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July 2, 2006

UK: MPs Warn of Islamist Attack By Al Qaeda

News from Agence France Presse via Yahoo states that British Members of Parliament in the Foreign Affairs Select Committee into the "War on Terror" have said the likelihood of an Al Qaeda attack upon Britain is likely.

The report states: "Despite a number of successes targeting the leadership and infrastructure of Al-Qaeda, the danger of international terrorism, whether from Al-Qaeda or other related groups, has not diminished and may well have increased."

"Al-Qaeda continues to pose an extremely serious and brutal threat to the United Kingdom and its interests. We further conclude that the situation in Iraq has provided both a powerful source of propaganda for Islamist extremists and also a crucial training ground for international terrorists associated with Al-Qaeda."

The committee warned that any military action against Iran would create the likelihood of "extremely serious consequences" in the Middle East and beyond.

Today's Telegraph states that in central London, there will be thousands of police, with Scotland Yard on high alert in case of the possibility of any Islamic terror attacks, coming up to the anniversary of the 7/7 bombings of 2005.

Tube stations will have officers and dogs on patrol, and also at other locations in the capital, as well as at rail stations across the country. For the past 12 months, police levels have been higher than normal, but this week in particular, additional officers from the Metropolitan Police and the British Transport Police (BTP) will be deployed.

The deputy chief constable of BTP, Andy Trotter, said: "The threat of an attack remains high. One of the challenges is to make sure we renew and refresh our tactics."

Tony Blair's official spokesman said: "The terrorism threat remains very active and very real. If there is a specific threat the public need to know about, then we will tell them."

In a separate Telegraph article, it is reported that a Whitehall document has revealed that significant numbers of white Britons have been drawn into Islamic terrorism.

Radicalised by extremist preachers or at universities, these converts are joining a "terrorist career path," states the report, entitled Young Muslims and Extremism, which was drawn up for the Prime Minister by MI5 and the Home and Foreign and Commonwealth Offices.

Last April, Al-Qaeda asked for white converts to become suicide bombers as they were more likely to not raise suspicions when carrying out an attack. The report states that as many as 16,000 British Muslims support Islamist terror acts both in Britain and abroad.

It is suggested that 13% of the Muslim community in Britain (an estimated 208,000 out of a total of 1.6 million) defended the US attacks of 9/11, 2001, and 26% (416,000) have admited that they feel no loyalty to Britain.

The report states of those drawn to terrorism, that "whilst many have grown up in Muslim households, a significant number come from liberal, non-religious Muslim backgrounds or only converted to Islam in adulthood. These converts include white British nationals and those of West Indian extraction."

The report further states: "A significant number of young radicalised British Muslims have been recruited through a single contact, often by chance. Such individuals are encouraged to maintain a low profile for operational purposes and do not develop the network of associates or political doctrines common to many other extremist Islamists."

In a summation, entitled "Key Conclusions", the document states: "Parts of the Muslim community fear that the Government, the media and the wider community regard them with suspicion and hostility, and feel beleaguered as a result. Some Muslims currently feel anxious and angry about arrests and searches under anti-terrorist powers, which they perceive as being applied excessively and abusively."

The opposition's shadow minister for homeland security, Patrick Mercer, stated: "Osama bin Laden has encouraged white people not only to convert to Islam but to become suicide bombers. We must be very wary of this threat and realise that not every terrorist is going to conform to a racial stereotype."

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at July 2, 2006 9:57 PM

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Posted by: Granny Weatherwax at July 3, 2006 6:29 AM

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