Mission. Accomplished.

Isn't it peculiar? Britain has video cameras installed in all manner of public places. It represents the world's most 'watched' society. This is an effort to instill into the public a sense of security. It is also a reminder to the public that people are expected to behave civilly, to respect authority, and recognize the social compact. And just coincidentally, it is within Britain that young Muslim men have been urgently radicalized in mosques and social centres where imams thunder their anger and hatred against the West, and promise their audience that Islam will one day prevail and Britain will be Muslim.

Britain has been helpful, of course. It has tolerated the presence of these incendiary fanatics, even when it has been aware of the damage they do to society, and within Muslim communities. The country recognizes sharia law and that too is most helpful. Britain has discovered how helpful all of this has been in the wake of atrocities committed on its soil through attacks by British-born Muslims who have been radicalized to the point where they reject all but their own cloistered, hateful traditions, leading to jihad.

Another near tragedy averted. Thanks to an alert passenger on a plane headed to Detroit from Amsterdam. Where Nigerian-born Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to detonate an explosive device which malfunctioned, and which would have destroyed hundreds of lives if he had been successful. This man was educated in Britain, as an engineer. Which is where he was recruited into violent jihad, as well. He reportedly had a propensity toward jihad, and found comfort in its grasp.

He was trained and equipped in Yemen, and sought to do the bidding of his al-Qaeda-affiliated trainers. Obviously more than willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good of Islam. He had informed his family, after a sojourn in Egypt, and then Yemen, that he wished no further contact with them. His alarmed father, a former high-ranking Nigerian official, alerted his own country's authorities and intelligence agents in the United States as well. Much good did that do.

Interestingly enough, a connection between this young Nigerian and American-born, educated and trained army medic Nidal Hasan of the Fort Hood massacre has been found, linking them both to Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi. Who himself was said to have been killed a week earlier in a raid by Yemeni authorities. Only to have been found alive and well, a few days ago. These are very busy people, with plenty of plans and aspirations, all in the name of Allah.

The amazing thing is that Mr. Abdulmuttlab's name is known to American intelligence. He had been placed on a watch list (said to consist of some 550,000 names) but not on the no-fly list (which has 14,000 names listed) nor on the "selectee list" of 4,000 names of which his should have been the 4,001st. . There was no air marshall on this particular flight. This man was passed through security, his explosive securely sewn inside his underclothing, undetected.

This was his mission, his singular opportunity to prove his love and dedication to Islam, his submission to the need to wage violent jihad on behalf of his religion. His mission failed, but not entirely, for it did accomplish much of what it set out to do. It is not just killing people, but making the attempt as well, even if it fails, because in the final analysis, both are capable of instilling terror in the minds of those whose society is attacked.

In this case, his mission was accomplished.