Another new word, thanks to Ron Suskind and Time Magazine: "mubtakkar," which means "inventive" and is supposed to be the infernal machine that Al Qaeda planned to use on the NY subway in early 2003.
As an antidote to the hype, I'd suggest reading my colleague Mark Hosenball's report on the Suskind book. And for a very, very skeptical but well reasoned appraisal, I'd propose a curious blog called "Dick Destiny," which critiques not only the Time story, but the whole culture of hyperbole that has grown up around Al Qaeda's still futile efforts to conjure weapons of mass destruction.
Meanwhile, of course, it appears North Korea is getting ready to launch a long-range missile capable of reaching the United States and, oh darn, the Bush administration can't quite figure out what to do.... - C.D.
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