Details Emerge in British Terror Case

[YankeyMCC]

(snip)
“In retrospect,’’ said Michael A. Sheehan, the former deputy commissioner of counterterrorism in the New York Police Department, “there may have been too much hyperventilating going on.”
(snip)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/28/world/europe/28plot.html?ex=1314417600&en=3bd0e2112e48e451&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

[sabra]

1. this article debunks the "it could have been anyday" talk from BushCo...

[WCGreen]

2. Interesting article....

what I "got" from the piece was that the "terrorists" were independent and were perhaps being recruited, trained and conditioned by one man from Britian....

The hyperventilating that followed the release of the information and the arrest of the suspects is unfortunate in that again the Bush administration and the tabloid TV that passes for news couldn't wait to rush this information to the public....

The threat was real enough and it is interesting that all the information which led M-I5 to the plot was from good old fashioned police work that was then aided by the tapping of phones and the examination of financial records....

[liberal N proud]

3. So, can we all take our toothpaste on the plane again?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

4. And horeshit sandwiches?

It's going to be one helluva a picnic!

[endarkenment]

5. Could you cover your mouth, your breath stinks.

The halitosis on long flights must be near fatal at this point.

[CJCRANE]

6. Hmmm, interesting, I get this message (I'm in UK):

"This Article Is Unavailable



On advice of legal counsel, this article is unavailable to readers of nytimes.com in Britain. This arises from the requirement in British law that prohibits publication of prejudicial information about the defendants prior to trial."

[Henny Penny]

7. I get the same message and I'm not even in the Uk!

:mad:

Its only China that does stuff like this...right?



Just remember "They hate us for our freedoms!"

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. Might your ISP also serve people in Northern Ireland?

Not that I could see them bringing jurors all the way from there for a London trial ...

Anyway, here's the Toronto Star reprint of the NYT story: http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1156716609015&call_pageid=968332188854&col=968350060724

I have hopelessly corrupted myself by reading it, of course.

Here's some comments from a media lawyer on the amount of detail that's already appeared in British media, written before this, and predicting there would be limits set on what could be said: http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1854550,00.html

[Ghost Dog]

22. Hah. One way to get out of possible Jury service,

there.

[Henny Penny]

29. My isp is an all-ireland company based in Belfast so

you are probably right! Still annoying though as it doesn't let me watch the beeb UK only content for some reason!

[gratuitous]

9. Prejudicial?

Only if the defendants are the British government and their American counterparts.

Another hyperventilating announcement followed days or weeks later by "You know, now that we've actually looked at the evidence, this wasn't much of a threat at all." But our Charlie Brown media run at that football for all they're worth every stinkin' time.

[DoYouEverWonder]

24. There was an article posted on DU yesterday

about the NYT's decision to block this story for UK readers.

Nothing like a little censorship in the morning to start your day off right. :sarcasm:

[Henny Penny]

8. Please post some more for those of us who are being prevented

from viewing this.

[Barrett808]

10. Some excerpts:

...But at the same time, five senior British officials said, the suspects were not prepared to strike immediately. Instead, the reactions of Britain and the United States in the wake of the arrests of 21 people on Aug. 10 were driven less by information about a specific, imminent attack than fear that other, unknown terrorists might strike.

...

Despite the charges, officials said they were still unsure of one critical question: whether any of the suspects was technically capable of assembling and detonating liquid explosives while airborne.

A chemist involved in that part of the inquiry, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was sworn to confidentiality, said HMTD, which can be prepared by combining hydrogen peroxide with other chemicals, “in theory is dangerous,” but whether the suspects “had the brights to pull it off remains to be seen.”

...

Two of the men, who were likely the bomb-makers, were conducting a series of experiments with chemicals, said the person briefed on the case.

MI5 agents secretly installed video and audio recording equipment inside the apartment, two senior British officials said. In a secret search conducted before the Aug. 10 raids, agents had discovered that the inside of batteries had been scooped out, and that it appeared several suspects were doing chemical experiments with a sports drink named Lucozade and syringes, the person with knowledge of the case said. Investigators have said they believe that the suspects intended to bring explosive chemicals aboard planes inside sports drink bottles.

...

“The plotters received a very short message to ‘Go now,’ ” said Franco Frattini, the European Union’s security commissioner, who was briefed by the British home secretary, John Reid, in London. “I was convinced by British authorities that this message exists.”

A senior British official said the message from Pakistan was not that explicit. But, nonetheless, investigators here had to change their strategy quickly.

“The aim was to keep this operation going for much longer,” said a senior British security official who requested anonymity because of confidentiality rules. “It ended much sooner than we had hoped.”

From then on, the British government was driven by worst-case scenarios based on a minimum-risk strategy. ...

[Henny Penny]

15. Thanx. Much appreciated. n/t

[YankeyMCC]

11. But what if I prejudice you?

Just kidding see my post further down the thread

[Henny Penny]

14. Don't worry... I'm not in the UK so my chances of serving on a jury

for these guys are not very high! :-)

And I'm sure any UK DUers can avert their eyes! :D

[UpInArms]

16. see if this works for you

http://www.the-cloak.com/anonymous-surfing-home.html

[Henny Penny]

18. I'll certainly give it a go... tomorrow when I'm not so sleepy...

:toast:

[YankeyMCC]

12. A bit more from the article

(snip)
The ominous language of seven recovered martyrdom videotapes is among new details that emerged from interviews with high-ranking British, European and American officials last week, demonstrating that the suspects had made considerable progress toward planning a terrorist attack. Those details include fresh evidence from Britain’s most wide-ranging terror investigation: receipts for cash transfers from abroad, a handwritten diary that appears to sketch out elements of a plot, and, on martyrdom tapes, several suspects’ statements of their motives.

But at the same time, five senior British officials said, the suspects were not prepared to strike immediately. Instead, the reactions of Britain and the United States in the wake of the arrests of 21 people on Aug. 10 were driven less by information about a specific, imminent attack than fear that other, unknown terrorists might strike.

(snip)

While investigators found evidence on a computer memory stick indicating that one of the men had looked up airline schedules for flights from London to cities in the United States, the suspects had neither made reservations nor purchased plane tickets, a British official said. Some of their suspected bomb-making equipment was found five days after the arrests in a suitcase buried under leaves in the woods near High Wycombe, a town 30 miles northwest of London.

(snip)


===
I think that's all I can do per the rules here at DU.

[Henny Penny]

17. Thanx ... 4 paras allowed...

but I'll settle for three in the circs!


:toast:

[YankeyMCC]

19. Right I already posted one so I think I'm limited to 3 more

[TheMadMonk]

20. Q. Was the suitcase there on the DAY of the arrests?

Aside:

Not that I'm wishing the pricks (on either side) any success, but why do so many of these wannabe terrorists come across as dumb as dogshit?

Their operational security is crap (as in 2 10 YO's with decoder rings could do better) and their chosen methods are often overly elaborate and filled with potential failure points.

Do they need the latter to separate themselves from common run of the mill nutcases? To prove that they are a well organised unstopable force?

Or (my personal theory) do they (the upper echelons) deliberately blow operations, to show what they could have done, whilst minimising actual damage done, so as not to unite the general public too solidly against them?

[treestar]

21. IA with that and always wondered if it was urban legend that the

911 hijackers did not want to bother to learn to land planes.

Simple common sense would say not to draw attention to yourself that way. Just learn to land as part of the put-on, the show.

[intaglio]

23. ARRRGGGHHHH

A simple use of Google brings up This explosive. Time to make 2 to 24 hrs for a very small quantity!

Immensly sensitive even when wet so slight impact could set of a premature explosion that would not endanger the aircraft.

Needs cooling to avoid premature detonation.

How would the "Terrorists" occupy the aircraft toilet for the minimum of 2 hrs needed to make the stuff?

How would they cool it? Taking a champagne icebucket to the rest room would be a bit obvious and it needs to be a freezing mix (ice/salt with loadsa salt)

We are talking fantasy terrorism here.

/edit googling the explosive name brings up other links discussing/quoting this story

[leesa]

28. Well, now, ain't that bomb-making find convenient....

"suspected bomb-making equipment was found five days after the arrests in a suitcase buried under leaves in the woods near High Wycombe, a town 30 miles northwest of London"

Sort of like the BS find of the 9-11 suitcase full of the list of the "terrorists" names, plans and prayer books.

[Patiod]

25. and I still can't bring a tiny tube of toothpaste on board

or perfume or a 2-oz bottle of cetaphil. All because of hyperventilating.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

27. But the NSA warrantless spying! what about that?

Didn't Al Gonzo claim that the NSA was an integral part of these arrests?

Obviously the NYT story is wrong, ignoring the NSA's good work like that.

(SARCASM)

[mom cat]

26. Is anyone here surprised?

Same old shit.

[YankeyMCC]

30. UK Folks who could not access the article take a look at this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/29/business/media/29times.html

(snip)

If Web readers in Britain were intrigued by the headline “Details Emerge in British Terror Case,” which sat on top of The New York Times’s home page much of yesterday, they would have been disappointed with a click.
Skip to next paragraph
Related
Details Emerge in British Terror Case (August 28, 2006)

“On advice of legal counsel, this article is unavailable to readers of nytimes.com in Britain,” is the message they would have seen. “This arises from the requirement in British law that prohibits publication of prejudicial information about the defendants prior to trial.”

In adapting technology intended for targeted advertising to keep the article out of Britain, The Times addressed one of the concerns of news organizations publishing online: how to avoid running afoul of local publishing laws.

(snip)

[ConcernedCanuk]

31. let's see who the world is paying attention to - hmmmm?

.
.
.

Top 50 Newspapers
Accessed Last Month

http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/Top50/Top50-Current.htm

THIS is who the World is getting their info from



and this

Is what the USA is reading . .

Top 50 Newspapers for the United States
Accessed Last Month

http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/Top50/Top50-CurrentUS.htm

gee

da propaganda machine is working . . .

BUT ONLY FOR DA MURIKKANS!!


Interesting to note that not ONE of the top 50 the WORLD is reading is located on this continent,

And depressing to note that not ONE of the top 50 read IN the USA is even out of the USA . .

not much wonder y'all have no idea what is going on in the REAL world!