Source: U.S., U.K. at odds over timing of arrests

[NVMojo]

British wanted to continue surveillance on terror suspects, official says
(do we have a probably cause issue here?)

August 12, 2006
2 hrs ago

LONDON - NBC News has learned that U.S. and British authorities had a significant disagreement over when to move in on the suspects in the alleged plot to bring down trans-Atlantic airliners bound for the United States.

A senior British official knowledgeable about the case said British police were planning to continue to run surveillance for at least another week to try to obtain more evidence, while American officials pressured them to arrest the suspects sooner. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case.

In contrast to previous reports, the official suggested an attack was not imminent, saying the suspects had not yet purchased any airline tickets. In fact, some did not even have passports.

The source did say, however, that police believe one U.K.-based suspect was ready to conduct a "dry run." British authorities had wanted to let him go forward with part of the plan, but the Americans balked.

At the White House, a top aide to President Bush denied the account.

more...

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14320452/

[acmejack]

1. At the White House, a top aide to President Bush denied the account.

No doubt. And with great fervor at that...

*While at the "Western Whitehouse, the pResident vacationed.

[Auntie Bush]

6. That top aid was probably Cheney. He aids the president doesn't he?

[ShockediSay]

22. Well, Americans can trust the people in the White House,

can't they

[drdtroit]

2. But, but, gee, Ned Lamont had just beaten Lieberman

the previous day, we just had to show how strong * is on "terra"!
Distraction, distraction, distraction, yes ladies and gentlemen welcome to the dog and pony show.
:patriot:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

4. DING DING DING! The Lamont Factor indeed.

Whatever else the assholes are, they are masters of timing. Friday releases of bad news, prime time releases (with trumpets and fireworks) of information that later becomes questionable and just plain wrong.

[TahitiNut]

12. Conducting an orchestra is all about timing.

The conductor doesn't make the music - (s)he organizes (times) the individual musical events to suit a goal.

[dipsydoodle]

3. What's important

is that this is on American news ie. it hasn't been suppressed. Well there's a first !

[The_Casual_Observer]

5. The whole thing was a set piece from the beginning. It's mid August,

Lieberman got beaten, the elections are coming soon. What better time to spring into action with full tilt hysteria.
There will be no case y the time this thing fully unravels. To tickets, no passports, and most importantly no bombs (heard about the bombs yet)?

[bleever]

17. GOP: "Party Before Country."

It's getting too obvious; they'd better dial it back a bit.

[Supersedeas]

34. they have known about the plot for months--Al Gonzo's press releases

are timed with a specific purpose

[Mikimouse]

7. Adding some fuel to the fire...

The planners of terrorist attacks are not stupid people. In fact, many of those whom we label as 'terrorists' are highly educated. Having said that, I have to make the observation that if a terrorist organization really wanted to accomplish the goal of mass murder of civilians, the congestion at the airposts, after this 'raid', with the inevitable results, would be the ideal time. I have to wonder why there has been no follow-through.

[TahitiNut]

8. I just heard this on a CNN "newsbreak" - my jaw dropped

How in the holy fucking hell can people in this country sit back and not tar and feather this regime for their reprehensible, corrupt, self-serving partisan politicization of this crap? This is appalling! Not only are the craven, corrupt cowards on the right strutting and preening and militarizing what essentially a criminal issue, they're interfering with and manipulating the law enforcement activities in another country to score partisan political propaganda points. This is obscene!

:grr:

[confludemocrat]

40. self delete

[confludemocrat]

41. My jaw dropped that the real story should come out so soon, not at this

clear, clear load of horsecrap that this whole toothless plot story really is, rife with nonsense and strange details (or strange lack of details). That press conference was all, ALL self-serving attempts to extoll themselves Chertoff, Gonzalez and Bush.

[sabra]

9. busted!

k & r

[Boo Boo]

10. I've been waiting for this story. I'd have bet serious money on it.

The day it happened I told a relative, "Just wait. In a few days it'll come out that the Brits wanted to continue surveillance but were pressured into acting early." The first clue was that five conspirators slipped the noose and were still at large when the story broke. The second was that they weren't ready to execute the plan. The third was that the Repubs didn't skip a beat in trotting out the talking points. Bush immediately gave an address that was aimed directly at those pesky anti-war leftists. It had to be a setup job, I could feel it in my bones.

It was too perfect; custom made to order in the wake of Lamont's win.

[NVMojo]

11. yep just in time to spin with their support of LIEberman

[Roy]

13. And maybe before enough evidence to successfully prosecute NT

[PinkyisBlue]

32. Evidence? Who needs evidence?

Throw the guys in jail! Evidence is what we used to need, when Clinton was the President. These days, if our government says someone is guilty of terrorism, then they're guilty!

[UTUSN]

14. Betcha they wanted the DAY BEFORE the primary n/t

[Boo Boo]

30. Yeah, that thought occurred to me too. Before the election makes sense.

Oh well, ya make the best of what ya get, I guess. They sure do know how to crank up the Wurlitzer, eh?

[tinfoilinfor2005]

15. I was just at the airport in Orlando getting my granddaughter on a plane.

Ask me how many times I heard someone say, "Gee, just in time for an election year."

[Doremus]

16. You want terra? It's in the hearts of neocons terrified of losing power.

SO terrified they are willing to COMPROMISE AN ONGOING INVESTIGATION.

Insane f'ing bastards. If they're willing to disrupt every airport in two countries and jeopardize actual investigations to score political points, what in the name of God WON'T they do?

I have a feeling we're going to find out the depths of their depravity in the months before November.

[54anickel]

18. There were hints of this back on Thursday

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2448842#2448908

[confludemocrat]

39. On Fri's Democracy Now they went over all the Brit screwups too, so

these two maintain a record of never having foiled anything, Previously in UK by their own incompetence, this time with the added weight of US incompetence married with desperate cynicism.

[Miss Chybil]

19. So, when do other countries get to wear the big boy pants and

make their own decisions regarding their criminal investigations, wars, etc.? Do we have some super-secret, arm-twisting rocket capable of making grown goverments bow to our every ridiculous whim? Is George Bush really King of the World? Is he sitting on his ranch in Texas with one finger on the button? When are these other countries going to grow the fuck up?

[gratuitous]

20. Once again the elephant flies above the eagle

It's just too risky for them to leave elections to facts, issues and the will of the people, all of which have a serious liberal bias. So, rather than leave it to the British to finish their investigation and nail these guys but good, Bush and his little minions have to rush things so they can try to persuade people of . . . well, what exactly?

After squandering billions of dollars and thousands of lives, every effort of the Republicans in the war on terror can be knocked into a cocked hat by the result of one minority party primary in a small state.

Is that what we're being told?

[DLnyc]

23. I like that image

"It's hard to soar like an eagle when there's a flying elephant shitting on your head"

Love it

[BrotherBuzz]

21. This is Cheney's One Percent Doctrine in spades

Didn't have passports or airline tickets
They were under survialance for over a year! There was no immediate threat here!
We're being played for partisan political reasons.

[Higans]

26. Duh

[BrotherBuzz]

27. Indeed

Oh, but to be a fly on the wall with a video camera to capture that exchange Gustave Gilbert and Herman Goering.


We got around to the subject of war again and I said that, contrary to his attitude, I did not think that the common people are very thankful for leaders who bring them war and destruction.

"Why, of course, the people don't want war," Goering shrugged. "Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship."

"There is one difference," I pointed out. "In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars."

"Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."

[Cobalt-60]

31. Uncle Hermann will help us

This makes wonderful advertising.
A little voice over and its ready for TV.

[LSK]

24. K&R - couldnt wait, Lamont won, must recontrol the sheeple!!!

[Kailassa]

25. The earliest reports had included the information that

Scotland Yard believed an attack was NOT imminent.
- Which contrasted strangely with the alert put out
by the British Gov't of an imminent threat.

So it was obvious something was not right behind the scenes,
and easy to guess who would be responsible for that.

And then we are told they were going to make an explosive
by mixing a gel with gatorade ...
and even had "some" of the ingredients.

So we have a bunch of "dangerous terrorists" with few
passports, no tickets,
but at least they had a bottle of Gatorade each. !!!

There had to be an ulterior motive for this, and I think
I have it. It's a diabolic plot to boost energy drink sales !!!

:evilgrin:

[CJCRANE]

28. Also the Deputy PM

John Prescott was nowhere to be seen during the crisis (with Blair on holiday he should have been in command, as he was during the 7/7 bombings).

So either Prescott was considered a liability and kept out of the way or possibly he didn't want to be involved in the whole dog and pony show.

[NVMojo]

29. don't forget that Blair, Bush's lap poodle, was on vacation at the same

time as he was ...they planned ahead.

[Vinca]

33. So what will the spin be if, just before election day,

the Brits are forced to let the whole lot of them go for lack of evidence? That would be reverse political justice, now wouldn't it?

[connecticut yankee]

36. Nah --

just send them to Gitmo.

[Catchawave]

35. Surely someone on the U.S. side would ask if

they had enough evidence first? heh.

[0007]

37. My thoughts go straight to Cheney & Rumsfeld...

A vice president who has repeatedly tried to upstage those who oppose his idealism's.

[peacetalksforall]

38. We should be happy, but we have to work at it.

Should this planet survive Cheney-Bush-Blair, history books will document the criminal deceptions for centuries to come.

What we're learning is that this group is still targeting only a small per cent of people in this country who are still able to believe and trust in C-B-B.

All their little plots to keep us in a state of terror are still working on some, but the numbers are shrinking and there are probably fewer gullible people in the UK.

We can be happy because their attempts are becoming more absurd and more transparent to more people.

But, we have to work to teach ourselves and others. We need to keep waking up, stay awake, and wake others. And some who have woken need to write those books and keep on truckin' the blogs.

As of the sixth day after, we read:

Most did not have passports.
No stock of ingredients has been found.
Testing thoroughness in doubt.
Tickets not purchased.

Thousands of people denied basic health needs.
Millions of dollars in loss to airlines.
Millions of dollars in loss to future profits of airlines.

What is still unclear is which friends profited from this? Because they always have their friends in waiting to profit. For example, selling the steel of the WTC with human remains still on it within hours after picking it up with cranes that were probably also owned and operated by friends.

All of this liquid and gel debacle to cover up a Leiberman loss? I kind of don't go along with that. I think they were also covering up the destruction and death of innocent people in Lebanon. Mostly, they are looking forward to November. They need to keep the number of their followers up so that they don't have to steal so many votes.

Many counties and states are 'without protection'. Vote protection. So, the urgent work involves our votes and then the gathering of all the little points of information about all these deceptions and putting it together. Some must keep writing the blogs and books. The rest of us have to study and teach as many people as we can. Turn them on to the inside information and theories and teach them where to go to learn and ask them to teach in turn.

[newburgh]

42. "Because they always have their friends in waiting to profit."

"For example, selling the steel of the WTC with human remains still on it within hours after picking it up with cranes that were probably also owned and operated by friends."

Ugh, can I attest to that! This "friend" is our local Republican honcho who's raised big bucks for our county exec, governor and pResident, Jim Taylor of Taylor Recycling. He had "specialized" recycling equipment that sifted through the rubble. The local papers made him out to be a hero for finding a few personal trinkets among the remains and returning them to surviving loved ones. Biggest PR kick he could have gotten for his "recycling" schemes.

[Mugsy]

43. ISN'T THIS AWFULLY FAMILIAR TO ANYBODY?

Flashback: Noor Khan, August 2004.

:evilfrown:

[Qutzupalotl]

44. Kick!

Because it's too late to recommend...