From Psychology Today, an article on suicide bombers and Islamic shtick; a look at what connects the Christmas airline bomber with the Fort Hood shooter (and more); and the unconscious psychology of terrorists: What makes someone psychologically susceptible to recruitment by Al-Qaeda? Amid the hysteria, a look at what al-Qaeda can't do. The Butt Bomb: Michael Crowley on Al Qaeda's hidden weapon. Timothy Noah on why the recommendations of the 9/11 commission wouldn't have stopped the underpants bomber. Undressing the terror threat: Running the numbers on the conflict with terrorists suggests that the rules of the game should change. Al Qaeda and the Taliban are at odds, yet it is only growing more difficult to defeat the global jihad. A recent surge of homegrown terrorist plots has renewed interest in designing a U.S. counter-radicalization program; here are 10 lessons that the US should keep in mind. Jessica Stern on 5 myths about who becomes a terrorist. Peter Beinart on why profiling will never work. Matthew Yglesias on the real reason profiling fails: We have more Muslims who want to cooperate with us than who want to bomb us. Obama promised to improve our intelligence system, but how good can it get? We have 16 separate intelligence agencies — no wonder people aren't connecting the dots. One of the biggest challenges for American intelligence? The way the brain works. America's terrorism amnesia: Why do our politicians and press react to every terrorist incident as though it was happening for the very first time? (and more and more and more) Bruce Schneier on stopping the panic on air security.
