UK terror alerts

[Chills]

'Airlines terror plot' disrupted

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.
High security is causing delays at all UK airports. The threat level to the UK has been raised by MI5 to critical.
According to MI5's website, critical threat level - the highest - means "an attack is expected imminently and indicates an extremely high level of threat to the UK".
Heathrow Airport has been closed to all incoming flights that are not already in the air, while several outbound services have been cancelled.
The airport is crammed with thousands of passengers, while at Stansted more than 2,000 people are queuing to pass through customs.
'Operation ongoing'
Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Paul Stephenson said the alleged plotters had intended "mass murder on an unimaginable scale".
"We are confident that we have disrupted a plan by terrorists to cause untold death and destruction and to commit, quite frankly, mass murder," he said.
"We believe that the terrorists' aim was to smuggle explosives on to aeroplanes in hand luggage and to detonate these in flight. We also believe that the intended targets were flights from the United Kingdom to the United States of America.
"I can confirm that a significant number of people are currently in custody and the operation is ongoing."
Police had spoken to a "good number of community leaders to make them aware that a major operation was under way," he added.
The arrests took place in London, High Wycombe and Birmingham.
West Midlands Police said two men were arrested under the Terrorism Act in Birmingham. No firearms officers were involved in the operation, it said in a statement.
 

According to BBC sources the "principal characters" suspected of being involved in the plot were British-born.
BBC home affairs correspondent Andy Tighe said police sources had told him they had found "interesting items" which were being examined.
He said police acted when "something happened".
"Some kind of development that they felt if they held off any longer it could be detremental to public safety."
In other major developments:
•
The US Department of Homeland Security increased the threat level applied to US-bound commercial flights originating in the UK to "red" - the first time it has done this for flights coming in from another country
•
The Home Office confirmed there had been three meetings overnight and on Thursday morning of the Cabinet's emergency committee, Cobra, chaired by Home Secretary John Reid, to discuss the terror alert
•
A spokesman for Number 10 said Tony Blair had briefed US President George Bush on the situation during the night
•
All passengers were banned from taking hand luggage onto flights, while the government warned of delays.
BBC home affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford said he did not think the police believed an attack was imminent now there had been arrests.
 

"The reason for raising the threat level is in case there is some other sub-plot, back-up plot around this that the police aren't aware of," he said.
BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera said given that most liquids were being banned from flights it suggested the suspected plot involved "some kind of liquid explosive".
He also said the plot had an "international dimension", while the investigation had involved the CIA.
"The Americans have definitely been involved for quite some time," he said.
Prime Minister Tony Blair is on holiday in the Caribbean, but Downing Street said the police operation was undertaken with his full support and he had been "in constant touch".

[SMc55]

So upsetting. Those arrested are British born according to the news report. Brought up here but still feeling able to kill people who might be their neighbours. I just can't get my head round it. Looks like a new method as well - liquid explosives in drinks bottles.

One report said the raid at Forest Gate a few weeks ago could be linked to this. I wouldn't be surprised. Police don't go into people's houses and shoot them at random. There must have been a real threat or firearms wouldn't have been authorised.

Lots of airlines have cancelled flights to the UK altogether. On a selfish note I hope I still get to see my sister next week. She lives in France and I only see her twice a year.

On the positive side, this attack has been thwarted. The intelligence services both here and abroad have worked hard and well. I'm glad we've got them.

[Chills]

On a selfish note I hope I still get to see my sister next week. She lives in France and I only see her twice a year.

I hope you do.


It seems like we'll have to wait for more information to make some sensefull comments on this. But I do wonder if the terrorists will claim to be particularly inspired by the Palestine-Israeli conflict.
For now, we don't know. Let's wait and hope nothing worse happens in the meantime.

[SMc55]

Let's wait and hope nothing worse happens in the meantime.

Indeed.

[loper]

It puts the trivialities we discuss on here into perspective.

One can't help feeling that the worst is yet to happen and that the issues that feed terrorism need to be confronted more seriously .

Yet the bad side of me still thinks the inappropriate. I can't help thinking of my tickets for Edinburgh and London and whether the guys will yet again be thwarted in their attempts to return to these shores.

Sorry for that :-[

[Chills]

Yet the bad side of me still thinks the inappropriate. I can't help thinking of my tickets for Edinburgh and London and whether the guys will yet again be thwarted in their attempts to return to these shores.

Sorry for that :-[

No need to apologize.
We all see things from our own perspective first.

[dragonboy]

Just got home & read this thread, I've got BBC World on now....shit!  :-/

[BH]

That's just a perfect example of how these events affect our freedom in so many ways.  It is freedom and freedom only that I would fight for, whatever that may mean......

[dragonboy]

It puts the trivialities we discuss on here into perspective.

Indeed...
It's strange/difficult though isn't it? I've watched the news religiously (key word?) every day since the Israel/Hezbollah conflict began. How many people have died since the conflict began only a few weeks ago? Iraq?
Every day I'm shocked & hurt by what I see & yet here I am watching the news with regards to a 'real terror threat' in my home country feeling (momentarily) even worse.
I need to consciously remind myself sometimes that a life lost is a life lost, no matter where it occurs...

[ratsprayer]

booga booga.  the hype machine is getting y'all ready for what's going to happen soon.  who benefits from these attacks?  terrorists or war-hungry countries?

[ratsprayer]

basically what i'm saying is that terrorism is bad, and no one should lose their life because of terrorism.  i just don't like seeing people get the shit scared out of them for political reasons.  there could and would be many more terrorists attacks if the threat was as serious as it's claimed to be.  i wish everyone safe journies no matter where they go.  don't let the fear take over, that's just what they want to happen.

[ali]

there could and would be many more terrorists attacks if the threat was as serious as it's claimed to be.

i don't think i agree with that, rats. there don't need to be actual physical acts of violence for terrorism to succeed.  like you say, they (whoever "they" are, i'm sure there's not just one group or person involved) want people to be scared. the threat of violent action is often enough to paralyse people (and i'm talking general populus here, not necessarily the few people in government) in fear - fear is enough to break down normal behaviours, normal rational thinking... i think fear is way more powerful, in a negative way, than anger.

hope everyone who's travelling stay safe

[SMc55]

Are you saying the threat is hyped for political ends, ratsprayer? If you are I don't think I agree. I don't trust politicians but things like this affect the economy and I don't think the British Government would risk that. There's a lot of opposition to our government's support of US foreign policy, including within Labour MPs, Blair's own party. This opposition is even more marked now with the most recent violence in Lebanon. Making people fear terrorist attacks would not make people support the government. I feel it would have the opposite effect.

[ratsprayer]

i do think the fear is hyped for political purposes.  blair is in big trouble for his support of the bush administration, and what better way to have positive publicity and make him look good than foil a terrorist plot, proving by their logic, what they're doing is working and needs to continue.  these arrests and whatnot only happen when our leaders' numbers are tanking in the polls.  the fear that is generated from all this does in fact make people support the government.  even those on the fence tend to sway back to their government's side when these things happen.  i don't expect agreement with what i'm saying, i'm used to that.  things will get much worse before they get better, but the opposition to all this madness is growing in numbers, and those elitists in power know it and will do whatever it takes to squash the movement.

take back the new millennium, this one was gonna be ours.  

[wellfleet]

while i do believe that there are many (many, many) people out there who want to commit real acts of terrorism and cause distruction and death, i think i understand where ratsprayer is coming from.

when i saw this story this morning with my husband, we couldn't help but wonder if it's a little too convenient that with elections coming here in the US, that the powers that be would want to keep people afraid. i think the people mistrust the US administration so much that they don't believe anything anymore.

that's what happens when you lie and mislead your way to power... someday they are going to cry wolf for real and the call will go unheeded. THAT's going to be the true disaster...

i hate it that i am so suspicious, but it's been made clear to most americans that their government doesn't give a damn about them, their lives, jobs, kids, etc...

here, rats, i'm totally with ya, it sucks though. i want to be less cynical....

[dragonboy]

Would one of the busiest airports in the world (the busiest?) really ground it's planes losing the airline industry millions & costing holiday goers thousands at the height of the season if the threat wasn't real?

[ratsprayer]

the answer is yes.  they would forego all that money to advance the agenda that's in place.  why would the US government lose all that money due to 9/11?  it's been proven that the official story doesn't hold together, and you can make of that what you will.  the powers that be don't care to wreck the economy at all.  in fact, the US economy is tanking big time right time, regardless of what reports are out there.  when in fact the housing market bursts and more companies continue to move overseas, you'll see quite an advance in the dictatorial powers already established here.  a ruined economy is perfect grounds to trick people in to supporting anything their leaders say.  that's been the model througout history.  hitler took power during germany's huge post WW1 collapse.  the airline industry is not an important industry in the thick of things.  the oil industry and most banking industries dictate what happens, and they're still making plenty of money throughout this.  

[ycartrob]

rats, I just hope you're not one of those who will blame the gov't when we do get attacked again.

That's the shit I don't like; blame the gov't for over-hyping threats and then blaming the gov't for not doing enough if we are attacked again (and we will be, it's just a matter of time).

[ratsprayer]

rats, I just hope you're not one of those who will blame the gov't when we do get attacked again.

That's the shit I don't like; blame the gov't for over-hyping threats and then blaming the gov't for not doing enough if we are attacked again (and we will be, it's just a matter of time).

well you can go ahead and not like me.  i think the government is responsible and complicit in all these terrorist attacks we've seen the past few years.  there's no way possible that 9/11 went down like they said it did.  i think most people are just in denial about that because it would tear one's world apart as to why their own government would be a part of something like that.  we will be attacked again, and something horrible is on the horizon because we're long overdue to be in iran and change the face of the middle east for the near future.  

[ycartrob]

9/11 was a very simple operation (in the grand scheme of life). Take a handful of Islamic extremists who are willing to die, 4 of them learn how to fly, and so they take advantage of lacks airport security.

Why is that so hard to comprehend?