"More Propaganda Than Plot" - Former Brit Ambassador on UK Terror Plot

[babylonsister]

Coming up on Democracy Now, but the whole program looks good.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/18/1352248

Questions have been raised over whether British authorities were pressured by the United States to make the arrests last week in the alleged terror plot to blow up transatlantic airliners. We speak with former British ambassador Craig Murray who says, "The one thing of which I am certain is that the timing is deeply political. This is more propaganda than plot." A judge in Britain has ruled police have until next week to continue to hold 23 suspects arrested in the alleged plot to blow up airplanes bound for the United States.

British police arrested 24 people in raids last week. One person has since been released. No one has been charged with a crime.

Questions have been raised over whether British authorities were pressured by the United States to make the arrests. A senior British official told NBC News that British police were planning to continue to run surveillance for at least another week to try to obtain more evidence. The British official suggested the attack was not imminent, saying the suspects had not yet purchased any airline tickets. Some did not even have passports.

Now, a former British ambassador is suggesting that the timing of the arrests has been deeply political and should be viewed with skepticism. Craig Murray is Britain's former ambassador to Uzbekistan. He was removed from the post two years ago in part because of his outspoken criticism of Uzbekistan's human rights record.

* Craig Murray, former British ambassador to Uzbekistan.

- Read Craig Murray's article: The UK Terror plot: What's Really Going On?
- For more information: CraigMurray.co.uk

The British government is reportedly considering an airport screening system that would include identifying passengers by their ethnic or religious background. Security at British airports was radically tightened last week after authorities claimed they foiled the alleged terror plot. Increased passenger searches have caused significant delays at airports in Britain and calls have increased for profiling to select travelers for searching.

* Gareth Crossman, Director of Policy at the British civil rights group Liberty.