Photo: nytimes.com

According to experts on such matters, Najibullah Zazi, the Colorado man who authorities believe intended to carry out a terrorist attack using homemade explosives, really did represent an impending threat and "the most serious" case "in years" — not like all those others terrorist plots we've disrupted over the years, which, in comparison, were little more than the fantasies of quixotic daydreamers. [NYT]