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| August Multiple-Airline Plot Included Cities |
| 2006-11-02 |
| 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." 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." |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #2 It made the A section of the WaPo, Zen, but page 7. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2006-11-02 16:58 |
| #1 The media had better shout this one to the treetops. It's about time that the American public begins to understand just how vicious and psychotic our enemy is. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-11-02 13:18 |