Comment...

We Are All Hizbullah - photo by Hizb ut-Tahrir

"Foiled terrorist plot" to down airplanes...

Original post...

Oh come on!... Are we really meant to be suckered once again into believing this nonsense? We had a "dossier" that was based on plagiarism, a "dossier" based on spin and distortion of facts; we had lies in the UN courtesy of then Secretary of State Colin Powell; we had tanks at Heathrow Airport that turned out to be a false alarm; we had a "suicide bomber" shot to death by police in the London Underground - who then turns out to be an innocent Brazilian; we had "Islamic terrorists" arrested in London (one of whom was shot) and then released without charge; and we've had innumerable other young Muslims arrested as suspected terrorists then released without charge. And now we've got this present "terrorist plot", the "foiling" of which is, apparently, largely thanks to "American intelligence". What it's effectively done of course is to help shift attention away from the events in Lebanon (nor let us forget Gaza, which seemed to be the catalyst for this present round of Israeli aggressions).

Fortunately Blair's already shot his credibility with most of the thinking British public.

Whilst I'll readily concede that maybe some sort of a plot or conspiracy has been thwarted, the timing of the whole episode is just too damn convenient to be anything other than a product of the joint Bush/Blair spin machine.

Now this is really odd... I have a distinct recollection that initial reporting of this claimed that "American intelligence" led to the mass arrests. Yet subsequent news reports have all been suggesting that it was an arrest in Pakistan that acted as the trigger. So was the first revelation a spin-doctors' slip-up, or what?
Of course, it goes without saying that the Pakistani government is another of America's puppets, but you'd think they'd at least get their story straight first.

Also, a question... if the intelligence the police acted upon was sufficiently credible to justify such a dramatic response as closing the major airports, how come nothing was found and no-one was detained at them - whilst most of the principal suspects were arrested away from the airports?
Surely it couldn't be that the entire caper was simply a huge publicity stunt to create yet more Islamophobia?

On 17th August the BBC reported...

"Terror detectives 'find bomb kit'"

"Police probing an alleged plot to bring down flights have found a suitcase containing items which could be used to construct a bomb, the BBC has learned.
Officers have been searching a piece of land called King's Wood in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.
A police source told the BBC the case contained "everything you would need to make an improvised device".
Other officers have confirmed only that a suitcase was found. Scotland Yard has not officially commented on any finds."

And on 18th August the BBC reported...

"Terror police find 'martyr tapes'"

"Police investigating an alleged plot to bring down airliners have found several martyrdom videos in the course of their searches, the BBC has learned.
Unofficial police sources said the recordings - discovered on laptop computers - appear to have been made by some of the suspects being questioned.
Scotland Yard has refused to comment on what officers are finding."

Notice the similarities? So just what's the Beeb up to?

Now read this: Well-timed Terrorism?

"The foiled terror plot of August 10th has had considerable effect on the news of the past week. It’s turned the airline industry upside-down in a scramble to prevent such innocuous items as bottled water from finding their way on board a jet, where they would be combined with some ill-defined collection of other liquids in an effort to create an explosive.
Admittedly, this threat appears largely illusory, but it makes for very exciting news. Less well publicized is the enormous effect it has had on the British political landscape, and that’s what I hope to examine here."

or this: Another Terrorist Plot Revealed!

"Forgive me for being suspicious, but it seems like every few weeks we hear of another dire terrorist threat that turns out to be a load of crap. You know, like that supposed plot to flood lower Manhattan by blowing up the Holland Tunnel, ignoring the fact that the so-called terrorists had neither the means, the training, or the know-how... let alone the brains to realize that, um, water doesn't flow uphill."

and particularly this: Mass murder in the skies: was the plot feasible?

"Now we have news of the recent, supposedly real-world, terrorist plot to destroy commercial airplanes by smuggling onboard the benign precursors to a deadly explosive, and mixing up a batch of liquid death in the lavatories. So, The Register has got to ask, were these guys for real, or have they, and the counterterrorist officials supposedly protecting us, been watching too many action movies?"

Its nice to know I'm not the only one goaded into having the occasional rant! Just came across this one that's well worth a read...
Liquid Bombers Prove: "They Hate Our Freedoms!"