Last week, CNN's Glenn Beck aired a weeklong series of reports regarding purported plans by al Qaeda to coordinate a series of attacks at U.S. schools. Author Brad Thor, formerly of the Department of Homeland Security's 'Red Cell' suggests that the Beslan attack was a dry run, and that al Qaeda hopes to prompt an overwhelming and irrational 'hate response' against Muslims. It's al Qaeda's hope that this would set off a massive war between Islam and the West.

Beck and his experts point to a number of seemingly unrelated events that point to a school attack: the theft of 17 school buses in Houston; the reported seizure in Afghanistan of a tape depicting a dry-run attack against US schools; the discovery of floor plans for U.S. schools in the hands of Iraqi insurgents; the applications of some extremists to become school bus drivers in the US; and others.

Beck argues that we are in a situation akin to September 10, when the ability to 'connect the dots' could have saved thousands of lives. While it is very disturbing, the series seems to be worth a watch.