The Daily Dish reader's question stems from the fact that authorities sayUmar Farouk Abdulmutallab spent a long time in the plane's bathroom preparing the explosive device, but didn't detonate it there. Instead, he returned to his seat, where other passengers could see what he was doing and stop him. The reader suggested that terrorists who hatched the plot knew it would be too difficult to get a working bomb aboard the jet, but understood that even a failed attack would trigger shock waves of fear.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Jay Bookman called it an "intriguing question" and acknowledged that terrorists always aim for "maximum theater value" in their attacks.
But not all those who commented on Sullivan's blog bought the deliberate-dud theory. Several pointed to reports that Abdulmutallab specifically chose seat 19A, which is located right above a wing and near fuel tanks. At least one noted that the device wasn't set off until the airliner was close to Detroit – a possible indication that the plan was to cause maximum damage on the ground in addition to killing everyone on the jet.
Writing on the Liberal Values blog, Ron Chusid said that unless the suspect was misled by his handlers, it's hard to believe someone would agree "to ignite such a device near their testiclesknowing they were going to both live and be apprehended."
Whether the bomb fizzled by design or by accident, there's no doubt that what happened on Flight 253 was frightening. In the aftermath, travelers have been subjected to new security rules and there's been a rash of air scares.
• A flight from Detroit was diverted because of a "suspicious item" that turned out to be a Christmas ornament.
• Meadows Field Airport in Bakersfield, Calif., was evacuated when bottles of honey in a passenger's luggage were mistaken for explosives.
• A terminal at New Jersey's Newark Airport was thrown into chaos for hours after an unscreened man walked through a checkpoint exit.
• TSA officers handcuffed war correspondent Michael Yon because he wouldn't answer some of their questions when he arrived at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport from Hong Kong.
• Comedienne Joan Rivers complained she was "held hostage" by airport security in Costa Rica because of questions about her passport.
British blogger Ian Leslie thinks such incidents show the alleged underpants bomber accomplished his mission. Leslie criticized the "frenzied over-reaction" – calling it "as self-defeating as it is dismaying."
"They don't care if they kill us. They just want us to live in terror," The Impolitic's Libby Spencer said about terrorists. And she charged the GOP with "playing right into their hands."
Mitchell Bard also lashed out at Republicans on The Huffington Post, accusing them of politicizing the bombing attempt and "making us less safe" by fostering an atmosphere of panic.
But President Obama's response hasn't exactly eased fears, either. He bluntly told his security team Tuesday the attack was "a screw-up that could have been disastrous." Conflicting statements from some of his top advisers contributed to a general sense of confusion. And The Daily Beast's Lee Siegel said Obama is as guilty as everyone else of reacting to every terrorist incident as if there had never been any before.
As a result, fear is in the air. Our normal way of life is disrupted. Americans are fighting with each other instead of focusing on the common enemy. Nobody was killed this time, but those whose goal is to terrorize can consider the failed bombing of Flight 253 a success.
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