Uh...

maybe if ObL had the freakin' bomb he might, oh, I don't know, keep it with him? Or safe somewhere?

I'm just guessing, but don't you think that would be the thing he wouldn't leave behind to be found by the Americans?

Reminds me of _The Cool War_. Of course, a significant percentage of these folks are probably already missing body parts.

Yeah, that wouldn't be good. Although, a small enough bit of magnesium might be enough to burn off the user's hands, which seems nicely targeted enough.

Hey, how about a thingie that sprays the user with butyric (sp?) acid? Smells like a mountain of well-used sweat socks stuffed with really old cheese. A few drops is enough to clear out a large room.

Stefan, you truly rock!

Only, my Mommie's heart can't help seeing that stinger go up in a crowded neighborhood and taking out not only the pinhead terrorist, but his innocent neighbors, their kids and grandparents and dogs and such.

Takes all the fun out of revenge.

Yeah. The administration wants us to think that Al-Qeada are the real-life equivalent of SPECTRE or the ever-returning villains from _Walker, Texas Ranger_, when it's much more likely that they're fanatical cranks whose Core Competencies -- car bombs and plane hijackings -- have given them some spectacular wins.

I'd be taking advantage of this. I'd start developing a cadre of Arab (and Chechnyan, and Indonesian) Street Savvy agents, and give them a whole bunch of fake or downright dangerous munitions to sell to high-tech-hungry fanatics. Like Stinger Missiles whose launchers have handles full of powdered magnesium and C4. Or code machines with plastic cases that slowly ooze macho-depleting doses of depro provera into the user's skin.