National Review Online asked a group of experts: "What's the most important lesson we should take from the averted terrorist attack on Fort Dix?" For all replies, see "Symposium: Jihad in Jersey"
I draw two lessons. First, that immigrants seeking refuge in the West must be grilled for their attitudes toward our civilization, our religions, and politics. Whether it be Somali refugees in the United Kingdom, Algerian ones in France, or Balkan ones in the United States (remember the Salt Lake City shooter in February, as well as four of the current six accused terrorists), individuals given the privilege and benefits of a new life then with some regularity turn around and attack their adopted fellow citizens. This unacceptable pattern has to be scrutinized to prevent future such atrocities.
Second, mercifully, terrorists can be counted on to make dumb mistakes. I established an honorary "Stupid Terrorists Club" in 2005; its founding members gained entry with such acts as having returned to retrieve the deposit on a van they had used to blow up a building, not wearing a car seat belt while transporting terrorist gear, or ordering $3,300 (in American dollars) worth of airline-related goods with an overdrawn credit card. This new group of six joined the Club by dint of its sending a jihadi DVD to a store be copied commercially and choosing as its target Fort Dix, a hardened military installation (among other components, it includes a prison). (May 9, 2007)
May 10, 2007 update: For a discussion of the propriety of discussing this topic in public, see "Am I Helping the Terrorist Enemy?"
