Al-Qaida plotting nuclear attack on UK, officials warn

The Guardian ^ | November 14, 2006 | Vikram Dodd

[OESY]

British intelligence officials believe that al-Qaida is determined to attack the UK with a nuclear weapon, it emerged yesterday. The announcement, from an officially organised Foreign Office counter-terrorism briefing for the media, was the latest in a series of bleak assessments by senior officials and ministers about the terrorist threat facing Britain.

UK officials have detected "an awful lot of chatter" on jihadi websites expressing the desire to acquire chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons....

The warning comes after a speech last week by the foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, on the terrorist threat facing the UK, and a rare public outing for Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, the head of MI5, who warned that there were at least 30 active plots to attack Britain.

With new counter-terrorism measures to be unveiled in tomorrow's Queen's speech, the weekend saw Gordon Brown back an extension to the time for which terrorism suspects can be held without charge, beyond the current 28 days....

For al-Qaida and jihadis, a devastating nuclear attack on Britain, not just the use of a "dirty bomb', would be part of the desire and agenda to cripple the west, sources said....

The network of the rogue Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, which is feared to have sold nuclear technology to Libya, Iran and North Korea, was broken up three years ago, but there are fears that other illegal networks may exist.

British counter terrorism officials believe plots they have thwarted and plots they claim are being hatched have strong links to Pakistan. They say hundreds of Britons travelled in the past year to Pakistan for terrorism activity, including training in camps and acting as couriers for messages. Officials also believe Britons are taking cash to terrorists in Pakistan.

[Recovering Hermit]

"Flatten Mecca."

Counterproductive.

Really?

muslims think that it is protected by allah (piss be upon him), and can never be destroyed...so it would basically show them that allah either does not exist, or is not powerful enough to protect his temple.

Blowing up the silly rock might do more to demoralize these maniacs than anything else we could do to them.

Or would it?

Let's say that we pulverize this thing. It's entirely possible that the muslim imams would twist it around to suggest that it was actually allah that blew up the holy meteor to send a message to the muslims that he is displeased that all of the faithful muslims are not joining the fight against the West. I don't think like a muslim, and I am thankful for that.

That said, I say we do it and see what happens. At the very least it would turn this war into a war, and not a "situation".

[MaxMax]

Hypothetical:

What do we do when the first terrorist nuclear/dirty bomb
goes off anywhere?

I would Hypothetically:

Nuke any country in the middle east who has the capability
after informing Israel to leave the country within 48 hours.

Thats my story and I'm sticking to it.

/Salute
MaxMax

[Lazamataz]

What do we do when the first terrorist nuclear/dirty bomb goes off anywhere?

Invite them to the table. Dialog with them. Find out where we went wrong.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

"At the very least it would turn this war into a war, and not a 'situation.'"

I think hope of that was lost after last Tuesday. You know, when the American Voter speaks, and it goes the way of the leftists, then it is SACRED. When the American Voter speaks and it goes the way of the Conservatives, it was cheating.

I don't think our general populace is smart enough to solve this one. I certainly know that those inside the beltway can't, no matter HOW smart the MSM says they are each and every day. *Rolleyes*

They need to get their sticky fingers OFF of this war and let the military handle it. How many times do we have to learn that particular lesson?

(Sorry. I'm a little crabby tonight...)

[angcat]

Hillary will never be President. I left the NY shit hole years ago and I'm glad I did. Unfortunately I am in a up and coming People's Republic of Pennsylvania!

[StockAyatollah]

That's pretty damned weird, and they're using it for their Health section.

[Screamname]

She will be President, believe me. I hate that fact more than anyone, but like Hitler, she has been planning this for years and her cult base is leagues above any politician that exists today. Jesus Christ himself could make a second coming and still would not have a chance against her, she has risen her myth to that level. I wasn`t so convinced before, but I have now become 100% convinced after this last election and the latest poll where liberals rate her as President almost 25% higher than Rudy Giuliani. A few years ago that was unthinkable, but this latest election was the final nail. Unless Repubs come up with some super hero, some guy that can debate and speak his ass off, she will absolutely destroy anyone running against her. This is why she didn`t run last time, she was biding her time until the frenzy was at the appropriate proportions, she`s brilliant that way. Now we have to think about how this country will survive this latest Clinton holocaust.

[angcat]

The south will not vote for Hillary Clinton. I did see in the NY Post today that NYers chose her over Rudy and McCain but I took it with a grain of salt. They all voted for her and they are all leftards.

[toddlintown]

I watched that. It was worse than scary.

[adc]

Don't be so sure . . . If she tickets with Borack Obama, it's over for '08. Two years is not enough time to educate the masses.

[steveegg]

Thank God the Brits are not as JV says.

[acapesket]

Anyone who can articulate an "en pointe" with Shrillary can beat her ass upside down in 2 seconds!
I'd love to see her go up against Santorum! But Fast Eddy made sure Rick wouldn't win, cause they knew he could kick her up and down the street in 2 seconds flat.
What we need to do is to start making fun of these Demorons, put our won video clips of their moronic statements and get them out to blogs etc.! Motivate quickly and sniff their turf like a sheepdog! The 08 race should be on now and all of you talented Freepers know how to do this, Concentrate and Consolidate!
Liberals, like Islamofacsists Cannot stand to be made fun of.. it's one of the many traits they share in common.

[PA-RIVER]

These Muslims could care less what you nuke or flaten after they hit us again. They relish death. They are the culture of death and hate. They wallow in it.

If you want to end it, you end them before they end us.

Threats are useless. Offensive strikes are the key. Stay on the offense.

(Pelosi, Ried, Kennedy,.. they'll understand after the next hit kills a million)

[do the dhue]

Since he won't send troops and he won't let us send our troops, we should ask MySheriff, if it is OK for us to nuke Southern Pakistan?

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Islam is a religion that has a billion psychos and another 1.5 billion head-in-the-sand types. A few million martyrs going up in the atomic fireball means nothing to them.

The official U.S. Govt. position on this should be: If a nuclear, chemical, or biological attack happens to an allied country or interest, then Mecca, Medina, and the capital city of every islamic country takes a hydrogen bomb. And that's merely step #1. Then see who wants to play.

[rjp2005]

As I said, that will never happen in the pre-fusion bomb era. Our western governments simply won't allow it - perhaps in part because it would mean an itch away from MAD due to Russian and Chinese response.

May want it to be policy, but it won't happen until someone invents pure fusion triggers, which is probably a couple decades away. To do that, have to repeal the laws against researching them first.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

How did we defeat the Germans and Japanese in WWII? We killed millions of them on their home turf. We hit them so hard they haven't dared screw with us in the last 60 years and won't even consider it for another 600 or so. It's pretty clear what we have to do to the islamic countries. But our leaders and 46% of the population are pathetic asses who are more worried about "world opinion".

The islamics, their enablers, and the media have successfully perpetrated the myth that terrorist groups are scattered shadowy groups that behave independently and are not controlled by world powers. That is crap. They are financed, supported, and directed by islamic governments. Until those islamic governments are held accountable, REALLY held accountable (not the usual economic sanctions, diplomatic condemnations, and other such bullsh-- that only puts our government's pathetic weakness on display), our situation will only get worse. Start taking out governments of islamic countries, mosques, and imams worldwide watch how fast terrorism goes away.

The war on terrorism completely stalled out once it became apparent that Syria, Iran, and North Korea are untouchable. Hell, we can't even imprison/deport islamic radicals on American soil because we fear the whining and civil rights lawsuits of CAIR, radical liberal front groups, and the DNC. No wonder they don't respect us. Maybe Bush, his next SecDef, and the supposed conservatives in Congress should ponder that!

[SOSCEO]

Jeesh, I meant Swordfish. It starred John Travolta. Sorry. It was basically about a private vigilante group that went after terrorists. Whenever they did something, this group would extract revenge.

[Xeroes80]

We all better wake up and wake up quick. The only way this war is going to be won is with the use of nukes, and it better be us on the offensive before them.
I wish there was a better alternative but, considering the enemy, I don't believe there is one.

God Bless the USA!

[Skywarner]

After getting hooked on the series "Jericho" lately, I've been asking myself the same question as well: What would our response be to a nuclear event in the US or an immediate ally (i.e., Great Britain).

Here's my 0.02 worth...

What we wouldn't do:
- We would NOT destroy Mecca, Medina or anything of 'religious' significance - not at this stage anyways.
- We would NOT take out any Muzzie city.

What we might do:
- Use several bunker-busting tactical nukes to take out Iran's nuclear and Command and Control sites.
- Warn Pakistan that they have 24 hours to turn over "the keys" to their nukes to us or face the consequences.
- Warn North Korea that we're ready to launch against them if they as much as yawn the wrong way.

What we would do:
- We would activate all National Guard and Reserve forces.
- We would begin a major military build-up of conventional forces.
- We would launch conventional -- but MASSIVE-- air strikes against multiple targets across the Middle East, primarily Iran.
- We would put our strategic forces on alert.
- Israel would be attacked by the Hezbos and Hamas simultaneously.
- The Middle East would erupt in regional war, and the United States along with Britain, Australia and several NATO nations (hell, maybe even France!) would finally recognize this as the global war that it already is.
- It would take approximately 12-18 months, however, for America to be completely on a nationalized war footing (similar to World War II).

The real question isn't IF, folks... It's WHEN?