Today's Forecast: Bad things are likely to happen

This is the shorter version of the new Thomas L. Friedman article: "If things go well in Iraq, Be afraid, be very very afraid!" For those who don't feel like reading the whole article, here is the money shot: To the extent that the Baathists and Jihadists have a coordinated strategy, their first priority, I think, is to defeat American forces in the heart of their world. Because if they can defeat America in the heart of the Arab-Muslim world, it will have so much more resonance than setting off a car bomb in Las Vegas - especially now that 9/11 has set the terrorism bar so high in terms of effect. If the Jihadists can defeat us in the heart of their world, and force us from Iraq, it will have a huge impact on the Arab street and shake every pro-American Arab regime. The Jihadists have always understood that Iraq is the ballgame. Iraq is the big one. Winning there is what really advances their agendas. You know, that Iraq is the ballgame, Iraq is the big one stuff? I swear i've heard it being mentioned somewhere here before. Ehh, anyway... The reason things may be getting more dangerous now is that the formation of a freely elected government in Iraq may signal that the Baathist-Jihadist insurgency is being gradually defeated. The U.S. may even be able to withdraw some troops. And there is nothing worse for the Baathists and Jihadists than to be defeated in the heart of their world - and, even more so, to be defeated in the heart of their world by other Arabs and Muslims who are repudiating the Jihadists' vision and tactics. That's true. If they lose there, If Iraq actually works out, the islmaic fundementalists will never live it off. Sure, the true believers will still make excuses for them, but more or less they will be done for in the eyes of the rest of the islamic and arab world. For a while anyway! I fear that when and if the Jihadists conclude that they have been defeated in the heart of their world, they will be sorely tempted to throw a Hail Mary pass. That is, they may want to launch a spectacular, headline-grabbing act of terrorism in America that tries to mask, and compensate for, just how defeated they have become at home. I would have to agree with that. It is their M.O. after all. In short, the more the Jihadists lose in Iraq, the more likely they are to use their rump forces to try something really crazy in America to make up for it. So let's stay the course in Iraq, but stay extra-vigilant at home. He is right, unfortunately, which probably means i will have even more of a hardtime at the airport when i come visit. I am that suspect demographic after all: Young, male, middle-eastern with a very muslim name. That's just great. Fan-freakin-tastic. I just hope a strip search won't be necessary. I never had one before, but i hear that they tend to be rather unpleasant. Sigh...