by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright August 11, 2006
All Rights Reserved.

ritain's MI-15 domestic security service and London's Scotland Yard foiled a new Islamic terror plot designed to detonate liquid explosives on up to 10 airliners traveling from the U.K. to the United States. In the wake of Sept. 11, President George W. Bush has insisted, despite his critics, that the U.S. has been engaged in WW III—a global war against Islamic terrorists. Had it not been for the costly detour in Iraq, Bush would have many more believers, since most terrorist attacks point toward the same culprits. Bombings in Madrid's main train depot March 11, 2004 killing 190 and in the London Underground July 7, 2005 killing 52 validate the theory that Islamic terrorists, with ties to Pakistan and possibly Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda terror group, are at war with the West, especially the United States and Great Britain, supporting the idea WW III has already begun.

       Instead of sending the bulk of U.S. forces to Afghanistan and Pakistan to crush Bin Laden, Bush chose to get Saddam Hussein March 20, 2003. Since then, U.S. foreign policy has been out-of-whack with the international community, disputing the notion that Iraq is “the central front in the war on terror.” When the U.S. finally got Iraq's Al Qaeda operative Abu Musab Al Zarqawi April 22, the insurgency kept going, proving, if nothing else, that Al Zarqawi had little to do with Iraq's insurgency. Nor was Al Zarqawi, or any other Al Qaeda operative in Iraq, responsible for other acts of global terrorism since Al Zarqawi came into focus after the U.S. toppled Saddam April 9, 2003. With Pakistani or Al Qaeda terrorists hatching the latest terrorist plot, the U.S. must reassess its priorities and get back on track. Committing the lion's share of the military to Iraq has taken the focus off global terrorism.

       While there's no apparent connection to Israel's war in Lebanon, there's a linkage between Islamic terror groups, including Iran/Syrian-sponsored Hezbollah, and global terrorism. Neutralizing Hezbollah should diminish Iran and Syria's role in state-sponsored terrorism. Despite all the setbacks, allowing Israel to fight a proxy war for the U.S. helps weaken state terrorism in the region. Like pursuing Al Qaeda, it also puts Hezbollah on the defensive, too busy to support other militant groups currently at war with U.S. Back in 1998, after Al Qaeda bombed U.S. embassies in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya, Osama bin Laden declared war on the U.S. Former President Bill Clinton responded weakly, firing Cruise Missiles at Bin Laden's terror camps in Afghanistan. Two years later, Al Qaeda suicide bombers hit the guided-missile frigate U.S.S. Cole in Yemen's port of Aden killing U.S. 17 sailors.

      Bush told a dazed nation Sept. 20, 2001 that the U.S. was at war with a new kind of enemy, asking the country to prepare for a different kind of war. He warned of asymmetric warfare, and now the public must catch up to the reality of WW III. It's no accident that one terrorist involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, and Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, both plotted in 1995 to blow planes up using liquid explosives. Bin Laden changed the plans, instructing Mohammad to employ suicidal hijackers instead of liquid explosives. Yesterday's foiled plot establishes continuity, proving the deadly link to war with Islamic extremists. “Quite simply, this was intended to be mass murder on an unimaginable scale,” said Paul Stephenson, deputy chief of London's Metropolitan Police, referring to terrorists' recent scheme to blow up 10 U.S.-bound jetliners.

       Scotland Yard arrested 24 suspected terrorists with the help of Pakistan's security service that detained five Pakistanis and one British national named Rashid Rauf with reported ties to Al Qaeda. U.S. officials confirmed the presence of at least one martyrdom tape uncovered in the U.K. British authorities said they intercepted an encrypted message telling the plotters, “Do your attacks now,” though it's not known whether the e-mail related specifically to yesterday's plot. Raids were conducted in London, High Wycombe and Birmingham, where a martyrdom tape was seized, implicating suspects in the identified suicide mission. Speaking in Greenbay, Wis., Bush congratulated British authorities and reminded the public that the U.S. is at war with “Islamic Fascists.” Few people dispute the war with radical Islam but doubt whether Iraq remains the battleground.

       Three-cheers to the British whose protections on civil liberties don't handcuff authorities from pulling out all stops when it comes to tracking down terrorists. Since the Tube bombing, British authorities have cracked down on the Muslim community in which the attacks originated. U.S. civil rights groups must balance constitutional protections against real-world threats against U.S. citizens. There are no civil rights when it comes to terrorism and mass murder. Yesterday's plot intended to kill thousands of innocent civilians, possibly exceeding the carnage of Sept. 11. If illegal wiretapping and racial profiling uncovered the plot, then lawmakers must take a serious look at how today's laws protect terrorists plotting mass destruction. “The nation is at war with Islamic Fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation,” Bush said in Greenbay.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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