Bojinka-5?
To the Editor:

When the British domestic intelligence agency, MI5, arrested a couple of dozen terrorists who were plotting to set off explosions on airliners flying to the USA from Britain, the only people surprised at such a plot were those who had not heard of Project Bojinka, an effort funded by Osama Bin Laden in the early nineties, and planned by Ramsey Youssef (you remember him - he's the guy who was eventually convicted for the 1993 WTC bombing). Project Bojinka involved hijacking airliners flying to the USA from half a dozen countries in Southeast Asia (Philippines, Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore), and crashing them into targets in the USA. The World Trade Center and the Pentagon were on the target list. Does any of that sound familiar? We know the result: the original Project Bojinka was modified to utilize airliners originating in the USA instead of Southeast Asia, and the plan was executed on 9/11/2001. What we don't know is why the information about Project Bojinka, which was uncovered in Manila in the Philippines, and passed to US intelligence operatives more than a decade ago, was not used to evaluate "what if" scenarios, including a variation (call it "Bojinka-2") in which the hijacked flights originate in the USA. Fast forward to August, 2006 when MI5 was on their toes and saved perhaps as many as 2700 people by thwarting an airlines terror plot (call it "Bojinka-3") originating in the UK. But it ain't over till it's over, and nobody should be surprised at a "Bojinka-4." Or a "Bojinka-5." Or ...

Cordially, Chuck Esposito

Suches, Ga.