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| Britain |
| UK - Threat Of Large Scale Terror Plot Being Monitored |
| 2008-10-16 |
| Lord West, who advises the Prime Minister on security matters, told the House of Lords: "There is another great plot building up again and we are monitoring this." His comments came the day after the House of Lords forced the Government to abandon plans to extend detention without trial for terror suspects to 42 days. Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, dropped the measure from the bill after it was defeated in the upper house but warned critics they were exposing the country to a greater risk. During a debate on the Counter-terrorism Bill, Lord West repeated the government's intention to keep the proposals in a separate piece of legislation to be introduced if needed in the face of an emergency. He told peers: "Some of the measures that we have put into place in the past 15 months have made us safer, but that does not mean that we are safe. "The threat is huge. It dipped slightly and is now rising again within the context of 'severe'. There are large complex plots. We unravelled one, which caused damage to al-Qaeda and the plots faded slightly. "However, another great plot is building up again, which we are monitoring. We have done a great deal to protect ourselves and to look after our water supplies, our resilience, underground trains, our preparedness and communications. "We have done all the things that we need to do, but the threat is building - the complex plots are building." The Daily Telegraph reported two weeks ago that security sources believed terrorist activity was nearing "critical". The threat level is at the "severe end of severe" according to sources who say the level of "ambient activity" among terrorist cells has increased in recent months and they are now operating at full stretch. The source said: "We are not chasing shadows. These are potential threats to security and life. Police and the security network are operating at full capacity." The assessment, which has five levels, has only been "critical," meaning an attack is "imminent," during last year's attack on Glasgow airport and the July 2005 London bombings. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #4 The islamic sacred months are a favored time for muslims to start wars. Extra virgin points and all. But don't you dare, infidel, attack the muslims at those times. The battle of Badr occurred on the holy month of Rajab (a big no no) when Mohamed attacked a trade caravan. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-10-16 22:36 |
| #3 G'dayTrailing Wife, From Wikipedia: Dhu al-Qi'dah (ذو القعدة) is the eleventh month in the Islamic calendar. It can also be known as Thou al-Qi`dah. The meaning of the word is ‘Master of Truce’ as the pagan Arabs did not conduct war during this month. and The three successive forbidden months mentioned by Muhammad (months in which battles are forbidden) are Dhu al-Qi'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, and Muharram, thus excluding an intercalary month before Muharram. The single forbidden month is Rajab. These months were considered forbidden both within the new Islamic calendar and within the old pagan Meccan calendar, although whether they maintained their "forbidden" status after the conquest of Mecca has been disputed among Islamic scholars. I also found this caveat in "Milestones" by Sayyid Qutb "They ask you about fighting in the sacred months. Say: Fighting in them is a great sin, but to prevent people from the way of God, and to reject God, and to stop people from visiting the Sacred Mosque, and to expel people from their homes are a much greater sin, and oppression is worse than killing" (Chapter Baqara 2:217) So I guess that means they are permitted attack whenever the opportunity presents regardless of the date. With a lot of people running around like headless chooks at the moment now is probably a great time to add to the chaos. |
| Posted by: Gladys 2008-10-16 22:08 |
| #2 Another sacred month? What's this one about, Gladys? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-10-16 20:32 |
| #1 I'd say the next 2 weeks would be critical with the US election on Nov 4, the start of the sacred month Dhu al-Qi'dah* on Oct 31 and the anniversary of the Armistice of Mudros on Oct 30 (which was the beginning of the end of the Ottoman Empire). *I know, I know - you've told me before that they still fight during the "sacred months". |
| Posted by: Gladys 2008-10-16 19:11 |