re: #144 Charles

Actually, it has slowed. When was the last suicide bombing inside Israel? When was the last major Al Qaeda attack in a Western country? Where are the jihadis launching suicide attacks inside America?

If I’ve distanced myself somewhat from covering the jihad, it’s for two reasons:

1) It really has become less of an issue. There are still Islamic extremists out there, and I’m sure they intend to do us harm, but they seem to be pretty well contained at the moment.

2) A huge number of the so-called “jihad outrages” being promoted these days are outright phony stories promoted by bigots. I simply don’t trust very much of the information coming from the so-called “anti-jihad” blogs, because they engage in lying and fear mongering.

Hamas continues firing kassams at Israel on a regular basis, having picked up the past in the past few weeks. No one killed of late, but not for lack of trying. Other terrorists were killed trying to place explosives along the security fence.

The Administration’s efforts to go after the jihadis in Afghanistan and Pakistan is a mixed bag - good news is that they’re pursuing them and using UAV airstrikes to go after HVTs; bad news is that the new rules of engagement discourage going after terrorists when they’re embedded with human shields, making it all the more likely the terrorists will continue and expand on those tactics.

As for trying to follow the jihad worldwide, I stick to a few reputable sites- Long War Journal and Small Wars Journal being two, along with Totten and Yon.

For attacks within the US, several were thwarted of late, including the Fort Dix Six most recently. Several jihadis were convicted in the UK IIRC for plotting to hijack/bomb multiple airliners last week.

The jihad is still active, but active vigilance is absolutely crucial.