There’s going to be a lot written about this in the next several days, maybe weeks. The blogosphere is already abuzz, and the news channels are pretty much non-stop. I have a trial today in a city two hours away which I really should be getting ready for, but I would not be able to concentrate if I didn’t get some (probably scattered) thoughts down first.
British authorities said Thursday they had thwarted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up several aircraft heading to the U.S. using explosives smuggled in hand luggage, averting what police described as “mass murder on an unimaginable scale.”
[snip]
In Washington, two U.S. counterterrorism officials said the terrorists had targeted United, American and Continental airlines.
Police arrested 21 people in London, its suburbs and in Birmingham as part of a major covert counterterrorism operation that had lasted several months, Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson said. Searches continued in a number of locations.
Police are confident they have disrupted a plot against aircraft which was “intended to be mass murder on an unimaginable scale,” he said.
[snip]
The official said the plotters intended to simultaneously target multiple planes bound for the United States.
[snip]
A senior U.S. counterterrorism official said authorities believe dozens of people — possibly as many as 50 — were involved in the plot, which “had a footprint to al-Qaida back to it.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
The plan involved airline passengers hiding masked explosives in carry-on luggage, the official said. “They were not yet sitting on an airplane,” but were very close to traveling, the official said, calling the plot “the real deal.”
As always, the Washington Post has greater detail:
U.S. officials raised the “threat level” for air transport to red , the highest alert. The terrorists had targeted flights operated by American Airlines, Continental Airlines and United Airlines, a U.S. official said.
[snip]
British authorities said the threat involved terrorists who aimed to smuggle explosive material aboard airplanes in hand baggage, including timers and detonators that could be assembled in flight. In July 2005, terrorists attacked London’s subway and bus system with bombs made of acetone and peroxide mixed in plastic containers. Those attacks claimed 52 lives and injured hundreds of others.
Reid said the operation was aimed at bringing down “a number of aircraft” — reportedly at least ten — “through mid-flight explosions, causing a considerable loss of life.” The plot, he said, “was a very significant one indeed.”
[snip]
“We believe that the terrorists’ aim was to smuggle explosives on to airplanes in hand luggage and to detonate these in flight,” said Scotland Yard’s Stephenson. “We also believe that the intended targets were flights from the United Kingdom to the United States of America.
Clarke, Britain’s anti-terrorism chief, said at a news conference this morning that “a large number of people” had been under surveillance, with police monitoring “spending, travel and communications.”
“The alleged plot has global dimensions,” Clarke said. “The investigation reached a critical point last night when the decision was made to take urgent action in order to disrupt what was being planned. As always in these investigations, the safety of the public” was the paramount concern, he added.
Initially, huge kudos to Scotland Yard, the London police anti-terrorism unit, and other British law enforcement for breaking this case and saving untold thousands of American and, presumably, British lives.
There will be a number of very predictable reactions to this in the press, the polls, etc. Of course, the airlines are already reacting by banning carry-on luggage, banning travel with any sorts of liquid, etc.
Officials raised security to its highest level in Britain — suggesting a terrorist attack might be imminent — and banned hand-carried luggage on all trans-Atlantic flights. Huge crowds formed at security barriers at London’s Heathrow airport as officials searching for explosives barred nearly every form of liquid outside of baby formula.
[snip]
Passengers in Britain faced delays as tighter security was hastily enforced at the country’s airports and additional measures were put in place for all flights. Laptop computers, mobile phones, iPods, and remote controls were among the items banned from being carried on board.
Liquids, such as hair care products, were also barred on flights in both Britain and the U.S., raising the possibility that authorities were searching for a liquid explosive.
Passengers at all airports in the United States were told to expect intensified searches, considerable delays and new restrictions on carry-on items. The Transportation Security Administration announced that passengers on all U.S. flights, domestic and international, would be banned from transporting any type of liquid or gel in their carry-on luggage . The ban applies to all types of beverages, shampoo, toothpaste, hair gels and other items of a similar consistency, the TSA announced. . . . The TSA said passengers who need to bring medicine and baby formula on board planes would need to present those items for inspection at checkpoints. In Britain, passengers were being asked to taste these liquids in the presence of security guards.
There will be polls and pundits claiming that this proves we are no safer today than we were before 9/11. There will be draconian new air travel regulations (as above). There will be much hand-wringing and so forth. Let’s look at what there won’t be:
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Thanks to English diligence and competence, there won’t be thousands of dead Americans and Britons falling from the sky.
Because of the above, there won’t be the national shock, horror, grief and anger that we saw on 9/11.
Because of the above, there won’t be profiling at airports, despite the fact that young Muslims are almost exclusively the ones planning and committing these acts.
Because of the above, there won’t be rioting in American streets, demanding the head of anyone who looks even remotely Arab.
Because of the above, there won’t be a public demand to pull the gloves off of our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and possibly other locations.
Americans respond to tragedy (i.e. 9/11, Katrina, etc.). Here, tragedy was averted. I predict: no substantial, meaningful response from Congress or the American public.
Notice how the AP handles the profiling issue:
The suspects were “homegrown,” though it was not immediately clear if they were all British citizens, said a police official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case. Police were working closely with the South Asian community, the official said. . . . A senior U.S. counterterrorism official said authorities believe dozens of people — possibly as many as 50 — were involved in the plot, which “had a footprint to al-Qaida back to it.”
Here’s how Fox/Sky News describes it:
Those arrested were mainly young, British-born Asian men, Sky News reported.
I’ll point out, for those of you who are geographically challenged, that South Asia includes Pakistan and Afghanistan. Not much chance these guys are Indian.
The terrorists have adapted, as all good soldiers do. They realize that they will probably never get into another cockpit, and therefore will probably never pilot another plane into a building (though I do have some thoughts on this, which I’ll share at another time). So, the best they can do is blow up an airplane in flight which, if done at the right time, can cause untold devastation not only to the airliner, but also to the people on the ground beneath the airliner. They also realize that they will have to come up with a weapon that can pass through security rather innocently, but be transformed in flight (or on the ground) to achieve its deadly effect. The only other possibility is to hide a weapon in checked baggage, which runs a greater risk of being discovered. All in all, this is a pretty clever plan. Again, immense honors and thanks to the Brits for averting an unimaginable catastrophe.
It is clear by now, I hope, that we cannot plug every security hole and anticipate every possible line of attack. In other words, we cannot win this war defensively. At some point, the airlines are going to require us to fly nude, at which time some Muslim lunatic will figure out how to stick a bomb up his bum (that’s for all you Brits out there). And that’s just the airlines. What about the train stations, and the bus terminals, and the power plants, and the shopping malls, and the elementary schools, and . . .
We must take the fight to the enemy. Iraq was a start, but a slow one, and one that has not maintained the will and momentum required to see the job through. We also have yet to finish the job in Afghanistan. And we need to deal with Pakistan, Syria, Iran. We need to fight with all the tools we have available: political, economic, and yes, military. Hell, I’m almost 40 years old, but if it means saving the lives of Americans (or Brits), I’ll fight. Where do I sign up?
Gotta go try a case now. Be sure to check out Michelle Malkin’s continuing coverage and analysis of this.
They could easily be radicalized Indian Muslims. I think Scott said he bets none were Hindus.
NPR has good coverage on this, found at NPR.org. Even NPR is finally linking Ramzi Yusuf and the first WTC bomb plot to Al Quaeda. That was a matter of much denial a few years back.
Also, look up “bojinka” and “balikatan”.
Comment by Jenda — August 10, 2006 @ 7:48 am
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