O-mama - Opinionated Moms

Photo Associated Press

According to the Associated Press, the two bombs that were discovered in the cargo sections of passenger planes were wired to cell phones and hidden in computer printer cartridges.  They are believed to have been made by al-Qaida bomb expert Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri.  The plan was for the packages to go from Yemen to the United States, via various other international stops, and it is unknown where/when they were to be detonated.

One of the bombs was found in Dubai and had flown on two airplanes before it was discovered.  Both were commercial flights with at least a 144-passenger capacity.  The other bomb was found at East Midlands airport in England and had gone undetected for several hours. British Home Secretary, Theresa May, said the bomb on the plane that landed in England had enough explosives in it to take the plane down.  The suspected bomb maker in this case is also believed to be responsible for the attempted Christmas bombing in Detroit.  That bomb was four times smaller than the ones that came from Yemen this time, and investigators say that, that mission might have been a dry run for this attempted attack. The packages were on route to Chicago and were addressed to Chicago-area synagogues and bore the names of historical figures known for their persecution of Muslims. 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has stopped all cargo shipments from Yemen.

MOMism: ”Diffuse the situation.”  Now that the bombs have been diffused, how do we diffuse the situation?  Terrorism is a constant threat to our security.  There are complicated circuits working against us all the time.  We know this.  We do prevent a lot of explosive situations, but we react to a lot, too..thank heavens, most of the time, it doesn't blow up in our faces.

The way to diffuse the anger of the terrorists and toward the terrorists is not a sinchy deal.  But, what is clear is that the task of diffusing the situation lies with us.  Their goal is chaos and confusion by lighting the fuse and watching us scramble against the hypothetical clock. We need to maintain calm and be level headed to outsmart and anticipate danger.  We cannot over-react or under-react.  We cannot cross live wires or cut the wrong ones.  Yes, we need to figure out how to contain dangerous extremists and disable plots against us, but we cannot let the pressure impair our sound judgement, or we will detonate ourselves and implode - not explode.