Right now the UK is on very high alert. Security is at its maximum and Heathrow is closed to all new flights. On those flights that are now leaving the UK, passengers are neither allowed to have any hand luggage nor carry any fluids on board.
According to the BBC:
A plot to blow up planes in flight from the UK to the US and commit “mass murder on an unimaginable scale” has been disrupted, Scotland Yard has said. It is thought the plan was to detonate explosive devices smuggled in hand luggage on to as many as 10 aircraft. Police were searching premises with 21 people in custody after arrests in the London area and West Midlands. [Link]
At this point we know very little, and the ” War on Terror” has gone on long enough that I personally will withhold judgement until there is more evidence. I cannot find any news about who the detained suspects are, but sadly the odds are that there might be a very straightforward brown angle to this story.
Update 1:
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p>What little we know about the plot indicates that it is a home grown conspiracy, like 7-7, involving British Asians [thanks AMfD]:
According to BBC sources the “principal characters” suspected of being involved in the plot were British-born. There are also understood to be links to Pakistan. [Link]
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p>The mechanism apparently involved multiple liquids or gels that were inert separately but were explosive in combination. These would not have been detected given current mechanisms.
Update 2:
At this point, we still know very little about who was involved and exactly what they were planning to do. Here are some of the newer reports concerning the alleged plot.
The authorities claim that they had been investigating the conspiracy for a year before they acted:
The secret investigation into the plot has already lasted a year. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, the Met’s head of anti-terrorism, said that intensive surveillance had been carried out of the meetings, movements, travel, spending and the aspirations of a large group of people, both in Britain and abroad. [Link]
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p>“Sources” claim that the Pakistani government was working with the British in the investigation:
Pakistani intelligence agencies helped the British authorities foil the terror plot to blow up aircraft travelling between Britain and America, highly placed sources in Pakistan said today. The agencies have been working closely with British anti-terror police in monitoring the activities of the suspected terrorists for some time, many of whom have links with Pakistan-based Islamic militant groups, The Times has learnt. [Link]
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p>We are still awaiting confirmation concerning who was involved. They are believed to be all British citizens, many of whom are of Pakistani origin, but this has not been confirmed by the authorities:
Mr Reid [the home secretary] would not comment on claims that the detainees were British-born Muslims of Pakistani descent… [he also] refused to be drawn on whether the apprehended individuals suspected of terrorist activities were foreign or “home-grown”. [Link]
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p>Initial reports based on one of the raids suggest that North Africans may also have been involved:
[a neighbor]… said he believed two north African men had been living in the flat for about a month. He said: “I saw a couple of north African-looking men about three weeks ago. They were in their mid 30s. They were dressed quite normally in T-shirts and trousers. “I haven’t seen them in the last couple of weeks. There is not often anyone there at that house.” [Link]
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p>Nor do we know for sure how many planed were targeted. Some reports say up to ten, while other reports say up to twelve:
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p>
Officials also declined to confirm the number of flights believed to have been targets – sources said up to 10 – and the home secretary would only say the alleged intention was to carry out a “wave” of attacks. [Link]
In sum, we know very little for sure at this point.
Update 3:
The US claims that the plot was days away from being executed and that most of the plotters were of Pakistani decent. However, this is still not official confirmation (I have no trouble believing it, I am simply noting that there is a difference between official and unofficial confirmation, the latter has been given several times already):
According to a U.S. intelligence official, the plotters were “days away” from going through with their plan. Searches last night turned up airline schedule information in their possession, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. All of those arrested were British citizens, and most appeared to be of Pakistani descent, the official said. [Link]
Update 4 [Thanks Jai]:
Five suspects are still being sought, more information concering the possible identity of the conspirators:
Five of the suspected London terrorists are still at large and are being urgently hunted, according to U.S. sources who have been briefed on the airplane bombing plot. Officials tell ABC News 24 people now have been taken into custody. Twenty-two are believed to be of Pakistani descent. One is Bangladeshi, and another is of Iranian descent, according to the officials. [Link]
Pakistan officially confirms its involvement in foiling the plot:
A senior Pakistani security official told the AFP news agency that Pakistani intelligence agencies helped British authorities foil the plot. Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said: “Pakistan played a very important role in uncovering and breaking this international terrorist network. “There were some arrests in Pakistan which were co-ordinated with arrests in the UK…” [Link]
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Update 5:
ABC news claims it has the names of three of the suspects, and links them to recent travels to Pakistan:
Three of the alleged ringleaders of the foiled airplane bomb plot have been identified by Western intelligence agencies involved in unraveling the plot. Two of them are believed to have recently traveled to Pakistan and were later in receipt of money wired to them from Pakistan, reportedly to purchase tickets for the suicide bombers.Sources identify the three, who are now in custody, as:
- Rashid Rauf
- Mohammed al-Ghandra
- Ahmed al Khan. [Link]
Update 6 [Thanks Vikram and RC]:
More information on exactly how far along the plot was, and the presence of an inside man:
An undercover British agent infiltrated the group, giving the authorities intelligence on the alleged plan, several U.S. government officials said. The men had not bought plane tickets, the officials said, but they were in the process of perusing the Internet to find flights to various cities that had similar departure times…
Among those arrested were a Muslim charity worker and a Heathrow Airport employee with an all-area access pass, according to Britain’s Channel 4.
The suspects were planning to stage a test run within a couple of days, said a U.S. intelligence official. [Link]
Ponniyin, Thats true. Even passport holders of Singapore dont need a visa to get into US for tourism.
As long as it’s every bag, and not just the bags which belong to people who “look like terrorists.”
And messy. Simply put, the more steps involved in making something go ‘boom’, the more chances for something to go wrong that results in it failing, or not going off at the right time. That is why the norm in military and commercial industries (mining, demo) is dynamite/TNT/plastic explosives. Easy to handle, you can set them off with precision, and not too many components involved in setting them off.
Nitroglycerin was used for blowing stuff up back in the day, though, just too many safety issues involved.
Too early to say what they were using, but one can create liquid based explosives with several off the shelf chemicals. How effective they are will depend on what was used (type of chemical, quantity of chemical…)
I left out CT because it truly didnt have racially motivated attacks on browns. I wasnt kidding when I mentioned other “enlightned” states of North east filled with the ‘liberal’ (and hence all good) people as opposed to the ‘conservative’ (and hence all bad) people of south. Although you claim to be kidding, but it still appears from your comment that you think that somehow Democrats would be different. Well, all I can say is good luck with that hope.
This is a plot by “BritAsians” !?! WTF? Really, there is now a “BritAsian” plot to blow up planes??? Is there also a BritAsian religion or politicial movement?
Please, excuse me while I throw up. This headline crosses the bounds of political correctness. It is a shameful example of mindless ethnic labeling that folks here otherwise seem to complain about a LOT.
Can we wait till the suspects are identified? And then PLEASE be honest about their affiliations and backgrounds.
Kobayashi – I grant your general point about the use of fear, both by terrorists and political leaders, as a tool. However, that doesn’t mean that we should not increase scrutiny of possible methods of concealing explosives in the aftermath of a foiled plot.
According to Sky News, “imminent” means within the next 48 hours. The security services are also not entirely sure that they’ve caught absolutely everyone involved yet, so although they seem to have got the major figures, they regard the risk of a potential attack as still being present.
The potential fatality figure has been estimated to be greater than 9/11. 9 or 10 major transatlantic passenger jets destroyed would involve significantly more than a thousand dead. Even more so when you consider that, according to the ongoing and rapidly-developing investigation, the aim was to destroy these planes over 5 US cities, so there would have been “on the ground” fatalities as well.
Also, according to BBC News 24, the terrorists were apparently planning 3 waves of attacks (3 planes each time), separated by several days. Considering the fact that transatlantic flights would have been grounded (or at least severely restricted) after the first attack, I’m not sure how realistic this aim was, but it’s still very bad indeed. All 9 flights destroyed simultaneously over the ocean or over cities would have been horrific.
I posted a few articles about all this on SM’s news tab earlier today in response to “Breaking News” as it developed, so hopefully everyone caught that too.
From Wikipedia:
Philippine Airlines Flight 434 (PAL434, PR434) was the route designator of a flight that flew on a Ninoy Aquino International Airport near Manila, Philippines – Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Cebu – New Tokyo International Airport (Now Narita International Airport), Narita, Japan near Tokyo route. On December 11, 1994, Flight 434 was on its second leg from Cebu to Tokyo when a bomb exploded, killing one passenger.
Authorities later discovered that a passenger on the aircraft’s preceding leg was Ramzi Yousef, who United States authorities have branded a master Al-Qaida bomber and terrorist. He was later convicted of The first World Trade Center bombing, for which he was sentanced to death by lethal injection. Yousef boarded the flight under an assumed name.
Yousef assembled a bomb in the lavatory and stuck it under Seat 26K on the right-hand side of the fuselage, setting the timer to explode the device four hours later. He and 25 other passengers left the plane at Cebu.
Two hours before e.t.a. at Tokyo, the bomb exploded at 11:43 P.M. while Flight 434 was at flight level FL310 above Minami Daito Island, which is located nearby Okinawa and is 260 miles (420 km) southwest of Tokyo. The explosion tore out a two square foot (0.2 m²) portion of the cabin floor and ripped the body of 24-year old Haruki Ikegami, a Japanese businessman occupying the seat, in half. He was an industrial sewing machine maker returning from a trip to Cebu. Flight attendants placed a blanket where he was seated. Ikegami did not survive. The bomb blew a hole into the floor revealing the cargo hold underneath. The fuselage of the plane stayed intact.
EI-BWF, the Boeing 747-283B made an emergency landing in Naha Airport, Okinawa, one hour after the bomb exploded. When the control columns stopped functioning normally, the crew turned to steering via throttle control, reminiscent of United Airlines Flight 232. None of the aircraft’s other 272 passengers or 20 crew members died, although 10 passengers sitting in front of Ikegami were injured.
The seat where the bomb exploded (seat 26k) would normally be above the centre wing fuel tank on a Boeing 747 but on this particular model of 747 the tank was located slightly further back. Seat 26k was just one row in front of the tank.
US prosecutors said the device was a “Mark II” “microbomb” constructed using Casio digital watches as described in Phase I of Operation Bojinka of which this was a test. On Flight 434, Yousef used one tenth of the explosive power he planned to use on eleven U.S. airliners in January of 1995. The bomb was designed to slip through airport security checks undetected. The explosive used was liquid nitroglycerin, which was disguised as a bottle of contact lens fluid. The wires he used were hidden in the heel of his shoe. At that time, metal detectors used in airports did not go down far enough to detect anything there.
After the bombing, a man claiming to represent a rebel group said in a telephone call to the Manila office of the Associated Press, “We are Abu Sayyaf Group. We explode one plane from Cebu.”
Ramzi Yousef was testing the bomb for use in the proposed Operation Bojinka terrorist attack. The bomb used on Flight 434 had one-tenth the power of the bombs he planned to use in the first phase of his project which was to bomb 11 aircraft over the Pacific Ocean.
Manila police uncovered his plan on the night of January 6 and the early morning of January 7, 1995, and Yousef was arrested a month later in Pakistan.
That is a good point. Although some of the suspects have been confirmed to be of Pakistani origin, this doesn’t mean all of them are. They are, however, all British citizens and all (quote) “young Muslims”.
Hmm….. Pretty extreme reaction to Brits laughing their asses off at Inzi.
Thanks Sage – I’ve updated the post with the info about Operation Bojinka.
Agreed.
Al Beruni:
I’ve been very careful concerning who was involved. I stated that we don’t know yet, but that initial reports identify some of those arrested as British citizens of Pakistani origin. In an update I pointed out that the government has refused to confirm this, and that Brits of North African origin may have been involved as well.
Are Pakistani-Brits not BritAsians? I was looking for the shortest possible wording to put into the headline, despite what you might think. If it was about being PC, I would not have identified the suspects so directly in the rest of the post.
I am glad they have caught the fellows involved. Hopefully this clamor is over a real threat and not a bunch of loonies in a warehouse that pose no actual threat (remember Miami in June?).
On the flip side, if this is just a tactic to detract from atrocities in Lebanon, I am livid! Try air-travel with an infant or toddler without any liquids, apple sauce or other containers. As if it wasn’t hard enough for the brown breast-feeding mamas who pump their milk and take them on board in little containers. I can only imagine what my pre-packed thermos of goodies for junior will look like to TSA.
I wish they would pay as much attention to our terrible schools or the dangers of leaving a toddler in a bathtub, (per Abhi’s recent post on terrorism) which ultimately cause MUCH more harm than these stupid terrorists. Those dangers seem so much more real to me than this – at least until they can prove to me this is a REAL thtreat and not a bunch of illiterate loonies exercising in the middle of the night because they are wannabes…
sigh.
Good post Sage. Peter Bergen (?) mentioned this incident on CNN this morning.
Ek Aurat –
baby food is still allowed, but has to be tasted first. I split the whole science/security discussion concerning liquid explosives into another post b/c this update was getting too long to be easily readable.
Amen to that. With this logic why should American media “understand” the difference between a Sikh and a Taliban?? Why should American media “understand” the difference between a Hindu of Indian decent and an Iranian ?? All these are “Asians” afterall ….
But I also agree with Ennis about waiting for an official word that clearly states British citizens of Pakistani decent, if that turns out to be the case.
Ennis
And aren’t they also human beings? So why not say: plot by humans to blow up planes foiled.
My own reading of your headline is: you are aware that there is likely to be an islamist angle to this whole tragedy, but you are too scared/pc to say so. If you really want to be super careful it would be better not to describe the suspects background until credible information is available.
But please dont make up imaginary linkages of the type your headline implies !
Oh dear.
I’ve removed the word BritAsian from the headline. I had originally put it in because it was the shortest way to signal to readers why this post was related to SM. At this point, I think everybody knows, so I’ve returned the headline to it’s original, shorter, version.
Al Beruni, don’t put words in my mouth please. You’re dead set on seeing a PC angle where there isn’t one. Again, if I was being PC, I would not have mentioned Pakistan. I have no problem identifying people involved. The original headline said nothing, then I decided to insert the word “BritAsian” because it was the shortest way to indicate the “brown content” of the post. I even tried “British of Pakistani Origin” but the headline got too unweildy.
If you want to insist that you can see into my head, I can’t stop you from thinking so, but it’s both incorrect and really annoying. It sounds to me like you’ve got a broader fantasy concerning being persecuted by an overly PC-SM, and you’re just pushing that point here because it’s convenient.
This is rich from the continent that devised both World Wars.
The threat was real, and I’m glad it was doused. But the overreaction to it (no drinks on planes! no planes!) will be just as real, and far more costly. Terrorgasm indeed.
I’ll save this lunacy for posterity!
Ennis,
Since the plot had religious inspiration and not Asian inspiration, why not label the alleged plotters/suspects as British-Muslims.
Albeit with a caveat – i.e, British- Muslims who do not follow the true tenets of this otherwise religion of peace.
Well, looks like Bush is not so PC.. He claims “a stark remainder” that US is at war with “Islamic fascists”.. Refer to breaking news from CNN
Because we’re a brown blog, not a religious one and I was trying to indicate as tersely as possible why this post was of narrow as well as broad interest to the readers.
Honestly folks, I’m done answering questions on this. I’ve explained myself in the same way several times and it’s not worth repeating myself further. I appreciated the feedback enough to revert the headline back to its original form, but I really don’t have more to say on this.
Meanwhile this news item from Ohio…
What costs? Can you elaborate? You have better suggestions?
Ok, fair enough. You have also changed the headline and headlines do have meaning and impact on readers.
cut the meta out already. yeah, i think “british asians” is going to confuse a bit (though i doubt anyone thinks sikhs & hindus when they think of planes being blown up aside from canadians), but the story is barely out! let’s let the data flow for, i don’t know, a day or so, before the kulture of kritique kix in.
Also with another caveat – such people are also a rarity, in fact most muslims are unfairly labeled argumentative when it comes to discussions of theology and soteriology. This must stop.
From a colleague:
It’s just funny how these things only seem to happen, or be reported, just after there is a blow to Bush in any way. Or the Dem’s have a win of any kind.
I don’t care how crazy this sounds. I find this development coming after Lieberman’s defeat in the Connecticut primary, and after the release of a poll claiming that 60% of Americans are against the Iraq war to be very suspicious.
Before the 2004 elections, there was terror alert after terror alert after terror alert. After the elections? No more terror alerts!
Am I just too cynical?
Slightly off-topic: if investigations confirm that the suspects are of Pakistani origin, do you think this will change American policy/attitudes towards Pakistan vis-a-vis India? (i.e. will India’s assertion that terrorist organizations based in Pakistan were responsible for the Bombay train blasts be taken more seriously?)
no. my bet is that these individuals are pakistani by origin, but their motivating ideology was transnationalism islamism. otherwise they would have focused on kashmir.
what #87 said…
Wow, that Gallup survey about American attitudes towards Muslims that Ramanan posted on the news tab is something.
I’ve just posted this on the news tab, but here it is again for anyone who’s interested: According to The Times (British version), Pakistani intelligence was involved in foiling the plot. Online article here.
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Yamini, If a Pakistani angle is proven it will strengthen Mushraff’s position in Pakistan. This in turn will give him a freer hand to promote his agenda against India and another few billion in arm’s aid to the Pakistan army.
Dont for a minute think that the “west” has any interest in curbing terrorism against Indian’s (or even ordinary Pakistani’s for that matter).
cc says:
Which is it?
Why wouldn’t they have done it before the elections?
Isn’t it kinda too late now?
Why do you question the timing after a Lamont (DEM) win? What about the McKinney (DEM) loss?
Just admit it, you would question the timing before the election, after the election, if the Dems win, if the Dems lose, if it happens in the UK after American elections, the US, wherever? And if the attack went through successfully, you would be hyperventilating about Bush and Blair taking vacations instead of fighting terrorism.
In the modern information era, conspiracies are not as likely simply because people involved wouldn’t be able to keep their mouths shut. If stuff the Government actively tries to keep classified and secret eventually leaks out, how the hell would you orchestrate a conspiracy on such grand scales. Wag the Dog was a fun movie, but in reality (of modern liberal republics) there are too many people involved for shit like that to fly.
This goes to all conspiracy theories, right or left wing nuts.
desitude and Ramanan:
You might also find this poll interesting about British Muslims view on 7/7 and related issues:
-one in ten thinks that the men who carried out the London bombings of 7/7 should be regarded as “martyrs” -7 per cent agree that suicide attacks on civilians in Britain can be justified under certain circumstances, a figure that rises to 16 per cent if the target is the military -2 per cent said they would be proud if a close relative joined al-Qaeda
-Nearly half (49 per cent) of BritainÂ’s 1.6 million Muslims also think it acceptable for the authorities to monitor what is being preached in mosques more closely
Times Online 1
Times Online 2
Ooops. Replace Dem with Iraq War Opponent in my comment #94 above.
Its not called terrorism when brown people are killed, that’s just brown on brown violence. West has a war on “terrorism” not on “brown on brown violence”.
Yamini
You have the wrong end of the stick regarding the west and pakistan/india. British (and subsequent american) strategic interest in pakistan is based on location and religion. It has nothing to do with india.
Short of a direct attack on US on UK nationals, nothing will change here. This has been true since 1947 and will remain true for a very long time.
Thanks for the comments… yes, I’m aware that US/UK policies are based on what’s good for US/UK security/political goals etc and not India’s, that Indian lives don’t really matter to them, and that it’s useful to have a “friendly” dictator in power in a strategically important country. But I was wondering whether now, for purposes of their own security, the US/UK would put more pressure on Musharraf to crack down on the terrorist cells operating within Pakistan, which would indirectly help India. So far they’ve been accepting his excuses, which are (as far as I know) that they are officially banned and that he can’t control everything. But maybe this is too naive. Of course, if the British terrorist operation was “home-grown” with no assistance from Pakistan-based cells, and if Pakistani intelligence did indeed work with UK intelligence, then all this is moot.
According to the Sky News channel, one of the wannabe bombers is only 17 (the oldest is 35), and apparently 2 of the people arrested appear to be non-desi Muslim converts as they have English names.
The latter seems to be contradicted by the ABC network, according to whom: “22 of those in custody are of Pakistani origin, one is Bangladeshi and another is Iranian.” All are British citizens, as confirmed previously.
Latest article from Sky News here. There is currently a hunt underway for another 10 suspects.
Latest article from BBC News 24 here. Quotes: “US intelligence officials believe the plotters hoped to stage a practice run followed by actual attacks on up to 10 planes within days……According to US officials, the airlines to be targeted were United, American and Continental, which fly to New York, Washington and California.”
100
What seems more likely to me is that the bargain Musharaff has struck with the west is the following:
“We will dillegently protect western interests in this region, this includes active help in investigating terrorism (when directed at the west), allowing FBI a free run on intelligence gathering within Pakistan, bases (Jacobabad etc). In return we expect western understanding of our strategic interests which are:
IreneFingIrene:
Yes, those are striking numbers. Ideological lunatics don’t appear in a vacuum, they tend to develop organically in communities within which there is a spectrum skewed towards sympathy, but at the same time, its more important – imo – to retain judge ppl as individuals.
Jai:
According to the Sky News channel, one of the wannabe bombers is only 17 (the oldest is 35), and apparently 2
The Sepia Mutiny demographic. If only some of them had been reading this site. Lives utterly wasted.
Bongdongs #102: Fair enough – I’ll buy that.
Seems like they already had an “inside man”:
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blockquote> Among those arrested were a Muslim charity worker and a Heathrow Airport employee with an all-area access pass, according to Britain’s Channel 4. Link
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With more and more home grown recruits joining the “cause”, I think this will be the tactic used to bypass all that supposed security.