Ever since the Romans built Hadrians Wall, the attempt to protect the heartlands of Empires from determined aggressors have been doomed to failure. The barbarian hordes have simply outflanked the powerful citadels that they could not storm, and opened another front – against which there is no defence.

When Osama Bin Laden earlier plotted to bomb the World Trade Centre, the US bombed his encampment.

The reprisals failed spectacularly, simply demonstrating the impotence of conventional military forces.

He escaped unscathed; if anything, he grew in stature because of the raid. If he is behind either of these spectacular blasts, it shows conclusively how the balance of power is changing.

The overwhelming might of America has failed to protect its citizens, and no reprisal can change that fact.

In the past fifty years, the stratagems of the guerrilla fighter have moved from the periphery to the mainstream of conflict. Finding themselves unable to defeat regular forces on the field of battle, resistance fighters turned firstly to guerrilla war. Today, the weapons of the terrorist have become the tools of the dispossessed.

At a stroke, these explosions demonstrate our vulnerability. If simultaneous blasts can be contrived to hit both a building signalling the success of the interconnected world and the nerve centre of the US military command, it should act like a beacon warning us of the dangers ahead.
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thanks to The Liberal Arts Mafia