Blackjack: Brits Hold 21 on Massive Air Terror Plot

I awoke this morning to news that the British government broke up a massive terror plot to blow up airliners headed from the UK to the US midair. The Brits took 21 people into custody, although they think there are still more suspects at large.

The plan was to blow up American, United, and Continental airline flights heading to various US destinations, including New York City and Washington, DC.

The plot had all the hallmarks of an al Qaeda operation. Who were the individuals taken into custody? The NYT offers this about the disruption of the plot:

The police said they had arrested 21 people in connection with the plot, which apparently involved plans to smuggle explosives onto aircraft in hand luggage. In response, flights into London Heathrow Airport were canceled and airlines banned hand luggage on departing planes, causing chaos and long delays.

The police did not identify the suspects or their origin, though Paul Stephenson, the deputy metropolitan police commissioner for London, said "community leaders" had been alerted about the police action, using a code word for the British Muslim community.

The authorities did not say how many aircraft had been identified for attack. Sky News put the number at six, while other reports said between three and 10.

"We think this was an extraordinarily serious plot and we are confident that we have stopped an attempt to create mass murder on an unimaginable scale," Stephenson told reporters at Scotland Yard.

Even at this late date, countries have to use code words to call out the groups and communities from which the terrorists who engage in these plots originate. These are Muslim terrorists, and law enforcement has to dance around the issue for fear of upsetting the local Muslim communities? These same communities are quick to rush to microphones to worry about reprisal attacks, never rushing to expose the jihadis in their midst, regularly and vigorously denouncing the extremist imams that exhort congregants to take up jihad against the West, and otherwise seek to deflect blame elsewhere.

The US responded to the threat by raising US airline security to its highest levels.

Text of DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff is here.

The investigations are ongoing, and for those flying in the coming days, expect delays and long lines at baggage check areas.

The NYT reports on the security checks thusly:

Officials were requiring passengers to check everything except personal items like keys, wallets, and passports, which they had to carry in plastic bags. Drinks and other liquid items were banned.

Travelers were required to remove spectacles or sunglasses from their cases, and those travelling with infants were required to taste any baby milk in front of security officials.

Britain's Department for Transport said it was requiring secondary searches of travelers headed for the United States, with a particular eye to removing any liquids they might have with them.

"We hope that these measures, which are being kept under review by the government, will need to be in place for a limited period only," the department said in a statement.

Despite the arrests, the police said other people connected with the plot might still be at large.

"We believe that these arrests have significantly disrupted the threat, but we cannot be sure that the threat has been entirely eliminated or the plot completely thwarted," Michael Chertoff, the U.S. homeland security secretary, told reporters.

UPDATE:
Michelle Malkin has a huge update. Heathrow Airport was closed to all flights that weren't already in the air. That means huge delays around the world as flights are cancelled or redirected to other airports. She also notes that the words Islamic terrorism were missing from the British news reports to describe those taken into custody.

We're not talking about militant Quakers after all.

Ed Morrissey notes that the British figure of 21 captured doesn't quite jibe with other reports that indicate that at least 50 people are involved in this terror plot. Scary stuff indeed. It reminds Ed of Operation Bojinka, which would have included downing a dozen planes from the Phillipines.

This whole situation puts the alerts issued for the whereabouts of those 11 Egyptian students two days ago into a new light now, doesn't it. Eight of those Egyptian men are still at large, one is in custody in Minnisota, and two are in custody in New Jersey. Are they connected? The FBI still says no.

UPDATE:
Here's the TSA Website information for those who are taking any flights in the US at present:

NO LIQUIDS OR GELS OF ANY KIND WILL BE PERMITTED IN CARRY-ON BAGGAGE. ITEMS MUST BE IN CHECKED BAGGAGE. This includes all beverages, shampoo, suntan lotion, creams, tooth paste, hair gel, and other items of similar consistency.
Exception: Baby formula, breast milk, or juice if a baby or small child is traveling; prescription medicine with a name that matches the passenger’s ticket; and insulin and essential other non-prescription medicines

Beverages purchased in the sterile area must be consumed before boarding because they will not be permitted onboard the aircraft.

Passengers traveling from the U.K. to the U.S. will be subject to a more extensive screening process.

Anyone else wonder just how good the checked luggage screening is? It has to be spot on or the terrorists could still manage to get items on board planes.

Meanwhile, Gov. Mitt Romney is calling out the National Guard to supplement TSA screeners at Logan Int'l Airport in Boston. That includes random checks of automobiles and luggage by National Guard and other law enforcement. Long lines are reported at Newark Liberty In'tl Airport. NJ Transit stepped up its security levels as well, though no specific threats were indicated.

One of the repeating quotes that continues to be repeated is that this was a plot to commit "mass murder on an unimaginable scale." Sorry, but it has been imagined before. As noted above, al Qaeda has tried this plot before. Operation Bojinka, which would have included downing a dozen planes from the Phillipines would have involved much of the same kind of planning and execution as the terror plot unraveled today.

UPDATE:
President Bush gave a statement a short time ago.

The recent arrests that our fellow citizens are now learning about are a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to -- to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation.

I would have gone further. The Islamists don't only want to destroy the US, but all of the Western world. They attack anywhere Islamists are not in charge, from Bali to London to Madrid to Israel.

There are only two wars going on right now, each a facet of the other. One is the shooting war, and the other is the propaganda war. Over the past few days have we seen the lengths to which enemies of the West will go to push their propaganda into a compliant and willing media. That's on the back of the shooting war going on between Israel and Hizbullah and the West versus the insurgents/jihadis in Iraq and the West versus the Taliban/al Qaeda in Afghanistan. EU referendum has more.

As of now, there's no way to know the timing of the terror plot. Yet, with the fifth anniversary of 9/11 right around the corner, do you have any doubt that any such attack would be in close proximity to that date?

Meanwhile, the insane clown leftists, who fancy themselves a reality based community, think that this is just another piece of propaganda to keep the peans poor, stupid, and cowed. Yeah, just like on 9/11 when you bray that Bush failed to protect the country against the Islamists or otherwise knew about the attacks and did nothing. Charles at LGF, Ace, and Confederate Yankee (among others) busted out the hip waders to mine the depths of depravity of the Left. I hope you guys took showers after that - along with a full decontamination because the mindbending conspiracies and nonsense boggles reality.

This is the same bunch that ran Joe Lieberman out of the Democrat party in Connecticut, and will not tolerate the slightest bit of dissent. Ideological purity in pursuit of their goal of obtaining power without regard to the national security consequences. Or reality.

UPDATE:
So how were these 21 individuals taken into custody? Good question. Lots of investigating and communications between the Brits and other international groups.

CAIR has already issued its usual statement on Islamic terror plots that have been busted. They're more concerned about the potential backlash than about driving out the jihadists from their midst.

HotAir reports that the total number in custody is now 24. British authorities are looking for as many as 10 more people in connection with the plot. The ABC News blog (Brian Ross) has a bunch of info, including that the explosives were to be contained in sports drink beverage containers, and should be checked regularly. The three alleged ringleaders are apparently in custody:

Sources identify the three, who are now in custody, as:

--Rashid Rauf
--Mohammed al-Ghandra
--Ahmed al Khan

Others blogging: Jeff Goldstein, and pretty much the entire blogosphere.

UPDATE:
Arrests had been made in Pakistan as well, as that's where the plot began to unravel. The intel flowed from the arrest of a Pakistani militant and was made available to the Brits who conducted sneak and peak searches to gather intel and information needed to break the group's activities. It appears that they were on the verge of conducting dry runs within two days.

Many of those arrested had dual citizenship - Pakistani and British passports.

In addition to Gov. Romney calling out the National Guard to assist securing Logan Airport, the National Guard was called out in New York, California and Washington as well to bolster security. The tighter restrictions may remain in place for up to 72 hours or longer.

UPDATE:
The NYT has more, including that law enforcement had been tracking this group for some time, and that the group had begun "...investigating nonstop flights from the United Kingdom to the United States. The hijackers of Sept. 11, 2001, also did meticulous research on airline schedules and took numerous rehearsal trips in the United States."

UPDATE:
This may be something, or nothing at all. Just keep your eye out for the names Abu Hamza and Omar Bakri Mohammed. The Jawa Report has the details.

Technorati: airline bomb, terror, terrorism, heathrow, liquid explosive, al qaeda, scotland yard, tsa.