Foiled Suicide Bomber: Tell Sheehan

Cindy Sheehan says she wants the Prez to give her a simple explanation of why her son's death was honorable. The president has answered her questions a hundred times over, including stating his conviction that fighting terrorists there means we're not fighting them here. In that regard, here's evidence that we're accomplishing that goal:

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. Customs authorities blocked a Jordanian man from entering the country 20 months before he was accused of carrying out an Iraq suicide bombing, according to an internal Homeland Security memo obtained Wednesday.

The Aug. 22 memo to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff credited Customs agents with identifying Ra'ed Mansour al-Banna as a suspicious traveler on June 14, 2003, when he flew into Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

"While it is not clear that al-Banna was a suicidal jihadist, the basis for denying him entry was that CBP (Customs and Border Protection) officers that interviewed him believed his intent for entering ... was inconsistent with the purpose of his visa," wrote Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert C. Bonner.

Al-Banna has been accused of carrying out one of Iraq's deadliest suicide bombing - the Feb. 28 attack in Hillah that killed 125 people.

Foiled from entering here, al-Bananas didn't try another time to get into the US. He simply went to where the fight was and blew himself up.

It's a horrible shame that 125 people died as a result -- but at least their deaths had a substantial role in moving the Arab world more against terror. Had el-Bano blown himself up here, we'd have 125 dead Americans, and less movement of Arab opinion.