You Can Run But You Can't Hide

One of the reasons people join clandestine organizations is the mistaken belief that it offers an escape from the routine chickenshit of human existence. But the reality is that after crossing several frontiers, fording angry and cold rivers, trekking up mountain passes into the rarefied air and after long nights under the wheeling stars the acolyte of terror still comes face to face with the personnel form.

Here's a link to Jose Padilla's al-Qaeda application form from CBS News. Headed "New comers form" it asks questions like "how much of the Koran did you memorize?" There's a space to indicate hobbies. It asks about any relevant combat experience and closes with this boilerplate: "I, the undersigned ... attest that the aforementioned information is correct ... as Allah is my witness."