Quote Originally Posted by NeoCybercoin
I think that Father closed the gate within Ed and Al. I mean the power for Alchemy has to come from somewhere right? They can use it without a circle because they saw the truth through the gate. So what if their's is closed somehow. It would explain why they can't use it.
They way he talked, it implies that all alchemy should have been impossible, regardless of the level of Truth they know. That can be seen when Father expected Scar and May to also be powerless. Since they're not on his list of sacrifices, it's reasonable to assume that he think they haven't opened any sort of Gates like the Elric Brothers have. Since he didn't realise the significance of Eastern Alchemy (whether or not he knew it was Eastern Alchemy is another story), it's safe to assume he expected all alchemy to stop working in that area.