Oil and Water. And Terrorism.

Times Square was nearly the center of a terrorist attack today, the breadth of which is limited only by your imagination and some understanding of high incendiary explosives. But, just as with the attempted bombing of flight 253 in Detroit on Christmas day, this plot was also foiled. Thank God. The terrorists got us once, we're not fool enough to let them get us again. It's best if we just keep catching these guys in the act – like we have twice in a row now. 

Know this – I am just as opposed to terror and violence as the next peace-loving human being. But you've got to hand it to the terrorists for being 1) clever, and 2) relentless. 

What made 9/11 so utterly devastating to us is that we didn't see it coming. Out of the blue – boom. 

And that's what scares me about these two near-misses. What if they haven't missed at all, but rather – distracted us? 

Everyone knows about the oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. It's the planet's latest tragedy. As of today, the cause of the eruption of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig is unknown. BP contends that the reason they can't control the gush of oil streaming out of the seabed is due to "blowout preventer" failure. While everyone is looking to point fingers, BP, the US government and environmentalists the planet over are rushing to prevent a disaster – the breadth of which is limited only by your imagination and some understanding of wind currents and tides. 

Most experts seem to agree that this disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is going to be bad. Real bad. 

Look, there are a lot of oil rigs in the Gulf (over 3800 in 2006). And even though this tragedy was likely unrelated to terrorism, you have to think it very well could have been. If you don't, then you're not using your imagination. But you should – because they damn sure are. 

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Jim is a father, husband copywriter and helps run smashcommuncations. You can find him on Twitter @smashadv.