The Near Explosion in Abdulmutallab's Underwear. An ABC Exclusive.

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Thanks to ABC for cobbling together the cash to bring us an exclusive look at foiled shoe bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s underwear. I haven’t been so excited since I saw that photo inside Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan’s laundry dryer.   

Snark aside, however, it’s interesting to consider the almost screaming connection between Abdulmutallab’s search for acceptance and belonging, the dynamics of the religious warrior packing an explosive against his genitals, and the tremendous discharge and simultaneous emasculation the young man was looking forward to.

Previous ABC terror forensics here.

photo 1: ABC News. caption: A slightly charred and singed underpants with a packet of explosive powder sewn into the crotch is seen in government photos obtained exclusively by ABC News, released to Reuters, December 28, 2009. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen, said it provided Nigerian suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, with an explosive device to blow up Northwest Airlines flight 253, a Delta-owned Airbus 330, as it approached Detroit on a flight from Amsterdam on Friday with almost 300 people on board. linked photo: unattributed. Via Sydney Morning News Nidal Hasan apartment slideshow.)