Good article, although this threat isn't really anything new.

Question: these weapons have been circulating underground since the fall of the Soviet Union, and probably before. What the heck has kept them from shooting down loads of American airliners so far?* Of course, if you talk to some people, they make a case that this has already happened, possibly more than once, although it's odd that the terrorists haven't claimed credit if this is true.

This is related to the question of where the hell all the U.S. suicide bombers are? I would have thought someone would have exploited this obvious gaping hole in American security before now.

*Missiles have reportedly been used to shoot down a couple of dozen airliners in African and Asian nations, but I don't have the statistics.