Analyst: Terror Plot Might Have Had Multiple Goals
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A local terrorism analyst says that even though authorities intercepted explosives bound for Chicago from Yemen, the plot shows that terrorists can win by forcing expenditure of millions to screen out a few dollars worth of chemicals.
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University of Illinois at Chicago Law Professor Matthew Lippman says the explosives shipments from Yemen could have several motivations at the same time:
- An effort to divert U.S. attention away from coming elections and and away from solving current economic problems,
- an effort to test new explosive delivery channels, or
- an effort to clog the U.S. economic system and force massive expenditures to defeat inexpensive explosive threat.
Lippman says the fact that alerts seem to have originated in the Middle East is encouraging because it suggests a proactive effort to disrupt terrorist groups. There had to be a reason to screen for the explosives.
Lippman says the origination of the PETN explosive in Yemen underscores that troubled nation's position as the post of the spear, the new incubator of terrorism.
He says even if the explosives didn't get through to their targets, they already marked a victory for the terrorists because everybody is talking about them, and millions more dollars will be spent in an effort to defeat them.
