Whatever Became of the Population Bomb?

A recent article on Foreign Policy's website looks at a few dire predictions from the past that did not come true.

One of these predictions, made after 9/11, was that Al-Qaeda would hit the U.S. again in the near future. In fact, no terrorist attacks have taken place in the States since 9/11. Nevertheless, it would seem that Al-Qaeda is everywhere and just waiting to pounce. How did Al-Qaeda become such a complex and omnipresent force? A force that has managed to stay 2 steps ahead of even the CIA? How much can you really do from a village in Pakistan or a cave in Afghanistan anyways?

I would submit that the Al-Qaeda threat exists only as a small sliver of the two-by-four the American government would have us believe it is. Why? The oldest reason for any leader or party in power -- to retain power; to distract from their mistakes, to continue making money for themselves and their friends.

An article by John Mueller in the September/October issue of Foreign Affairs entitled, "Is There Still a Terrorist Threat: The Myth of the Omnipresent Enemy" looks at the above subject more in depth.