Here's the Yemeni parcel bomb clarity you've been seeking: one of the two bombs intercepted by authorities was on a timer set to detonate as the plane flew over America's Eastern seaboard. But the bombers miscalculated.

U.S. officials say that militants in Yemen sent several test packages through the mail last September as a "dry run" for last week's foiled international mail bomb plot. Of course, they've been wrong about these things before.