Where does it say al-Qaeda purchased those barrels thinking they were nuclear materials? Or even purchased the barrels?

I'd wonder about anyone who found a barrel they thought contained radioactive materials who didn't wave a scintillation counter around before shipping the damned thing off for analysis. Learned that in high school - if you think it's radioactive, wave the wand at it.

And, I'm a bit afraid of what is an American tendency, may be universal, to underestimate your opponent. In Vietnam we at first thought that anyone who walked on sandals made from old tires, ate rice, and lived in a grass house couldn't be very smart. We found out the hard way they are VERY smart, certainly as smart as I. Those Stallone and Swarzenegger movies are absolutely silly, no one ever lined up for me to get shot. And they are resourceful. In 1968 1,000 Allied troops were killed by weapons made out of captured and dud Allied supplies.

It seems to me that Osama and friends are smart and patient. They would check the damned barrels, for one thing. And I wouldn't want to be the guy who arranged the sale if the goods were misrepresented.

Any moron with a mortar shell can win a battle in the war on terrorism. Thank God no moron has dropped a 60mm on a Wal-Mart in Topeka. It wouldn't do much damage but the country would go nuts.

Where I live, West Coast, north of CA, south of Seattle, there's a middle-aged lady who works for a small State agency. She works in a complex of 3 buildings, one 5 stories, 4 four stories. She is deathly afraid, every day, all day, that some terrorist will fly a plane into her building.

You know and I know if it weren't Osama it would be something else. And, he's set it up so that it's him.

And we want to think they're stupid.

Arf