The percentage of Muslims in this country who have bought into the fanatical, murderous anti-Americanism of the al-Qaida variety surely is minuscule. But the sad fact is that there are some who have.
Thanks to the FBI, there is now one less of them walking the streets and plotting mayhem.
If Amine El Khalifi had succeeded in what he was planning to do, headlines this week would have blared sickening accounts of death and destruction at the U.S. Capitol. But federal agents who had learned of El Khalifi's intent to detonate a suicide bomb snared him in a sting operation.
No matter what the target, that represents excellent police work that no doubt saved many lives. That the agents also prevented a strike at the seat of U.S. government - with the symbolic weight of such a strike - makes their achievement all the more notable.
Authorities said they believed El Khalifi, 29, was acting alone. They were tipped off by an informant who said the suspect viewed U.S. anti-terror operations as a religious war against Muslims, and that he was determined to fight back. But the firearms and suicide vest that El Khalifi bought from undercover agents were disabled so they couldn't be used. He was arrested in a parking garage as he took a rifle from his car and strapped on the vest.
Homeland security efforts in the years since Sept. 11, 2001 have repeatedly disrupted the plans of would-be terrorists in this country. Last year, there were 20 such arrests. Until the glad day when radical Islamic hostility toward the U.S. ebbs, there will be no choice other than vigilance. And when someone allegedly bent on murder is captured, our gratitude toward the officers and agents who protect us could not be greater.
