JITTERY NATION – AT 8:02 A..M. ET:  A number of stories that normally wouldn't see print made it into news media yesterday because the country is jittery, fearful of an Al Qaeda retaliation for the forced retirement of Osama bin Laden.  From The New York Daily News:

Fears that Osama Bin Laden's followers want payback for his execution fueled a nationwide wave of jitters - causing evacuations, a flight diversion and higher blood pressure.

Part of Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx and a nearby apartment building were evacuated early Monday after the discovery of a parked 1998 Dodge Caravan running for hours with 24 pipelike devices inside.

Police used a robot to blow out the vehicle's windows before giving the allclear just before 1 a.m.

Investigators determined that the pipes were harmless foam tubes used to protect glass. The Caravan's driver, a windshield installer, had abandoned his vehicle to deal with a severe asthma attack and left the tubes behind.

Late Sunday, a Yemeni man who had lived in New York was tackled by passengers on an American Airlines flight to California when he began pounding on the cockpit door about 30 minutes before landing.

The man, Rageh Almurisi, 28, may have thought it was a rest room. "He's not a terrorist, trust me," said his cousin Rageh Almoraissi, 29, who owns a store in Vallejo, Calif. "You don't knock on a door as a terrorist act. I think it was just a misunderstanding," he added, saying that his cousin has a math degree and loves America.

COMMENT:   We have no objection to the country being on heightened alert, and "if you see something, say something" is a perfectly logical slogan.  These stories will fade away in a few days, leaving us with a simple reality:  Al Qaeda is a suicide organization that uses kamikaze tactics.  The only answer to a suicide attack is detection and prevention.  Once the plan is in motion, it's almost impossible to stop.  That is our nightmare.

May 10, 2011