I don't understand. Bomb or no bomb, you would just sit there and wait and do nothing?
Just see what happens?
Yep. To quote from the essay...
I sit and wait. And wait some more if necessary. And wait until circumstances either FORCE me to act, or have significantly shifted towards my success. But those circumstances have to be WORSE than a bomb going off in mid-air, dropping 200 innocents to the ground.
If it was just ME in the plane? If it was just the cop in the library? Yes, that would make a significant difference. But can I take that risk for 200 other people? Do I dare make an attempt when I KNOW that even if I don't it will probably come out okay in the long run, and that if I am wrong about it I have condemned 200 innocents to die because I can't keep my gun in my pants.
There's nothing wrong with the desire to "do something." But having the courage, the fortitude, the ability to "not do something" is just as important.