Wow, this would have been devastating!

[Ripsnort]

My hat is STILL OFF to British intelligence: If this plan had gone through it would have no doubt exceeded the number killed on 9/11!

Air Plot Said to Target Cities
Washington Post    11/02/2006
Author: Dan Eggen
Copyright 2006, The Washington Post Co. All Rights Reserved




A group of alleged terrorists arrested in London in August planned to blow up airliners over U.S. cities to maximize casualties, rather than over the Atlantic Ocean as many intelligence officials originally thought, according to recent remarks by a senior FBI official.

The comments by Mark Mershon, head of the FBI's New York field office, indicate that U.S. and British intelligence officials now think that the airliner plot was aimed at maximizing the potential loss of life and economic impact.

"The plan was bring them down over U.S. cities, not over the ocean," Mershon said Oct. 24 at the Infosecurity 2006 conference in New York, according to Government Security News, which first reported the remarks this week.

Authorities had previously said it was unclear where the alleged terrorists intended to detonate liquid explosives, which they planned to smuggle onto as many as 10 transatlantic flights. Michael P. Jackson, deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said shortly after the plot was thwarted that while the conspirators appeared to be targeting nonstop flights to the United States, "the real focus was to blow up airliners and the people on them."

British police arrested 25 people in raids across Britain after uncovering the alleged plot. Eleven have been charged with conspiracy to murder and preparing acts of terrorism. Two brothers, Umair Hussain, 25, and Mehran Hussain, 23, were released Wednesday after a British court ruled evidence against them was insufficient to warrant a trial.

Christine Monaco, a spokeswoman for the FBI in New York, declined to comment on Mershon's speech.

Mershon told cybersecurity conference attendees that representatives of MI5, the British intelligence service, briefed the FBI on the liquid explosives case in recent weeks. "It would make your hair stand up to be in the room to hear that presentation," Mershon said, according to GSN.

Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert and Georgetown University professor, said the case indicates that Islamic extremists remain focused on attacking U.S. cities.

"They were clearly desirous of exceeding 9/11," Hoffman said. "The loss of life on the air and ground would be significant."

[Yeager]

I sure hope they treat those poor islamo terroristic fellows nice in confinement!  Color TV, hot food, foot rubs...the works!  Lord knows they deserve our best offerings, just to show how nice we are.  God forbid they should ever end up in that hell hole down in Gitmo

[Major Biggles]

only just heard about this?

was all over the news months ago here i think. it's a shame yeager is right about our prison system though they're all treated far too nice:lol

[Masherbrum]

Originally posted by Major Biggles
only just heard about this?

was all over the news months ago here i think.

The details weren't available at capture Biggles, it usually comes out after the Inquiries.

[cav58d]

Hats off the the Brits, and all othe partys involved.....

[Major Biggles]

Originally posted by Masherbrum
The details weren't available at capture Biggles, it usually comes out after the Inquiries.

i remember them reporting on the BBC about the arrests, and i'm pretty sure they mentioned that the plan was to cause as much collateral damage as possible, the intent being to blow the bombs over cities and areas of interest.

it may not have been official but i think they mentioned it, if i'm not going crazy:lol mind you, it could easily be the latter:D

[B@tfinkV]

Originally posted by Major Biggles
only just heard about this?

was all over the news months ago here i think. it's a shame yeager is right about our prison system though they're all treated far too nice:lol

not to mention the fact that in the UK we currently have prison space for 80,000 inmates.....and something like 80,100 criminals detained at her majesty's pleasure.


yes, we are currently holding convicted fellons serving long sentances in regular police station cells.


any nice country feel like buying us a new prison?

[VOR]

HA! You call that overcrowding? Stuff em in there!

[Ripsnort]

Originally posted by Major Biggles
only just heard about this?

was all over the news months ago here i think. it's a shame yeager is right about our prison system though they're all treated far too nice:lol

We've heard about it before,  but not in this detail. They just reported earlier about blowing up aluminum kites, however  now they're saying they'd planned to do this over U.S. cities.

[B@tfinkV]

Over the US?? oh my...well i geuss thats more important than if they were gunna crash them into France, England or somewhere else then, thank god!!  

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

Originally posted by B@tfinkV
not to mention the fact that in the UK we currently have prison space for 80,000 inmates.....and something like 80,100 criminals detained at her majesty's pleasure.


yes, we are currently holding convicted fellons serving long sentances in regular police station cells.


any nice country feel like buying us a new prison?

I'm sure we could arrange something with two of our country's companies, Haliburton, and Kellog, Brown, and Root. I'm sure they can fix you right up.

[B@tfinkV]

LOL

[john9001]

"Two brothers, Umair Hussain, 25, and Mehran Hussain, 23, were released Wednesday after a British court ruled evidence against them was insufficient to warrant a trial."

insufficient evidence, they did not say no evidence, so they will get another chance to kill.

[Major Biggles]

Originally posted by Ripsnort
We've heard about it before,  but not in this detail. They just reported earlier about blowing up aluminum kites, however  now they're saying they'd planned to do this over U.S. cities.

i guess what i heard was unofficial speculation then, but it was pretty much along the lines of that exact article...