True enough, the most effective way of organising terrorist outrages is through small cells operating independently. Overarching organisations can put out the rhetoric and the motivating videos or whatever, and maybe the press releases.

In some cases they might provide the access to munitions and so forth. But in this case that clearly wasn't necessary. The resources involved were a handful of totally committed zealots, a handful of box cutters, and some airline tickets.

Nothing that has happened since September 11 has really made those resources any harder to get hold of. It seems clear that rather than wiping out Al Qaida the Afghanistan expedition had the main effect of dispersing it more widely. And an attack on Iraq would seem calculated to make it easier to obtain the most important resource, the totally dedicated zealots, with their motivation strengthened by personal grievances.

That's a main reason why I am sure that Bin Laden, if he's alive, and his followers, are praying for such an attack to take place. Does anyone really doubt that to be the case? (After all Saddam has never been any kind of friend to them.)