Posted by
arandomguy on Thursday, August 10, 2006 11:07:36 PM
Early this morning, London time, British authorities working off information received from an undercover MI5 operative deep within terrorist organizations possibly linked to Al Qaeda, arrested 24 people in connection with a plot to hijack and explode several US bound British airplanes. Intelligence officials report that the money trail lead directly to Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, where money for the operation was wired directly to London.
24 Britons of Pakistani descent were reportedly only "days away" from a test run of their plan, using Peroxide based liquid explosives to do massive damage to several US bound jets. The group, numbering at least 30 terrorists, planned to use liquid explosives concealed in sports drink containers, and detonate the mixture by flashes from disposable cameras.
The targeted airlines were United, American, and Continental, as well as several British airlines. The plane destinations included New York, Washington and Los Angeles, all major population centers in the US mainland.
Experts speculate that there may be a link to Al Qaeda, because of many key points similar to past Al Qaeda plots. The plan is large in scale - exploding bombs on 6 to 10 different airplanes - and designed to target both civilians, and the general economy of the country upon which the attacks took place.
Osama Bin Laden promised in October 2002 to wage war against the economies of the western nations. It is reasonable then to assume that the airline industry would be at or near the top of the list of targets for Al Qaeda for several reasons, most of which is, perhaps, their obvious vulnerability.
Unfortunately, the five key members of the terror cell responsible for this plot are still at large, and an extensive manhunt is underway in both the UK and the world at large. The ringleader of this operation is believed to be one Matiur Rehman, a 29 year old Al Qaeda commander known to be planning a massive terror demonstration to mark the 5th anniversary of 9/11, which could very well have been this operation.
This terrorist attack is very important for the world. Not only does it illustrate the threat from global jihadism, but it cements the US position that the war on terror is both necessary and righteous, and that terrorists must be defeated so they cannot do us harm. It also demonstrates the ability of law enforcement to adapt to new situations, and work in coordination with each other, and in haste to stop plots before they become anything more then plots.
Finally and above all, it proves that the US is not free from the threat of terrorism. It proves that we must remain vigilant, and that we must work incessantly to defeat these terrorist, or be defeated ourselves.