Profiling defeated via jihadi information war

A middle-aged and suburban would-be terrorist termed "Jihad Jane" in the media was both female and white, as well as born in the USA. Far from being lone wolf operatives, however, the jihadi strategy of recruiting online has an inherent weakness tempering its effectiveness: sites can also be monitored by security agencies.

Radical, English-language Islamist websites that promote a violent jihad, or holy war, against the West have become more effective at recruiting Americans and providing a place for armchair terrorists to meet and plan attacks in the U.S. or abroad, experts say.

The war on terrorism is also an information war.

Gender profiling no longer viable

According to recent reports, militants allied with al Qaida have trained women with a Western appearance as suicide bombers.

The women, who may have a "non Arab" appearance and be travelling on Western passports, have been prepared for their missions by the Yemeni group responsible for the operation to blow up an airliner over the United States on Christmas Day.

At this point, I have to wonder if a goal of militants is to provoke the West into instituting regular body cavity searches at airports.

Racial profiling of terrorists now futile

The recent attempted in-flight bomb attack by a Nigerian national means that racial profiling of terrorists based on previous cases cannot merely be restricted to Arab Muslims, but also African Muslims. At this rate, it's only a matter of time before Asian and Caucasian militants are employed to get past airport screening. Back in September, Pakistan reported encountering a village of white expat German radical Muslims near the Afghan border.

Update: In 2007, two members of a bomb plot in Germany were white German nationals who had converted to Islam. Combined with the potential from Indonesian Islamic militants, no race can be ruled out as a potential threat.