And while the world now distracts itself with the spectacle of Iraq unraveling in chaos, the alleged Yemeni terrorists have quietly escaped (Wall Street Journal, sub. req'd.):
SAN'A, Yemen -- Yemeni authorities were hunting for 10 of the main suspects in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole after they escaped from prison Friday [April 11, 2003], officials said.
The fugitives, including chief suspect Jamal Al-Badawi, had been jailed in the port city of Aden since shortly after the destroyer was bombed, killing 17 American sailors.
[...]
Yemen, the ancestral home of Mr. bin Laden, has been a hotbed of terrorist activity. Supporters of al Qaeda have claimed responsibility for several bombings targeting security officials and government offices in the past few months. Yemen committed itself to joining the war on terrorism following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in America and has allowed U.S. forces to enter the country and train its military.
So the real terrorists are running free while we chase down the framed ones in Iraq. Too bad Yemen doesn't have more oil — maybe then our craven leaders would see fit to do something effective against terror beyond color-coding it.
Meanwhile Barbara Bodine, who according to The Observer is "known for a mixture of her expertise in the region and fervent hostility to a politically organised Muslim world," is now on deck to become the viceroy of New Baghdad. She'll step into her new position over the corpses of 17 American sailors and thousands of civilians in southwestern Pennsylvania, Washington DC, and lower Manhattan.
