■ How important was the University of Michigan/affirmative- action case at the Supreme Court? Let the headlines from one edition of the Detroit News—published a few days before the Court issued its decision—tell the story: “Racial equality at stake with Supreme Court’s ruling”; “Society may change course if affirmative action dies”; “Cohesiveness of military ranks at risk”; “Courts could lose trust, confidence of minorities”; “Corporate innovation in peril.” As far as we could tell, the polar ice caps were safe.
■ Iyman Faris, a 34-year-old truck driver from Columbus, Ohio, has pleaded guilty to plotting with al-Qaeda to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge. Faris traveled in Pakistan and Afghanistan (where he met Osama bin Laden) in 2000, 2001, and 2002. He explored various options for al-Qaeda, including the use of lightweight airplanes (perhaps for escape) and air-cargo planes (perhaps for flying bombs). His latest task was to see if the Brooklyn Bridge’s cables could be cut by blow torches; he told his handlers that increased security made that job too difficult. He is now cooperating with authorities. Faris, bom in Kashmir, is a naturalized American citizen, which shows al-Qaeda’s reach. The feebleness of his plotting suggests its current difficulties. But his low-level status stresses the importance of finding his fellows (he is not a leader who could rat them out). Finally: How many al-Qaedans would have homes and jobs here if it were not for our open-door immigration policies?
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