I'm a little late getting to news about the foiled terror plot (New York Times | Washington Post) which serves as today's reminder that the world is now an exceedingly dangerous place.

The insidious specifics of the plot also call to mind part of Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld's reply to Senator Clinton during last week's Armed Services Committee hearing: Does the enemy have a brain and continue to make adjustments? You bet.

UPDATE: My friend in England emails: "Focus of police investigation seems to be in the Thames Valley (Oxford - London corridor) where nine houses are about to be evacuated in the town of High Wycombe. An American expert on Sky News has mentioned large quantities of ammonium nitrate being found."

Apparently, Chertoff is receiving high marks overseas so far. You can see a video of his statement here. My friend also rates highly the peformance of new British Home Secretary John Reid, who is running point in Britain while Tony Blair is vacationing in the Caribbean, adding, "the journos are wary of him as he can be very prickily with what he perceives to be snobbery." You can see a video of Reid's statement here.