Posted on 08/17/2002 2:17:45 PM PDT by Wallaby
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BRITAIN ON STANDBY FOR NUKE STRIKE; SECRET PLAN TO EVACUATE MILLIONS IN TERROR ALERT
By John Twomey The Express; NEWS; Pg. 8 9 August 17, 2002
PLANS to move millions of people out of Britain's major cities in the event of a terrorist attack have been secretly drawn up, it was revealed yesterday.
The mass exodus would be launched at centres of population around the country if there was a nuclear or biological strike. In London, emergency nerve centres for the Government, the police and vital financial services have already been built and equipped. They would be ready within hours of a terrorist outrage. The move is in direct response to the September 11 atrocities and a possible terrorist backlash after any military strike against Iraq.
The Al-Muhajiroun group, whose leading supporters include controversial Sheikh Abu Hamza alMasri, has warned Britons that they will "choke on the smoke" of revenge attacks if a strike against Saddam is launched.
But police stress there is no specific intelligence about an imminent attack. The authorities say they are responding to a general threat.
Details of the emergency plans emerged as pressure was mounting for the deportation of extremist Muslims who openly support the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
The Al-Muhajiroun group, whose leading supporters include controversial Sheikh Abu Hamza alMasri, has warned Britons that they will "choke on the smoke" of revenge attacks if a strike against Saddam is launched.
It is understood Scotland Yard's Anti-Terrorist Branch is examining material - including videos - linked to the group in case they breach the Terrorism Act. The extremists, who are condemned by the vast majority of Muslims in Britain, want the UK to be incorporated into an Islamic state in Europe.
Emergency plans have been drawn up for major UK cities to ensure that local government and the police can operate effectively in the event of a terrorist attack. They include new measures introduced since September 11 such has no-fly zones over power stations and other vital sites.
A major element of each plan is understood to cover supplies of crucial drugs - including antidotes to known biological weapons - and medical services.
The existence of London's postSeptember 11 plan was revealed in a letter to the all-party Commons Defence Committee by Judith Mayhew, chairman of London Corporation's policy and resources group. "London is currently looking at methods of mass evacuation in certain geographical areas, " she wrote. Details of the exodus plans would be broadcast on radio and TV in a way which would not "overdramatise" the crisis.
Police chiefs believe there could be mass panic if London or other major cities came under attack, particularly from chemical weapons. Areas of dense population or with poor road and rail links would create additional problems.
Methods of dealing with possible outbreaks of public disorder at railway stations and other transport terminals also feature in the plans.
Home Secretary David Blunkett is in overall command of the emergency planning as head of the newly-created Civil Contingencies Committee. But in the event of a disaster the Prime Minister would be in charge, working from the Cobra nerve centre in Whitehall.
Tony Blair recently ordered a GBP 1.4million re-fit of Cobra. It is understood the money will be spent on upgrading communication equipment to link the centre to a network of regional government bunkers dotted around the country. He has ordered the work to be completed before any military action against Saddam.
One expert said last night: "Planning of this kind has been going on for decades, particularly in the face of a Cold War nuclear attack. It is only right that Government is prepared for any nightmare scenario."
Here's another coincidence.
Really, if it has to be the Iraqi population that is decimated, that would be the lesser of two evils.
Do the Brit.'s and US Govt'.s think that there will not be some horrible retaliation if we strike first.
Is attacking Irag, or any other country, that has not made a specific theat against us, worth the price we would pay. Think about it.
Like they're just sitting there waiting for provocation?
They're sitting there waiting for an opportunity.
Help me out here, Folks. What is it that France has done to the US, that deserves such hatred
Germany, Japan, North Korea, maybe, although it seems rather silly to harbor such intense hatred 50 years after a war is over. Regards.
I'm always lurking, but I did spend a few weeks staying cool on the beach in Southern California.
"Kaaba".....isn't that Arabic for "huge enormous giant hole in the ground with raised glowing rim four miles in diameter made of molten glass"?
Or am I thinking of another word?
And the rest of them know it intimately but aren't too polite to say so.....
Sorry, but you left the door wide open. ;^)
Osama Bin Losin' would like to be remembered as the schmuck who started a war like that. He sure won't be around at the finish.....
Our real problem is that the guys in charge of Saudi these days are all like Philip II of Spain, they're religious zealots of the first water who have had it easy enough to become fanatics, unlike earlier generations of princes who had to keep their heads screwed on straight. Now they're like Queen Isabella, with time enough on their hands to make trouble, and Cardinal Torquemada hanging around whispering in their ears.
Any attack on the UK will be treated as an attack on the US. We stand together.
That's it! Thanks, pal.
"Every year, millions of pious Moslem pilgrims travel to Mecca to pray at the Ka-Boom." Makes sense to me.
Yes they will. They happily strap explosives to their children and turn them into walking ordinance. If a few thousand of their own get themselves martyred while taking out a million or two londoners, they call that a good day.
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