So if it's not a wag-the-dog thing....
...what does it mean that the "London plot" surfaces now, just before an election, along with those amusing tales of people with 1,000 cell phones to make a detonator to blow up a bridge, et al?
The terrorists are familiar with the American electoral calendar, and they know the election is coming. They know the Republican pitch to stay in power. And terrorism, remember, is performed for effect. What effect do you think they intend to achieve by increasing terror attacks just before this election? C'mon, you can do it, Tom--who will benefit politically? Who, therefore, do the terrorists prefer in power?