Major US/UK Terror attack avoided this morning.

Danny Diamond

Founder/Admin

This is from the AP:

39 minutes ago

LONDON - British authorities said Thursday they had thwarted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up several aircraft heading to the U.S. using explosives smuggled in carry-on luggage. Home Secretary John Reid said 21 people had been arrested in England following a lengthy investigation, including the alleged "main players" in the plot.

Officials raised security to its highest level in Britain and banned carry-on luggage on all trans-Atlantic flights. Huge crowds formed at security barriers at London's Heathrow airport as officials searching for explosives barred nearly every form of liquid outside of baby formula.

Heathrow was closed to most flights from Europe, and British Airways canceled all its flights Thursday between the airport and points in Britain, Europe and Libya.

The extreme measures at a major international aviation hub sent ripple effects throughout the world.

Washington raised its threat alert to its highest level for commercial flights from Britain to the United States amid fears the plot had not been completely crushed. The alert for all flights coming or going from the United States was also raised slightly.

Two U.S. counterterrorism officials said the terrorists had targeted United Airlines, American Airlines and Continental Airlines. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.

A U.S. intelligence official said the plotters had hoped to target flights to major airports in New York, Washington and California, all major summer tourist destinations.

British Home Secretary John Reid said 21 people had been arrested in London, its suburbs and Birmingham following a lengthy investigation, including the alleged "main players" in the plot. Searches continued in a number of locations.

The suspects were "homegrown," though it was not immediately clear if they were all British citizens, said a police official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case. Police were working closely with the South Asian community, the official said.

The official said the plotters intended to simultaneously target multiple planes bound for the United States.

"We think this was an extraordinarily serious plot and we are confident that we've prevented an attempt to commit mass murder on an unimaginable scale," Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Stephenson said.

Prime Minister Tony Blair, vacationing in the Caribbean, briefed President Bush on the situation overnight, Blair's office said. There was no immediate public comment from the White House. Bush is spending a few days at his ranch near Crawford, Texas.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the plot had the hallmarks of an operation planned by al-Qaida, the terrorist group behind the Sept. 11 attack on the United States.

"It was sophisticated, it had a lot of members and it was international in scope. It was in some respects suggestive of an al-Qaida plot," Chertoff said, but he cautioned it was too early in the investigation to reach any conclusions.

It is the first time the red alert level in the Homeland Security warning system has been invoked, although there have been brief periods in the past when the orange level was applied. Homeland Security defines the red alert as designating a "severe risk of terrorist attacks."

"We believe that these arrests (in London) have significantly disrupted the threat, but we cannot be sure that the threat has been entirely eliminated or the plot completely thwarted," Chertoff said.

He added, however, there was no indication of current plots within the United States.

Chertoff said the plotters were in the final stages of planning. "We were really getting quite close to the execution phase," he said, adding that it was unclear if the plot was linked to the upcoming fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

A senior U.S. counterterrorism official said authorities believe dozens of people _ possibly as many as 50 _ were involved in the plot. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
The plan involved airline passengers hiding masked explosives in carry-on luggage, the official said. "They were not yet sitting on an airplane," but were very close to traveling, the official said, calling the plot "the real deal."
Passengers in Britain faced delays as tighter security was hastily enforced at the country's airports and additional measures were put in place for all flights. Laptop computers, mobile phones, iPods, and remote controls were among the items banned from being carried on board.

Liquids, such as hair care products, were also barred on flights in both Britain and the U.S., raising the possibility that authorities were searching for a liquid explosive.

In the mid-1990s, officials foiled a plan by terrorist mastermind Ramzi Youssef to blow up 12 Western jetliners simultaneously over the Pacific. The alleged plot involved improvised bombs using liquid hidden in contact lens solution containers.

Huge lines formed at ticket counters and behind security barriers at Heathrow and other airports in Britain.

Ed Lappen, 55, a businessman from Boston, who was traveling with his wife and daughter to Russia, found himself unable to travel further. "We're safe, we're OK," he said at Heathrow. "Now my daughter is going to get a shopping trip in London."

Hannah Pillinger, 24, seemed less concerned by the announcement. "Eight hours without an iPod, that's the most inconvenient thing," she said, waiting at the Manchester airport.

Most European carriers canceled flights to Heathrow because of the massive delays created after authorities enforced strict new regulations banning most hand baggage.

Tony Douglas, Heathrow's managing director, said the airport hoped to resume normal operations Friday, but passengers would still face delays and a ban on cabin baggage "for the foreseeable future."

"At this point in time it is unclear how long these restrictions will remain in place," he said.

Heathrow's block on incoming traffic applied to flights of three hours or less, affecting most of the incoming traffic from Europe, an airport spokesman said on condition of anonymity in line with airport policy.

Officials at Frankfurt's airport, Europe's second-busiest, Schiphol in Amsterdam and Charles De Gaulle in Paris said Heathrow-bound planes could instead land at their airports if they needed to.

London's Heathrow airport was the departure point for a devastating terrorist attack on a Pan Am airplane on Dec. 21, 1988. The blast over Lockerbie, Scotland, killed all 259 people aboard Pan Am Flight 103 and 11 people on the ground.

The explosive was hidden in a portable radio secreted in checked baggage.
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Randy Orton

WC's Resident Alchoholic

I just read that also. Good thing. And people are opposing the war against the terrorists, are stupid morons. I love how they are so quick to criticize how we went to Iraq and Afghanistan. Yea, it's such a bad idea until we get attacked again. Then everyone would be saying we didn't do nothing to prevent it. That is one thing I don't get about the liberals. I think thatif they never went over there then we most likely would've been attacked on US soil by now. Good thing Bush doesn't listen to anybody or else we'd probably be screwed.

Danny Diamond

Founder/Admin

I agree Rambo. Remember how many people wanted to nuke the whole Middle East after 9/11?

People want their cake and eat it too.

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Randy Orton

WC's Resident Alchoholic

Oh i know. People don't seem to get these terrorists hate us and want to kill as many Americans as possible. Yea, try negotiating with them. If these people want to go negotiate with the terrorists then why don't they go over and do it then. Lol like Guantanamo bay, they detain these people want to kill us and then they complain about the food or some shit and we are the bad guys. They are lucky they didnt just get murked right then by the Marines or whoever it was that captured them. Then all these idiots want to pull the troops out of Iraq now. Yea, that would be a great idea so the whole country would turn into a civil war. Yea, some troops are going to die but you don't go into a conflict like this expecting that there will be no casualties. Plus, it was the people's choice to sign up and defend the country, it's not like they were forced to sign up like it was a draft.

Dakstang

WC's Resident Redneck

The War on terror will be a long hard battle. But just like my sig says, it will end at a time of our choosing.

Blitzkrieg

that's pretty fucked. I'm sure there's more shit being planned as we speak.

Necro

ya good job usa. I'm down with the war against terror...

Dakstang

WC's Resident Redneck

They caught two guys of arab decent here is W.V. the other day with $11,000 cash and about 20 Tracfones in their car. Apparently they have been sending them over to Iraq and they are being used to set off roadside bombs with.

No place in immune.

Erin

Monk's First Lady

What? How did I miss this? I need to crawl out of my bed and listen to the news once and a while.

Snowman

I find it funny how people call these people terrorists because they are fighting the way they are and yet America won their freedom by basically fighting the same way...

People gotta remember that theres no good guy in this war.