Kerry Spot    [ jim geraghty reporting ]
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I pass this on, knocking on wood, and emphasizing that previous record is not always indicative of future events.

Earlier this summer the eyes of the nation and the world were on Boston, as the Democrats nominated a presidential candidate and all of us feared a terrorist attack. But no attack came.

Earlier this summer the eyes of the nation and the world were on Athens, Greece, for the Olympics, and all of us feared a terrorist attack. But no attack came.

Earlier this summer the eyes of the nation and the world were on New York City, as the Republicans nominated the president for another term, and all of us feared a terrorist attack. But no attack came.

Several days ago the eyes of the nation and the world were on Australia as it neared its national election. The detonation of a car bomb outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta a few weeks ago made all of us fear a terrorist attack. But no attack came to Australia.

For the past week, the eyes of the nation and the world were on Afghanistan, as it neared its historic election. The Taliban remnants and al-Qaeda had pledged to disrupt the election, and explosives were found by authorities. But now we read that “The Taliban vowed to turn the Afghan election into a day of bloodshed, but the rebels mounted only a smattering of small-scale attacks on police and civilians and a larger clash that left many of their own dead.”

Attacks continue in Iraq, of course. Sadly, it does not take much courage or skill to put together a roadside bomb or to abduct a western hostage and execute him on videotape, for al-Jazeera to turn into entertainment and propaganda. And as we saw in Beslan, the cruelty of Islamist terrorists can strike on the most unexpected of days and the most unlikely of targets.

But these past months have seen five major events on four different continents, each a huge and ripe opportunity for al-Qaeda to show the world that it was still thriving, still dangerous, still able to kill the innocent when the world is watching. And the bad guys are 0 for 5.

How are we doing in this war on terror?

(Of course, I'm still knocking on wood.)

[Posted 10/10 08:42 PM]