Even jihadists pinch pennies

If not for the fact that Islam is deadly serious about killing you, me and the rest of the kuffirs, this story would be very funny.  Be that as it may, the fact that the cost to fly was a concern to the would-be bomber, Abdulmutallab just shows that the almighty dollar affects even those wanting us dead.  Hollywood would be hard-pressed to come up with a plot line that good.


From TBO Online March 24 by Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo

For al-Qaida, Detroit was just the cheapest flight

WASHINGTON (AP) -- When an admitted al-Qaida operative planned his itinerary for a Christmas 2009 airline bombing, he considered launching the strike in the skies above Houston or Chicago, The Associated Press has learned. But tickets were too expensive, so he refocused the mission on a cheaper destination: Detroit.

Detroit, which is in Michigan, which has the town of Dearborn, which has the largest Muslim population and one of the largest mega-mosques in the US.

The decision is among new details emerging about one of the most sensational terrorism plots to unfold since President Barack Obama took office. It shows that al-Qaida's Yemen branch does not share Osama bin Laden's desire to attack symbolic targets, preferring instead to strike at targets of opportunity. Like the plot that nearly blew up U.S.-bound cargo planes last year, the cities themselves didn't matter. It's a strategy that has helped the relatively new group quickly become the No. 1 threat to the United States.

After the failed bombing and the arrest of suspected bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the question of why Detroit was targeted had gone unanswered. It was previously reported that Abdulmutallab did not specifically choose Christmas for his mission.

Abdulmutallab considered Houston, where he attended an Islamic conference in 2008, current and former counterterrorism officials told the AP. Another person with knowledge of the case said Abdulmutallab also considered Chicago but was discouraged by the cost.

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