Vampiel
Nov 24 2004, 06:34 AM
Has anyone else noticed this? Seemed like a pretty big deal to me. My thanks to the British intelligence for foiling this potentially devastating plot.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6569861/QUOTE
Intelligence officials now confirm that among the potential targets considered for attack by terror plotters was the United Kingdom’s tallest office tower in London. They also tell NBC News that suspected al-Qaida terrorists were actively trying to recruit pilots to hijack planes in smaller European cities and crash them into London's Heathrow Airport to disrupt international travel.
According to the new information, the plan called for attacking as many as half a dozen targets, including prominent buildings in the city's financial center, London's vast subway system and potentially even its Houses of Parliament and the centuries-old Westminster Abbey.
...
NBC News has learned that a key development in the British prosecution is cooperation from Mohammad Babar, an American arrested in the U.S. Babar has admitted meeting top al Qaida operatives in Pakistan and buying some of the explosives for the U.K. plotters.
...
Intelligence officials say that while the U.K. plotters did not settle on final targets before they were arrested, their plans were disturbingly close to being carried out.
Was this plot a direct result of the UK's foreign policy?If so can you cite any specific examples?What is the underlying reason behind the terrorist's motives?
Ptarmigan
Nov 24 2004, 09:17 AM
Whilst I have read about this is the news, it has not yet been confirmed or denied by British Intelligence or the Government or any official source other than 'media sources'.
The date of the attack was going to be yesterday, as that was the day that Parliament reconvened and the Queen was at Westminster giving her yearly speech (which essentially outlines the plans the government has).
Was this plot a direct result of the UK's foreign policy?
Of course, we're the second largest force in Iraq and we're considered by many to be the US's closest ally. We've also got the whole colonial past thing going on.
If so can you cite any specific examples?
Afghanistan, Iraq, the UK generally supports the House of Saud. Again, really it depends what you think the underlying motives for terrorist attacks are.
What is the underlying reason behind the terrorist's motives?
I'm not sure really, but I would say that perhaps terrorists would consider the UK to be an easier target than the US and would also want to send a signal about the penalties of being an ally to the US.
Given the large proportion of Muslims who live in London, any attack is likely to do more harm than good to the terrorists image in the Middle East (I would guess). Britain has a large Muslim population overall and it has integrated comparatively well into society, which many people believe is partly the reason why Britain has so far escaped any serious incident.
Again, I would point out that this news story is as yet unconfirmed.
mule
Nov 24 2004, 02:01 PM
It looks increasingly like this story is nothing more than a rumour
From the Independent:
QUOTE
Anti-terrorism sources denied the claim. One said: "To say we were surprised at the report is an understatement - this is the first we have heard of a plot like this." Another said: "No one has been charged for this so- called plot which suggests it never happened."
The source added that the fact that the story of the 11 September-style plan came from lobby correspondents, rather than security or crime specialists, "gives you a good clue to where they got their information".
storyI would echo ptarmigan views on the reason why there would attacks against Britain.