AMERICA SLEEPS (Connecticut), TERRORISTS PLOT

August 10, 2006

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The Victoria Taft Show is all over this story. Listen 5-8pm Pacific. Stream here.
Looks as if Al Qaeda has grown more sophisticated since its Operation Bojinka plot went awry in the 1990’s. Oh look, the NYT’s has had a recovered memory about Al Qaeda and Operation Bojinka here.
And yet, as the Howard Deaniacs who backed Ned Lamont said on Tuesday “Bring our troops home!” Who’s using the war as a political ploy to the detriment of our country again?
I’m curious, how long will it be till Howard Dean or someone of his ilk suggest the US is overblowing this episode for political gain?

Here’s what terrorism researcher, frequent guest on the Victoria Taft show, Tom Joscelyn says about the plot uncovered today.
(1) Pakistani Intelligence helped? The London Times is reporting that Pakistani Intelligence help thwart the plot. The Times also passes along this nugget from Pakistan:
Today Pakistani security forces Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, leader of the outlawed Islamic militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, (LeT) under house arrest. The largest of the separatist groups fighting the Indian forces in Kashmir, the LeT has also been blamed by Indian authorities for last month’s train bombings in Bombay which killed more than 200 people.
(2) Liquid explosives. There are a number of reports, including this one from the AP, saying that the plotters wanted to use liquid explosives in their carry-on luggage to blow up the planes. It is worth noting, as some reports do, that this was the Ramzi Yousef’s modus operandi in the mid-1990s. Yousef, whose uncle KSM orchestrated 9/11, was plotting to blow up a dozen aircraft in mid air when he was arrested. Yousef had wanted to use liquid-based explosives mixed on board the aircraft.

Counterterrorism Blog sums up the President’s Comments this morning:
President Bush at 11:50 am ET: He said that the recent arrests are a “stark reminder” that we are a nation at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to hurt us. He thanked Tony Blair and UK officials for busting the plot and officials in washington and around country for excellent cooperation between the UK and the US and within our government. He said, “We are safer than we were prior to 9/11,” but we’re obviously not completely safe because people still plot against us. “It’s a mistake to believe there is no threat aginst the United States.”

Tell ’em where you saw it. Http://www.victoriataft.com