There’s a bit of doggerel poetry that has been taking up the increasingly limited space in my brain but which I seem unable to dislodge – “’There but for the grace of God Go I’ is one-way thinking on a two-way street.”  It is almost always used in reference to someone down on their luck but why not say the same of fat cat bankers with billion dollar bonuses?

I was reminded of the “two-way street” concept when Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab failed to bring down a Detroit-bound commercial flight on Christmas Day.  Recriminations started almost instantly.  Why wasn’t he on a “no fly” list?  Why hadn’t the warnings of his father that he was dangerous been taken more seriously?  How often can we get “lucky” and avert another 9/11?

Now, granted, the first reaction of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano – that “the system  worked” – was a little rediculous.  But the hysteria about the most recent terrorist attack that went awry was equally unjustified in the other direction.

What warranted the deep and sustained fear following 9/11 was the magnitude and sheer awesomeness of Al Qaeda’s achievement – they leveled two of the world’s largest buildings, attacked the Pentagon, and crashed a plane in a Pennsylvania field killing a total of nearly 3,000 people.

But the would-be Christmas Day terrorist, like Richard Reid (aka “Shoe Bomber”) before him, killed no one.  As terrorists go, both Abdulmuttalab and Reid were abject failures.  So, instead of being terrorized (which is their goal) why are we not reassured that the incredibly deadly and effective international terrorist organization of 9/11 seems to have devolved into the gang that can’t shoot straight?

You would think Al Qaeda would have more pride than to announce three days after the miserably failed Christmas event that they were, in fact, responsible for it.  How does aligning yourself with incompetence make you more feared?   As terrorists, Al Qaeda now seems to rank behind two whack-jobs cruising the D.C. area in a Chevy Caprice randomly shooting people.  Now, there was some bone fide terrorism.

So why is our thinking so “one-way.”  Why are we terrorized when terrorists succeed brilliantly and also terrorized when they fail miserably?  Why are we unwilling to acknowledge what appears to be clear successes of the international community (and the U.S. in particular) in killing, disrupting, and largely dismantling Al Qaeda?

Make no mistake, there may be more successful and deadly terrorist attacks in the future.  Some may even involve weapons of mass destruction.  We need to continue doing everything possible to thwart them.  But, it does us no good to treat all attempted acts of terrorism – successful or unsuccessful – alike.  Not all hurricanes are Katrina.  Not all volcanoes are Pinatubo.  Not all attempted terrorism should be terrorizing.