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opinion | Juliette Kayyem

A plot foiled, but a US agency rift exposed

By Juliette Kayyem

 |  Globe Columnist  

  May 10, 2012

The news that Al Qaeda affiliates in Yemen sought to detonate a sophisticated explosive on a passenger flight is disturbing, though not entirely unpredictable. US agents stopped this second underwear bomb attack by using an informant who managed to infiltrate Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, volunteer for a suicide mission, and then turn on the terrorists. It was almost perfect counterterrorism. But there was a fatal flaw: Someone in government decided this all made for a fabulous story.

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