Printer bombs planted on two cargo flights last month cost only a few thousand dollars and were intended to affect the American economy, according to a newly published Al Qaeda-affiliated magazine.

The attempt was called "Operation Hemorrhage," boasted the magazine, and the entire plot cost al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, only $4,200.

Yesterday, a special edition of Inspire magazine -- an English-language propaganda publication produced by AQAP -- gave a detailed description of how the attempted attack was conceived and produced.

"Two Nokia mobiles, $150 each, two HP printers, $300 each, plus shipping, transportation and other miscellaneous expenses add up to a total bill of $4,200," one article said. "That is all that Operation Hemorrhage cost us. In terms of time, it took us three months to plan and execute the operation from beginning to end."

The magazine also revealed the attack was not meant to kill more than the plane's pilot and co-pilot, and was meant to force the U.S. government to spend billions of dollars on preventive security screening measures.

The strategy, the magazine said, was "of attacking the enemy with smaller, but more frequent operations is what some may refer to as the strategy of a thousand cuts. The aim is to bleed the enemy to death."

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Well, You and I and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) know that they will never use printer cartridges to house bombs ever again, but the US intelligence apparatus is probably decimating a forest as we speak to create plans and procedures for inspecting and regulating printer cartridges.

Intel needs to go back to the glory days of the 40s, 50s and 60s when they had humans in the field instead of eyes in the sky. Things can be hidden from a satellite or a reconnaissance aircraft or drone. I once worked with recon and I've flown very low altitude visual recon with a bullet-proof FAC. I still say THE very best intel asset is an agent or a snake-eater on the ground. 

The word I've heard indicates that AQAP is located in the vicinity of Sanaa. We need a precise location for the headquarters, barracks, bomb factory(s), whatever else they have where their equipment and people are located.

This knowledge is needed so we can strike those targets and not harm any innocent bystanders, if there are any. This is something that aerial recon can not determine; that's why we need spies. If a building is identified as a target, only a human on the ground can peek in the window to confirm that it has stuff in it and it's not just a dummy to waste your bombs.

In May, !999 our stealth bombers precisely put five 2,000 pound JDAM bombs into the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the Yugoslavia commotion. CIA, back in Virginia, planned the mission thinking it was an enemy warehouse, and never had the building checked by a human in the country.

Intelligence - the second oldest profession