SPEAKING OF 9/11…

We tried to bite our lip this Monday when the Times reported that dozens of sites between Newark Liberty International Airport and Port Elizabeth are vulnerable to terrorist attack, including some of the nation's largest chemical plants. We have nothing against the fine city of Newark, but part of us wouldn't mind seeing its dysfunctional airport swept away in an avenging wave of fuming toxics. If there is a U.S. airport more worthy of the fate, we've never been there.

The area's vulnerability shouldn't have been news to anyone. This page has been harping about Washington's lack of interest in securing those chemical plants for years, echoing reports put out by the offices of Sens. Corzine and Schumer. Indeed, this failure was at the center of our outrage that so many New York pols bent over backward to welcome the RNC last summer. The Bush White House has not provided the necessary funds for securing these sites, and has put zero pressure on its industrial buddies to pay for basic security upgrades.

And if some Jersey-based terror cell does cause a spill, don't expect to catch a flight to safety out of Newark Liberty. It's hard enough to do that on a normal day.