Well, it looks like the terror alert level in New York just got ratcheted up a notch -- there's a "credible threat" that terrorists plan to attack the New York subway system using tactics and lessons learned from the London subway bombings. According to the New York Daily News, the terrorists plan to hide the bombs in baby carriages and briefcases and strike sometime during the Columbus Day holiday weekend:

"Up to a dozen terrorists planned to come to the city and assemble into cells of suicide bombers who would attack the subways - hiding explosives in strollers and briefcases. The terrorists envisioned a series of attacks that would be "London-scale, not World Trade Center-scale." They'd be terror strikes instead of spectaculars."

What's troubling is that a tipster in Iraq (not New York) apparently gave the information to U.S. officials, leading to the arrest of two potential terrorists in Baghdad (not New York). So, there's one cynical way to view all of this: President Bush's approval ratings have been sinking fast, and he has been facing increased criticism about the handling of the war in Iraq. So what if - and this is just idle speculation of one blogger - the Bush Administration wanted to scare the public back into submission by exposing a dastardly terrorist threat striking at the heart of the New York subway system? And what if that threat were being generated by terrorist thugs in Baghdad? Wouldn't that make the whole war in Iraq seem once again important and timely?