
The Rational X
Abdulmutallab: The Underwear Bomber
<p></p><p>On December 25th, 2009, 289 people boarded Northwest Airlines Flight 253 in Amsterdam, expecting nothing more than a long flight home for the holidays.</p><p>One of those passengers had sewn something into his underwear.</p><p>By the time the plane began its descent into Detroit, that decision would trigger an international manhunt, a policy overhaul at every airport on Earth, and a legal case still cited today in immigration and national security law.</p><p>But to understand why a 23-year-old from one of Nigeria's wealthiest families ended up on that plane, we can't start with the...




