before the U.S. election two months from now.

What I’m confident of is that al-Qa’eda is still a threat that must be taken with grave seriousness and vigorously pursued.

But as more time elapses without a catastrophic attack, the more evidence accumulates that al-Qa’eda is a spent force.

HERE’S SOMEONE WHO WILL PUT THE PIECES TOGETHER FOR YOU ON THAT HOPEFUL POSSIBILITY.

Remember 9/11?

Remember how horrible it was?

Remember all the even more horrible terrorist attacks that followed it?

You don’t?

Neither do I.

This raises a hopeful possibility: Maybe al-Qa’eda has spent its force.

Maybe we’ve neutralized so many of its leaders and footsoldiers that it isn’t able to project the force it did on 9/11.

Maybe it played its hand too early and didn’t have the accumulated strength needed to pull off similarly horrible attacks. (Maybe there just aren’t that many fanatical Muslims willing to kill themselves in the pursuit of jihad.)

Maybe it’s a combination of the these factors.

What I know is that, despite all its posturing, al-Qa’eda hasn’t (yet) been able to pull off a similarly horrible attack in the three years that have elapsed since 9/11.

What I’m sure of is that al-Qa’eda would have carried out a similarly horrible attack if it had been able to do so during most of that time.

What I’m worried about is that al-Qa’eda may have been able to accumulate enough resources to attempt such an attack before the U.S. election two months from now.

What I’m confident of is that al-Qa’eda is still a threat that must be taken with grave seriousness and vigorously pursued.

But as more time elapses without a catastrophic attack, the more evidence accumulates that al-Qa’eda is a spent force.

HERE’S SOMEONE WHO WILL PUT THE PIECES TOGETHER FOR YOU ON THAT HOPEFUL POSSIBILITY.

A toy packaged with candy to be sold to children in central Florida depicts the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

Parents, stores, and even the candy company are outraged and have pulled the toy from their shelves. However, the import company that brought the toy into the U.S. and sold it to the candy company (which did not see the toy beforehand) does not deny that the toy depicts 9/11 but also does not believe that the toy is offensive and sees no problem with its distribution.

I want to know who owns this importer and who originally manufactured the toy.

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