The Wall Street Journal asks why the media is ignoring the chemical bomb plot in Jordan.

Jordanian authorities say that the death toll from a bomb and poison-gas attack they foiled this month could have reached 80,000. We guess the fact that most major media are barely covering this story means WMD isn't news anymore until there's a body count.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi--the man cited by the Bush Administration as its strongest evidence of prewar links between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein, and the current ringleader of anti-coalition terrorism in Iraq--may be behind the plot, which would be al Qaeda's first ever attempt to use chemical weapons. The targets included the U.S. Embassy in Amman. Yet as of yesterday, most news organizations hadn't probed the story, if at all, beyond the initial wire-service copy.

Perhaps the problem here is that covering this story might mean acknowledging that Tony Blair and George W. Bush have been exactly right to warn of the confluence of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. Jordan's King Abdullah called it a 'major, major operation' that would have 'decapitated' his government. 'Anyone who doubts the terrorists' desire to obtain and use these weapons only needs to look at this example,' said Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.

The media who barely covers this story would be calling for Bush's head on a platter had the attack succeeded. One of the reasons 9/11 was such a surprise to many Americans is that the media barely reported the growing threat from Al Qaeda. It looks like they didn't learn any lessons.

Update: If you came to this post from Wizbang, please go this post as I accidentally cut and paste the wrong link on the trackback.