It wasn't too bright to behead an American on film when the U.S. was wallowing in the mire of the prison photos, was it?

Keep in mind that al Qaeda is not so much an army, as it is a franchise. Many terror groups operate mostly on their own, with only loose guidance. And many are not al Qaeda at all. Zarqawi, for example, seems to be setting himself up as a rival to bin Laden.

So, trying to invoke strategy to predict an attack on the U.S. is not a sure-fire thing.

Frankly, I'm really as surprised as hell that we haven't been hit by ANY kind of attack up until now. I would have bet money back in the months after 2001 that we were going to be nailed again, even if it was only some nut with a bomb belt in a bus. I held my breath traveling on a road trip over the 4th of July in 2002. I skirted Las Vegas, and had a radiation counter in the back of the van ("dirty bombs" were in the news). I waited through the anniversaries of the attack, the 4th again, and other dates I was sure would represent symbolic targets. Nothing.

Is our homeland security that good? Are we overestimating how many terrorists are left? Is Osama really pushing up daisies in the mountains of Afghanistan? Beats me. But the lack of even a one-man attack on American soil to date is, in my opinion, almost bizarre.