Posted on 08/10/2006 3:00:54 AM PDT by HAL9000
Police statement on airline bombing plot
LONDON (Reuters) - Following is the full text of a statement issued by London Deputy Commissioner, Paul Stephenson on Thursday morning:
"We are confident that we have disrupted a plan by terrorists to cause untold death and destruction and commit mass murder.
The Commissioner has been fully briefed and he is at New Scotland Yard today. He and I want to pay tribute to officers from the Met's Anti-Terrorist Branch and the security services for the work they have undertaken to disrupt these activities.
We believe that the terrorists' aim was to smuggle explosives onto airplanes in hand luggage and to detonate these in flight.
We also believe that the intended targets were flights from the UK to the USA.
Overnight we have arrested 21 people. The majority of those arrests have been in London but we have also made arrests in Thames Valley and Birmingham. We are currently searching a number of addresses.
We are grateful to our colleagues in other force areas for their support.
As the operation got under way we spoke to community leaders to make them aware that a major anti-terrorist operation was taking place but without giving specific details about locations. This extensive dialogue will continue throughout the operation.
We would like to reassure the public that this operation was carried out with public safety upper most in our minds. This is a major operation, which will inevitably be lengthy and complex. The UK is now at the highest possible level of alert.
We will consider the threat in its wider sense and take whatever action is necessary to protect people in London and throughout the country.
Measures have already been put in place to restrict hand luggage taken onto aircraft. This will inevitably cause significant delay and we ask people to remain calm, patient and vigilant at this very difficult time.
Put simply this was a plot to commit mass murder on an unimaginable scale."
I've been around some... will be more evident here during the coming months.
(Hugs&kisses)[smack](ouch)
Blowing up a plane is one thing, directing where it crashes is another.
I have occasionally hand carried my laptop onto small twin prop commuters after gate checking my carry-on bag due to minimal storage space. It's precarious. I do know an exec who prefers to put his laptop into his checked luggage. I vaguely recall some cushioned/suspension case he found to protect the notebook computer in checked luggage.
Your baby should easily fit in one of the little gray bins and you can put him or her through the screening machine. Much simpler than carrying them through and no chance for a baby bomb.
:-)
"It doesn't sound like they were going to be able to gain control of the planes to target specific nuke sites or buildings, they would just blow them up while over heavily populated areas at relatively low altitudes..."
You are correct. According to the info we've received, this is the scenario. However, poster brought up something interesting.
See post #89 and the response.
The possible scenarios are chilling....
Check your freep mail.
OMG.....what a picture.
The muslims in this country need to make it known Loud and Clear where there allegiances lie, and cooperate fully with the War on Islamofascism (to hell with WOT), including, but not limited to, mosque surveillance, and immediate notification to appropriate authorities of any threats to America by fellow muslims.
I"d give up my dream of winning the lotto if that could ever happen.
Which is exactly why other crime and isolated terrorism attacks musilms (like the guy in Seattle) are under reported. Fear of terrorism by the American people translates into votes for Republicans--and the MSM doesn't want that--even if people have to die.
Doing it over cities can increase the number of deads...
Let me guess this must be the work of Buddhists. Perhaps Methodists.
'Not by Strength by Guile'
I am very proud of my sons.
Eeesh--no toothpaste, mouthwash, or contact lens solution for carry-on bags.
My husband and are flying to Ireland in September and I would be fine with requirements that we all dress in blue coveralls for the trip and walk through a full body scanner.
Those 8 Egyptians apparently took planes from Montana to other places in the country.
We know two were in NJ. I hope we find the others soon. You have to wonder whether these were intelligence gathering flights or not. Certainly, I don't want to assert they definitely WERE, but until we know more, that has to be one of the fears of Homeland Security.
What community would that be..the Dar al-Amn?
You know that's kind of funny, because on the TSA website they make sure to tell you to take the baby out of his or her carrier before putting the carrier through the x-ray machine!
Yeah, thanks for the tip TSA.
ohhhhhh, one more 9/11 type terrorist attack in America and every muslim swinging dick will have to pack up his bag, koran and family and go back to whatever hellhole he originated from. 9/11 was strike two and another one is strike three and they're outahere.
Our ancestors didn't risk life and limb to come to this country to make a better place for themselves and their families just so a bunch of camel jockeys could come here and terrorize our women and children and make hamburger out of our families.
Semper Fi,
Kelly
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