COMPLACENCY WATCH: The lead Washington Post story by Woodward and Kaiser is a useful, if terrifying, wake-up call. The administration clearly believes that there is a small chance that al Qaeda has the wherewithal for a dirty nuclear bomb. The following sentence is priceless: “U.S. officials are very concerned that any nuclear detonation by al Qaeda would be a calamitous psychological setback to the war on terrorism.” Er, yes. You can say that again – especially if it happens in an American city. I got the same sinking feeling reading this paragraph: “On at least one occasion, the White House cited the increased concern that al Qaeda might have a radiological bomb as a key reason that Vice President Cheney was not available for a face-to-face meeting with visiting senior foreign officials. The meeting usually would have allowed for informal personal contact, but took place via secure video conference because Cheney was at a secure location outside Washington.” I’m grateful to the Post for this story not least because I notice in myself – and all around me – an unnerving sense that the war is somehow over. People aren’t talking about it in the same earnest and desperate way they were before. I guess we knew this would happen – but it’s surely a mistake. We’re barely three months away from the massacre, and growing psychologically complacent. I’m not say we should stay afraid indefinitely – just that it’s good to have a reminder that we still have something to be very afraid of.

-- Anonymous, December 04, 2001