UK/US Intelligence Foils Terror Plot

As I was busy with things yesterday, I didn't have a chance to comment on the British/US/Pakistani investigation that stopped the most ambitious terror plan since 9/11.

Some background: the Brits got a vague tip about possible terrorist planning:

It all began with a tip: In the aftermath of the July 7, 2005, transit bombings in London, British authorities received a call from a worried member of the Muslim community, reporting general suspicions about an acquaintance.

From that vague but vital piece of information, according to a senior European intelligence official, British authorities opened the investigation into what they said turned out to be a well-coordinated and long-planned plot to bomb multiple trans-Atlantic flights heading toward the United States - an assault designed to rival the scope and lethality of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackings.

By late 2005, the probe had expanded to involve several hundred investigators on three continents who kept dozens of suspects under close surveillance for months, even as some of the plotters traveled between Britain and Pakistan to raise money, find recruits, and refine their scheme, according to interviews with U.S. and European counterterrorism officials.

Precise details of the plot - how many planes, their destinations, and the date - remain undisclosed.

Thank the good Lord that the NY Times didn't have this investigation leaked to them.

Anyway, utilizing investigative techniques that have come under fire from Democrats in America, the Brits investigation expanded and details began emerging about how the plan was to unfold. The perpetrators were to use a peroxide solution brought aboard in shampoo containers (peroxide being hard to detect in hair care products) and other components were to include electronics.

The bombs would be constructed in the bathroom of the plane and used to bring down three planes an hour for three hours.

The British intelligence service MI5 and US intelligence from the Transportation Security Agency among others, went to work:

British and U.S. authorities decided against breaking up the cells right away in hopes they could learn more about the origins of the network and assemble evidence for prosecutors.

U.S. and British investigators suddenly decided this week to close down the operation after becoming increasingly worried that there were other bombers they had failed to locate or identify, U.S. officials said.

British Home Secretary John Reid said "the police are confident that the main players have been accounted for" and were in custody. But U.S. and European authorities said the ban on carrying liquids onto flights was imposed because investigators were worried that more hijackers could be at large.

Pakistan cooperated by providing intelligence on the men who visited there:

Pakistani officials said they were informed about the plot by their British counterparts in December and actively assisted with the investigation. Pakistani officials would not divulge how many people were detained in that country but said the arrests were carried out simultaneously with raids in Britain.

So let's sum this up:

• All of the suspects (link in PDF--note there are not many O'Hara's or Sanchez' on the list) are British citizens or lived in Britain--which says to me that the British have a serious problem that will haunt them for decades.
• The US investigators kept this operation secret and out of the newspapers until most of the suspects were apprehended. No small feat considering that the NY Times has actively worked to expose such programs to the detriment of law enforcement and the nation.
• Just when the nation needs strong-minded leaders such as Joe Lieberman--men who understand exactly what we are facing with regard to the battle against Islamo-fascism--the political left in this country were crowing about taking him down.
• The US media will not give the proper credit where it is due. The use of surveillance techniques that the people has pillioried have proven hughly effective and have thwarted a major terrorist plot before it could be staged.
• The Democrats have been exposed as soft on terror and instead of giving Bush and the administration the credit they deserve, they give said credit to England and blame the entire incident on our war in Iraq. You'd think they could at least say this was a good thing and stop there...uh, nevermind.
• The world Islamic community is very quick to defend Islam but is slow to denounce what appears to have been a well-organized plot to kill thousands. CAIR and other Muslim group will talk of reprisals against Muslims because of this news (reprisals that have never occurred but I digress) but will not take note that this is a serious issue that must be dealt with.

This from the WSJ:

The real lesson of yesterday's antiterror success in Britain is that the threat remains potent, and that the U.S. government needs to be using every legal tool to defeat it. At home, that includes intelligence and surveillance and data-mining, and abroad it means all of those as well as an aggressive military plan to disrupt and kill terrorists where they live so they are constantly on defense rather than plotting to blow up U.S.-bound airliners.

As the time since 9/11 has passed, many of America's elites have begun to portray U.S. government policies as a greater threat than the terrorists themselves. George Soros and others have said this explicitly, and their political allies in Congress and the media have staged a relentless campaign against the very practices that saved innocent lives this week. We doubt that many Americans who will soon board an airplane agree.

Update: The moonbats are saying that this was released to counter the win by Lamont over Lieberman. How can we even imagine of trusting these people in power when they think like this?

Also, Allah has the latest roundup and it's well worth a read.

Update: 2: The date was to be next Wednesday according to a Brit paper. This story has too many details to have been just a scare. The Democrats unfortunately don't think so. They are such unserious people who have no business leading a local union let alone a great nation. They are so caught up in Bush Derangement Syndrome that they can not even acknowledge that the US prevented the deaths of thousands. Could that be because they would have stood to gain politically if the attacks had been carried out? It's a sad day when that thought even crosses my mind but alas, we are at that point.

Here's how they determined that day:

United Airline tickets dated next Wednesday were found by police at the home of one of the raided addresses.

Update 3: The two people that liberals hate as much as Bush lay it out in very easy terms.

Update 4: As I said, serious times require serious actions and serious people. Terrorists must be beaten using overwhelming force. Period.