posted November 16, 2002 07:06 PM         

This article was just now on the internet....

ARRESTS MADE OVER ALLEGED CYANIDE
ATTACK PLOT

THREE men have been charged over an alleged plot to release cyanide gas in the London Underground, say police.

They are believed to be from either Tunisia or Morocco.

Reports say the suspects are part of a muslim fundamentalist group with links to al-Qaida.

Rabah Chekat-Bais, 21, Rabah Kadris, in his mid 30s, and Karim Kadouri, 33, all of no fixed abode, have been charged under Section 57 of the Terrorism Act 2000 for the possession of articles for the preparation, instigation and commission of terrorism acts.

Unemployed Chekat-Bais appeared before London's Bow Street Magistrates Court last Monday and Kadris and Kadouri, also both unemployed, appeared in the court on Tuesday.

All three men were remanded in custody to appear before magistrates again on November 18.

Scotland Yard is refusing to comment on claims in the Sunday Times the attack involved releasing cyanide gas on the Tube network.

posted November 17, 2002 02:08 PM         

Aquamoon - I totally agree with what you say, and thanks for the link
I just wonder where it's all going to end - I think it's going to take quite while yet

posted November 17, 2002 06:44 PM         

This is a "total nightmare" that's affecting the whole world. It makes no sense to me that people with a "so called belief" are prepared to kill innocent people AND even more frighteningly that they are prepared to die themselves for this "belief"

posted November 17, 2002 10:01 PM         

maybe it's just the gov't trying to calm fears, but i thought you'd like to read it anyway.

It's scary in NYC too.

posted November 18, 2002 12:05 PM         

Well it's difficult to really find out what's going on here in England. The papers can "whip everyone up into a frenzy"

Here's the latest news......

THREAT OF TERROR ATTACK ON UK 'VERY HIGH'

A TERRORISM expert has warned the threat of an al-Qaida attack on Britain is "very high".

Osama bin Laden has issued an "explicit" threat, says Professor Paul Williamson, of St Andrews University's Centre for the study of Terrorism and Political Violence.

The professor told the BBC: "We know that al Qaida is an extremely dangerous organisation with a record of mass killing.

"We also know that Britain has been explicitly mentioned by bin Laden in a recent audio tape. He threatens attacks against Britain and other countries that are part of the terrorism coalition."

Lord Harris, chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority, says the head of specialist police operations in London thinks it is a case of when not if an attack comes.

He said: "Following September 11 Nick Raynsford convened what is called the London resilience committee which looked at all the existing plans and upgraded them on the basis of what if the unthinkable happened.

"No-one had envisaged terrorism on the sort of scale that we saw in New York and Washington that day. What if various things happened including attacks on the London Underground?

"All of those plans were upgraded. A lot of work was done on working out how agencies would cope under specific eventualities.

"I think we are much better prepared than we would have been 18 months ago. But of course the reality is no one can protect absolutely against ruthless terrorists who are prepared to lose their own lives at the same time."

Lord Harris refused to go into details of the kind of threats that had been planned for.

posted November 18, 2002 04:25 PM         

Everyone - It is scary to live with these threats of attack. However, please do not stop living! Last year, I flew to Europe on 9/14. Most everyone thought I was crazy, but I felt - and still feel - that if I stop doing what I enjoy because they have made me afraid, then they win! So, I do not travel expecting an attack (that would be negative thinking, which is a no-no). I travel because I love to travel.

So, let's all take our collective energy and "think" positively that we can overcome the terrorists. Thoughts DO matter.

posted November 18, 2002 05:54 PM         

We'll never get to know the real truth.....
Our current government is a "waste of space" (and the opposition is currently no better)we have stikes all over the place - which is the norm with a labour government
I'm not a political person - I'm just stating a fact....

Anyway here's the news.......

WE WILL WARN OF SPECIFIC TERROR THREATS, SAYS BLAIR

TONY Blair is pledging the public will be warned if the Government received specific intelligence of a terrorist attack against a known target.

Downing Street has again denied reports MI5 had foiled a poison gas attack on the London Underground, as the Prime Minister briefed Iain Duncan Smith on the current level of threat from al-Qaida.

Mr Duncan Smith used their 25 minute meeting, described by Tory sources as "friendly and constructive", to press for a Commons statement by Home Secretary David Blunkett to end the current confusion and prevent "alarmist" headlines.

He urged the Prime Minister to spell out in as much detail as was consistent with security, the measures it had put in place to protect against the threat of terrorist attack.

The Government has so far resisted demands for a Commons statement. Ministers have been trying to maintain a delicate balance between reminding the public to remain vigilant and avoiding mass panic.

In a television interview with ITV's Tonight programme, Mr Blair said that while they would warn of any specific threat, they had to be wary of acting on what he described as "general information".

"The difficult dilemma we have here is this - constantly at the moment, because of the terrorist threat, we have pieces of information, pieces of intelligence, coming across our desks and we have to sift that and weight it and judge it," he said.

"If there is a specific threat against a specific target we, of course, will warn people.

But we have got to be very wary of acting on general information, of issuing warnings when they are not really justified according to the evidence.

"The risk then is we unnecessarily alarm people, we end up doing the terrorists' job for them, and for the public, they will get confused if there are different pieces of information coming at them the whole time."