Reports London bombs made from military explosives

abc.net ^ | Tuesday, 12 July , 2005 18:21:00 | Rafael Epstein

[Gengis Khan]

Reports London bombs made from military explosives
PM - Tuesday, 12 July , 2005  18:21:00 Reporter: Rafael Epstein MARK COLVIN: More pointers are emerging to the nature of the organisation which bombed three London trains and a bus last week, and killed more than 50 people in the process. Both the London Times and France's Le Monde are reporting that the bombers appear to have used sophisticated military explosives. Both quote a top French counter-terrorism official, and the Times says a single bomb-maker was probably responsible for building all four devices. We'll hear shortly from one of the world's top counter-terrorism experts on what he thinks can be done to hunt the bombers and their backers down. But in the meantime, there are fears of a backlash against London's Muslim community. A mosque has been firebombed, and Muslims in traditional clothes are now viewed by some with suspicion and even hostility. The intelligence agencies and analysts say London has harboured radical militant Islamists for decades and has now gone from safe haven to target. Europe Correspondent Rafael Epstein compiled this report. RAFAEL EPSTEIN: London is now the centre of one of the world's biggest ever intelligence and police operations. Western agencies understand their foes a lot better now. The lessons learned after September 11, Madrid, Bali, and other attacks are all being used to frame the current investigation. Peter Clarke is head of anti-terrorist police at the London Metropolitan Police. Interviewed before last week's attacks, he concurs with analysts who say the new network of militant Islamic men in Europe is more diffuse, better trained, and tougher to detect. PETER CLARKE: What we're looking at is something which is much more fluid, more flexible, more mobile and so with that obviously comes all the associated difficulties of finding, investigating, detecting, and ultimately of course prosecuting. As time has gone on we've found that we've been investigating groups of British citizens, and that obviously is a great cause for concern, and exploring the international linkages of those groups of British citizens. RAFAEL EPSTEIN: London's long been home to the extreme fringes of Islam, people who preach and perhaps practice an ideology that's in deliberate conflict with the Western culture that allows it to flower. At a London mosque last year, when US troops launched a major offensive in Iraq, there was a rare display of the radical anger that's long simmered on London's streets. MUSLIM PROTESTER: The obligation is jihad. We need to raise the sword, and we need to have their heads rolling. We need more American soldiers, we need more British soldiers, we want them killed. RAFAEL EPSTEIN: A long list of al-Qaeda suspects and convicted jihadist radicals have either been born and bred in London or they've lived here for some time - everyone, from people linked to the September 11 attacks and Casablanca bombings, through to the Syrian-born suspect thought to have masterminded the Madrid bombings, a man thought to have lived in London through the 1990s. Sajjan Gohel is a terror analyst with the Asia Pacific Foundation in London. SAJJAN GOHEL: What we have to understand is that recruitment for terrorism has been going on for the last 10 years or so. The training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan provided fertile ground for these individuals to become even more radicalised and trained to be equipped with the skills and the know-how in order to carry out devastating mass casualty atrocities. It's very difficult to put a specific number on those that have been recruited, but we do know a substantial number from the UK have been going, in the past, to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Now Iraq has provided a new alternative area for these individuals to go to get experience in fighting and then again they come back with hardened ideas. That is proving to be a big concern for the security forces. RAFAEL EPSTEIN: People from Britain might go to Iraq, attack Coalition forces, learn the tools of the trade, and then bring those skills back to Britain? SAJJAN GOHEL: Very much so. There's already been a couple of cases of British-based individuals that have gone to Iraq and in fact became suicide bombers, and that again poses another new dangerous dimension. Some will, in fact, go there just for specific training, for the experience. These individuals are getting hardened trained experience in a battle zone. They come back with those ideas. They are trained individuals, and they are dangerous weapons. MARK COLVIN: Sajjan Gohel, a terror analyst with the Asia Pacific Foundation in London, with Rafael Epstein.

[kimosabe31]

Good post Khan. The brits have got to get it thru their thick heads...as had we...these freakin muslims are not in britain (or the US) to assimilate. They are there to destroy britain and all its inhabitants. They are sitting on an islamic time bomb and they damn well better start eradicating islamic cells, imams, mullahs, fatwahs and whatever else as fast as possible. There will be no peace wherever islam is allowed to exist.

[jbwbubba]

You realize that pretty soon we will see stories that they think the bombs were made with material taken from Iraq.
Won't matter if it is true or not, but that will be the speculation and run above the fold.

[bobdsmith]

Rubbish. The report does not claim all muslims in Britain are these radical sorts. It doesn't even claim that most muslims are. I have met enough muslims to know that many of them are not radicals.

[Max in Utah]

I have met enough muslims to know that many of them are not radicals.

Well, that's good. So their women drive themselves to the market for a bit of ham now and then?

[steve-b]

You realize that pretty soon we will see stories that they think the bombs were made with material taken from Iraq.

DU beat you to it.

[MD_Willington_1976]

...LOL...

[John Filson]

Don't expect the women driving themselves to market to be buying ham. What looks moderate and assimilated is often far from it.

[bobdsmith]

When I say moderate all I mean is they don't want to slit your throat.

[kimosabe31]

Rubbish. The report does not claim all muslims in Britain are these radical sorts. It doesn't even claim that most muslims are. I have met enough muslims to know that many of them are not radicals.

Great Bob. But that doesn't solve the problem. Many of these are simply telling a gullible infidel what he wants to hear.

Also, your moderate muslim friends can still breed children who in 10-15 years become radicals and blow up your kids. In the absence of extreme intervention by right thinking muslims...if there is such a thing...to police and eliminate the cruel, sadistic fundamentalist teachings from their kids curricula, the only solution is complete eradication of islam in the civilized world. At the present time in the SF Bay area alone, there's an estimated 60 islamic schools teaching (brain washing) jihad to children...possibly children of some of your "moderate" friends. If this is allowed to continue...in the name of free speech..what do you suppose the result will be in 10 years? Wake up Bobby.

[bobdsmith]

We never dealt with the IRA by complete eradication of the Irish from Britain, and I see no reason to treat this problem any differently. Why should moderate muslims be obliged to "eliminate" (however can they do that?) radical muslims.

Schools that teach hatred should be shut down full stop. You are right that they are hiding behind free speach and religion. If I had my way what was being taught to kids in schools would be strictly monitored to prevent abuse and indoctrination of anti-western ideologies. I totally disagree with the concept of religious schools anyway.

[kimosabe31]

The intelligence agencies and analysts say London has harboured radical militant Islamists for decades and has now gone from safe haven to target.

This is so mindless...like giving sanctuary to a pit bull. This can only happen in decadent liberal/socialist society where the politically elite import the seeds of destruction...the rope with which to hang themselves. With the islamic 1400 year track record of mayhem against their fellow man, who in their right mind but a liberal would import such a problem into their homeland and that of their children?? Michael Savage has stated it best: "liberalism is a mental disorder"...but I think he understates the problem.

[Gengis Khan]

In another thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1441728/posts

I had written (post #23):
Sad that Britain had to learn the lesson the hard way that its was never a good idea to give asylum to Muslim "seperatists", exiled Islamic leaders and other wanted criminals. And now there are scores of Islamic groups and Wahabbi schools operating from Britain carrying out recruitment for terrorists activities in different parts of the globe. The British government had uptill now allowed these groups a free run to use the British soil as a base to launch their activities and a launching pad for Jihad for many of these groups. Warnings from the Indian and Isreali governments fell on deaf ears.

And now the Islamic groups have turned on Britain itself. This attack is probably only the begining.

[John Filson]

That may be true this week, but the wealthy ones here in the west subscribe to Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, and Bahasa media via satellite and the Internet -- may at a moment's notice become enraged enough to change their minds.

[bobdsmith]

Well they will risk me becoming enraged enough to change my mind too

[John Filson]

It's for their own good that we should officially invite them to leave.

[kimosabe31]

We never dealt with the IRA by complete eradication of the Irish from Britain, and I see no reason to treat this problem any differently. Why should moderate muslims be obliged to "eliminate" (however can they do that?) radical muslims.

You don't seem to realize the severity of the present predicament. Comparing fanatic muslims to the IRA is like comparing satan to a bunch of campfire girls.

The IRA...although ruthless killers...were not suicidal, did not target women and children and did not worship death. IRA members did not suffer generations of inbreading (at least not in all cases) and did not suffer the delusion that allah would provide them 72 virgins with which to fornicate in exchange for killing infidels.

We're dealing here with an entirely new level of insanity..."jonesville" multiplied by a factor of 1000. And there's only one way to deal with it.