Editorial: After bombing plot, U.S. must remain ever vigilant
An undated file photo, left, released by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Interior purports to show Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, and left, a file photo of a man crossing the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) logo in the lobby of CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Credit: AP, Getty Images
The Central Intelligence Agency's dramatic disruption of an al-Qaida plot to blow up an airliner bound for this country is worth a cheer.
The spy agency was on the ball when it counted; stopping a plot like this in the Middle East implies inside information, which is always the best kind.
In this case, the bomber reportedly either changed sides or was a double agent. Either way, he delivered a dangerous weapon into American hands -- and kept it out of a passenger jet, which it certainly would have blown out of the air.
His information, apparently, enabled the U.S. drone strike on Sunday that killed the external operations chief for Yemen's al-Qaida branch. The CIA's work with foreign partners in the affair is an encouraging sign of international cooperation.
Yet the news is also a grim reminder that, despite America's progress toward smashing al-Qaida, the tattered organization remains a threat -- and retains the ability to act on its worst impulses. The captured bomb, moreover, is of an experimental, metal-free design that is tough for airport security to detect. Al-Qaida clearly is neither out of commission nor resting on its dubious laurels.
That's why the United States can't let up on efforts to combat the terrorist organization wherever it lurks, or on the pursuit of new security measures, including some high tech and others more focused on the likeliest suspects.
