Posted on 08/10/2003 3:05:02 PM PDT by Fusion
Police in London have been put on their highest state of alert after warnings were received that an al-Qa'ida suicide attack may be imminent.
Frontline officers in the capital are being given fresh instruction on spotting and tackling suicide bombers. Similar guidance is to be issued to officers in other large urban forces next month.
The moves come after the FBI uncovered and passed on new intelligence that the threat was growing of an al-Qa'ida outrage in the capital.
Senior officers were briefed on the threat a fortnight ago in a presentation at Scotland Yard's firearms unit.
They are understood to have been told that al-Qa'ida's presence in Britain was substantial and capable of staging an attack.
The guidance for officers on the beat will be contained in a counter-terrorist manual compiled by Chief Inspector Andy Latto, Scotland Yard's senior firearms instructor.
"Suicide bombers are getting better at killing people," he told The Sunday Telegraph. "The increase in deaths is far superior to the increase in incidents.
"We are currently briefing chief officers across the country and the information will cascade down to officers."
A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman refused to be drawn yesterday on details of security measures. "We have a record that is second to none in the world on counter- terrorism and we're confident this will continue," she said.
Patrick Mercer, a Conservative home affairs spokesman, accused the Government of not taking the threat seriously enough. "It is clear attacks are being planned in this country," he said. "We mustn't let our guard drop.
"Several of my visits over the past few weeks have shown me that little has been done in the NHS, the fire service, the police and local authorities to prepare for such attacks."
Undercover police teams tracking suspected Islamic terrorists in London were armed for the first time earlier this year and instructed to shoot to kill if they believed a suspect was about to detonate a bomb strapped to his body or in a vehicle.
The Metropolitan Police has already been placed on maximum alert twice this year - in January, when the deadly poison ricin was discovered at a flat in Wood Green, north London, and in February, when troops and tanks were dispatched to Heathrow airport.
Security has also been stepped up at potential targets such as the Houses of Parliament, now protected against car bomb attacks by a low concrete wall.
That sounds like a reversal on "suicide by cop" incidents.
Much as Ludendorf sought to split the British and French lines in 1918 and force an armistice to end the Great War, Islamic entente elements seek to shatter Britain and collapse America's strongest ally in World War III. London a sitting duck now with the opposition awaiting only the proper moment to ensure their economic assault provides maximum impetus to the teetering Western financial system.
Islamic entente cells swarming Britain now with much of senior leadership on holiday. Security checks in Britain notably most lax earlier this month -- thus requiring higher alert and a panicked realisation now that several senior entente operatives have entered the country from the North in recent days.
Dry is good and wind is better...
Last month's "chatter" picked up by Western intelligence agencies pointing toward an attack of monster proportions -- much larger than the Bali operation. Analysts now believing the Western capital mentioned then to be London. The Blair government -- in freefall now -- vulnerable to the slightest of miscalculations. Unfortunately they defend where the enemy is least likely to strike.
But still they defend. Bravo to the Brits...
The forces of freedom on the move. Europe trembles.
Here's a hint: They'll look like Muslims.
Here's a hint: They'll look like Muslims.
I don't know how you could think that an attack on London by the Islamic Jihadists would alienate the relationship between the US and the UK.
Would Blair fall, perhaps, but I'd say the odds are even that he would prevail. And why? It's not like the conservatives in Britain have anyone that can step in and take the PM spot. And all the lefties in Britain wouldn't be so soft if London gets attacked. If there's one thing everyone in Britain is for, no matter what party, it's to invade and take over other countries for the good of the queen. Don't listen to the idle chatter of politics and how the Brits berate Israel for how it treats the Palestinians. Nobody is more cruel to foreigners under it's rule than the British (Well, OK, the Japanese are definitely way up there) and they will quickly revert to form when really threatened.
So no Fusion, if anything, a major attack by the Jihadists on any western target will likely result in a plague set upon the middle east. The Brits have been so proud of the fact that they have been pure gentlemen in Basra and the British press mocks the American soldiers in their full gear in Baghdad. Yet, when the heat of the summer takes it's toll, the people rebel against the Brits no matter how nice they've been. Little do they understand that their longing for Saddam could turn real when push comes to shove.
If anything, even the Krouts and Frogs would become members of the Coalition of the Willing should another attack occur.
Past and present, names that will always be remembered for saving western civilization from the Islamic onslaught!
Marco d'Aviano! Charles Martel! Tony Blair! George W. Bush!
Yes, tall, fair-skinned and blond. Like someone from Al Qaeda's Balkan franchise
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.