New Terror Alert in London

[HStorm]

An alleged plot to blow up aeroplanes in flight from the UK to the US, committing "mass murder on an unimaginable scale" has been disrupted, according to claims coming out of Scotland Yard.

It is thought the plan was to detonate explosive devices smuggled in hand luggage onto as many as ten aircraft.

Police are searching various premises around the UK, with twenty-one people in custody after arrests made in London, High Wycombe and Birmingham.

Inevitably, high security is causing delays at all UK airports. MI5 has raised the threat level to the UK has to 'critical', suggesting they expect an attack to happen imminently.

Any thoughts?

My own thought are something along these lines; isn't it fascinating timing that this happens just a day after John Reid did another of his scare-monger speeches about terrorists with access to WMD posing the greatest threat to this country since World War II?

But then I'm such a cynic aren't I?

[modeski]

Tsk tsk, HStorm - such a cynical viewpoint. I'm glad that if there was a plot, it seems to have been foiled. That being said, it does sound like awfully convenient timing. The question begs, if the authorities knew of this planned attack in advance, why wait until now to swoop in? Heaven knows, with all the anti-terror legislation that's been passed these last couple of years, the 21 arrested could have been held in custody on zero evidence.

[modeski]

I wrote some more about this issue from an Australian perspective in Downs Under #3, but for quickness' sake, here's a copy:

Alarmist Alarm Alteration?
All alliteration aside (okay, I’ll stop now), Prime Minister John Howard has warned us that Australia’s threat level may be increased in response to the heightened threat of terrorist attack. Currently, the alert level is medium. I have no idea what “medium” means in this context, nor what practical effect this has on daily life. Oh, that’s right: none at all.

Myself and a few other posters on The Age blog debated this issue at length on Friday’s Your Say. My position basic position is that I choose not to alter my way of life, or be any more fearful as a result of these alerts. To do so would be letting the terrorists get their way. Furthermore, and this needs to be stated more often, the alerts mean nothing. Nothing. All increasing the threat level does is increase fear in the populace and garner more votes for the governing parties.
I would also like to point out that if there was a plot in the UK, not only was the threat level not raised beforehand despite months-in-advance intelligence, but it was stopped; shouldn’t the level go down then?

I can see myself going on at length about this issue, but perhaps we should have that discussion in the forums. I’ll finish by quoting John Howard on the issue of liquid explosives - more inflated nonsense, and let the idiocy of his statement speak for itself.

“Common sense tells you that if people take explosive liquids on board an aircraft, and they’re going to become suicide bombers, and they’re going to blow a hole in a pressurised cabin, you can imagine what the horrific loss of life would be.”

The upshot? I can’t take any contact lens fluid with me when I go to Europe. Marvellous.