Whatever the connection between Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the man who tried to blow up an airliner last week, and al-Qaida (whatever that is), it appears a concerted effort is being made to establish a new hotbed for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The press has begun using the moniker "Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula" to indicate an actual organization.

First, the airliner attack is being attributed to "Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula":

"al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the thwarted attack as retaliation for a U.S. operation against the group in Yemen. Yemeni forces, helped by U.S. intelligence, carried out two airstrikes against al-Qaida operatives this month in the lawless country that is fast becoming a key front in the war on terror. The second one was a day before 23-year-old Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to bring down a Northwest Airlines flight as it prepared to land in Detroit.