Posted on 08/20/2005 8:56:02 PM PDT by Enchante
SCOTLAND YARD believes it has thwarted an Al-Qaeda gas attack aimed at ministers and MPs in parliament. The plot, hatched last year, is understood to have been discovered in coded e-mails on computers seized from terror suspects in Britain and Pakistan.
Police and MI5 then identified an Al-Qaeda cell that had carried out extensive research and video-recorded reconnaissance missions in preparation for the attack.
The encrypted e-mails are said to have been decoded with the help of an Al-Qaeda “supergrass”. By revealing the terrorists’ code he was also able to help MI5 and GCHQ, the government’s eavesdropping centre at Cheltenham, to crack several more plots.
The discovery of the suspected Commons nerve gas plot was behind the decision to increase security around parliament this summer.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
Yep it is ashame that the public will only take successful attacks seriously. Someone trying to set off a dirty bomb in Chicago, no big deal. Someone gasing the House of Parliment, no big deal. Someone trying to gas a football match in Birmingham, no big deal. Richard Reaves trying to blow up an airliner no big deal.
Now could it be that some of these threats were not serious. Sure, but some certainly are and had they been carried out, would have been tragic.
The encrypted e-mails are said to have been decoded with the help of an Al-Qaeda "supergrass"Hmmmm ... must be 'super stuff' ...
The public needs to learn a lot more from all the foiled plots, to realize how determined this enemy is, and not make us wait for another 9/11 or Madrid or London.... this plot was in the UK but we can be sure that every civilized nation has the Al Qaeda bullseye painted on it. Half the US population has already slid back into a great stupor of complacency, and much of the MSM only wants to talk about Soros talking points, civil rights for terrorists, problems in Iraq, etc. At least half the population here (and a majority in many EU countries) is still not serious about defending humanity from these Satanic death-worshippers.
For the British Imaired English speakers
Supergrass:
a police informer who implicates many people
http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
The eqiv of our 'stoolie' (no, not a bowel movement!). Thanks; I had figured as much BTW.
BTTT
Exactly!
Gas attack has a different meaning in my house.
Remember several years ago a raid in GB turned up the makings of poison gas. This might have been preparations for such attacks.
"grassing" like peach/peaching is Brit ( Cockney, actually ) slang for ratting out/being a stooly/stoolpidgeon...telling all to the cops. So, a supergrass means someone who is squealing on his pals, with great/very useful information.
It's at least 200-300 year old Cockney slang.
"grassing" like peach/peaching is Brit ( Cockney, actually )Can you make a clearer link; maybe others are in the same boat as I - and I don't see a link between peach/peaching and 'grassing' ...
This had better imply that the terrorists' have changed their code and know about the informant so it won't help them to know we know this. Otherwise heads should roll (alas literally is no longer the penalty in PC Britain) for this breach of security. Yes, it is good to remind the public that they remain at risk and that Bush and Blair are fighting for them. The "we're not really at war" liberal attitude needs to be fought. But not at the risk of losing critical future intelligence. Some here will recall that our Midway enabling code breaking was revealed during the war, but I suspect few know the details. I saw the following at the National Cryptography Museum last year:
A POTENTIAL SECURITY/INTELLIGENCE DISASTER
The Chicago Sunday Tribune, June 7, 1942Admiral Nimitz authorized his intelligence officer, Commander Layton, to send an outline of the suspected Yamamoto plan, without revealing the source of the information, to certain interested radio addresses in a cipher specially reserved for flag officers and their staffs. Among the recipients was Commander Morton Seligman, executive officer of the recently lost carrier USS Lexington. Seligman violated security regulations by showing the CINCPAC dispatch to Stanley Johnston, a war correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, with whom he had become friendly. Although the Japanese were aware of this article, they surprisingly did not believe its content.
The Sunday Chicago Tribune, in bold face printed "NAVY HAD WORD OF JAP PLAN TO STRIKE AT SEA. Knew Dutch Harbor Was a Feint." Then they gave details of of the Japs plans that we could only have gotten from a highly placed mole or from reading their communications. Thankfully the Japs refused to believe it! Don't expect the same level of stupidity from our current enemies.
The necessity of procuring good intelligence is apparent and need not be further urged - all that remains for me to add is, that you keep the whole matter as secret as possible. For upon secrecy, success depends in most enterprises of the kind, and for want of it, they are generally defeated, however well planned and promising a favorable issue.
— George Washington, 1777
Guess the ACLU isn't employed in th U.K. Otherwise they would be suing for invasion of privacy.
I have to hand it to the Brits, shooting that Brazilian point blank in the head 5 times was brilliant.
Flashback to 2001:
Bin Laden British cell planned gas attack on EU Parliament
By David Bamber, Chris Hastings and Rajeev Syal
(Filed: 16/09/2001)
http://www.news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/09/16/wbin16.xml
ISLAMIC terrorists based in Britain and controlled by Osama bin Laden planned a devastating attack in February on the European Parliament building in Strasbourg.
Osama bin Laden: may have as many as 5,000 supporters among young Muslims in Britain
A six-strong terror cell funded by the Saudi fugitive planned to kill all 625 Euro-MPs, and scores of officials, by releasing sarin gas into the parliament building.
The attack was scheduled to take place during the session of parliament from February 11 to 14 this year (2001) and was to be the first in a series of assaults against prominent buildings across Europe. Algerian terrorists based in London and funded directly by bin Laden worked with counterparts in Milan and Frankfurt.
The plot was foiled after German police smashed the Frankfurt operation in a series of raids. The British-based six men were arrested and charged with offences under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
Actually, while the article was dated after 9-11, the attack was planned for February 2001, BEFORE 9-11. So what did the EU do to precipitate that attack?
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