Guest blogged by Winter Patriot.
Research assistance by Agent99.
British authorities investigating the alleged “liquid bombing plot” released two more (suddenly former) suspects last Thursday, charged one person, bringing the total now charged to 12, and extended the custody limit for the remaining suspects who are still being held without charges.
One of the two people released Thursday (August 24) had previously been described as “a potentially important figure” in the alleged plot, since his brother is (or was) supposedly the ringleader.
Allo, London? We’re getting mixed messages here!
But then again … what else is new?
As you remember — unless you don’t — the alleged plot was reportedly broken up two and a half weeks ago (August 9/10), when 24 people were arrested in England and 15 or more were arrested in Pakistan. At the time, the timing seemed more than a little bit odd, since news of the arrests was accompanied — one might almost say “preceded” — by a great thunderous roar from the Republican Spin-And-Noise Machine, all of them yelling “Terrah Terrah Terrah” simultaneously, except for those who were shouting “al-Q’aeda! al-Q’aeda!! al-Q’aeda!!!”. Your humble and slightly frozen reporter documented the noise and the smell of that day (August 10) in a subtly-titled post called “An Avalanche of Bullshit”.
It soon became obvious that the timing seemed odd for a very good reason: high-level Americans, allegedly having learned of an ongoing British-Pakistani investigation, and badly needing to change the flow of “news” on the “home front”, apparently coerced Pakistani authorities to arrest Rashid Rauf, Business Man, Entreprenuer, Author and Research Analyst, the alleged ringleader of the alleged plot — and its alleged al-Q’aeda connection. Rauf, according to authorities, sent a message saying he’d been captured, and this message was intercepted, which was why the British had made the arrests in haste, earlier than they would have preferred. In other words, this so-called “terror event”, if it was an event at all, was timed and manipulated for partisan political advantage, as readers of (August 15th’s) “Spin? Counter-Spin!” will remember — unless they don’t.
The following day, the New York Times revealed — apparently accidentally — that none of the suspects being held in Britain — 23 at that point — had yet been charged with a crime. Your humble blogger picked up on this aspect of the NYT‘s otherwise innocuous story, and blogged about it (August 16) in “NYT Beats The Terror Drums Again, But Exposes A Vital Fact!”
By the next day, the NYT had changed its story! But it was too late to fool the green-and-yellow regulars, since your cold correspondent had already quoted the vital sentence. Fortunately he had also saved a copy of the original text — which was true, by the way; the first charges in this case were handed down five days later.
But before the charges were announced, we saw a very weird media-storm in Britain. On Thursday (August 17), word of the alleged plot was everywhere; there were hints of “al-Q’aeda connections”, faint whispers about the so-called plotters’ alleged intentions to “hatch” the “plot” on the fifth anniversary of 9/11, and “news” of the “discovery” of a suitcase containing a “bomb-making kit” (which was found in the woods, of course!). These stories were flying around all day. But on Friday (August 18), nothing of the sort could be seen.
Your humble blogger noticed the difference between the tone of the British and American coverage (especially the American coverage!) and the attitude of the rest of the world, which seemed quite a bit more skeptical, and wrote about it in Friday’s piece: “British News Full Of Terror Revelations; World Opinion Appears Skeptical”.
The first charges were announced last Monday (August 21), when eight people were charged with conspiracy to murder and another three were charged with less serious offenses. When the charges were made public, the police announced that they had collected a wide variety of so-called “evidence”, including “bomb-making materials”, one of which they mentioned by name: hydrogen peroxide.
Why hydrogen peroxide? For the peroxide, of course! It’s a key ingredient (the “P”) in TATP, otherwise known as “tri-acetone tri-peroxide”, a.k.a. “acetone peroxide”, a.k.a. “Mother of Satan”, a.k.a. The Suicide Bombers’ Weapon of Choice.
What’s so special about acetone peroxide? Two qualities in particular:
Is that enough to blow a hole in an airplane fuselage? I should say so, provided you’ve got enough of it. But how much would you need? And how much could you make? And how long would it take? So many questions!
If you were a terrorist, or a terrorist wannabe, and somebody told you that you could go into the bathroom of an airplane, mix some common household liquids together, and step back out into the passenger compartment armed with a handful of white crystals that could blow the plane out of the sky, would you be interested?
If you said “Yes”, you may now be in a most unfortunate bind. Because it turns out that making a bomb out of acetone and hydrogen peroxide is a much more difficult, hazardous and time-consuming feat than anything one could possibly do on an airplane. Last Wednesday’s (August 23) piece, “To Mix The Impossible Bomb”, describes in some detail just how impossible it would be to make such a bomb on a plane, and comments on illustrates the barrage of apparently meaningless (or time-managed) stories that seemed to be squeezing this particularly lurid tale out of the major British media schedule.
Why all the pressure? Could it be because this story is falling apart?
Maybe. But it could also be that this story is just starting to get interesting!
Did you ever stop and think about that one?
I did … and the idea stuck!
We now know beyond any doubt that something very fishy has happened here. And it seems to me we have two choices; to wit:
… or …
I like [b], and I don’t think it’s too hard to follow your nose in an atmosphere such as this.
So … I’ve been sniffing into the strange saga of Rashid Rauf, whose reported capture by Pakistani police allegedly sparked the series of arrests that took place in England on August 9/10.
We’ve been told that Rashid Rauf was the main suspect, the ringleader, the mastermind, a central figure, or maybe just a transmitter of messages; in any event there’s hardly ever been any room for doubt that Rashid Rauf allegedly played a key role in the alleged plot, if in fact there was a plot.
Among the various suspects, Rashid Rauf has attracted the bulk of the interest, possibly because his brother (Tayib Rauf) and his father (Abdul Rauf) have both been arrested (and released) during this investigation; or maybe because he is connected to the banned militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), unless of course he isn’t!
Or perhaps it was his ties to al-Q’aeda; or possibly his al-Q’aeda connections; or maybe it was his suspected links to al-Q’aeda militants that got everybody so interested. Who can say?
Rashid Rauf’s father, Abdul Rauf, was either arrested or simply detained for questioning in Pakistan during all this — and released without charge very soon thereafter. They could have kept him a lot longer had they wanted to. But they let him go free.
This despite his known connection to a Muslim charity — Crescent Relief — that was thought to be linked to Pakistan-based militant groups — and whose funds have just been frozen. Hmmmm.
We are told that Abdul Rauf co-founded the charity in 2000 but stepped down from his role in 2003. Personally, I would find this story much more convincing if I had seen a claim that Abdul Rauf had severed all his ties with Crescent Relief. But I have not heard so much as a whisper to that effect.
As you will remember — if you can remember all the way back to the beginning of this post — Rashid Rauf’s brother, Tayib Rauf, was one of the two suspects arrested in the initial raids (August 9/10) and released without charge on Thursday (August 24). By British law, terror suspects can be held without charge for 28 days. Tayib Rauf was held for only two weeks. They could have kept him two weeks longer, had they wanted to. Hmmmm.
Meanwhile, Rashid Rauf is still being held in Pakistan, and the British are anxious to get their hands on him. Is Pakistan likely to cooperate? Up until a few days ago, I would have said: “Not a chance!”
Why? Primarily because of this article:
[Daily Mail, August 19, 2006]
Pakistanis find no evidence against ‘terror mastermind’
Rashid Rauf, whose detention in Pakistan was the trigger for the arrest of 23 suspects in Britain, has been accused of taking orders from Al Qaeda’s ‘No3’ in Afghanistan and sending money back to the UK to allow the alleged bombers to buy plane tickets.
But after two weeks of interrogation, an inch-by-inch search of his house and analysis of his home computer, officials are now saying that his extradition is ‘a way down the track’ if it happens at all.
It’s not normally possible to extradite a person unless the country currently holding that person is amenable to the idea. And usually they want to see evidence.
The possible link between 7/7 and the alleged plot emerged when this newspaper spoke to Rauf’s uncle, Miam Mumtaz, in Kashmir.
Mumtaz was approached by two members of ISI, the feared Pakistani security service, as he nervously denied any knowledge of his nephew’s alleged activities.
Well, of course. And what about the ISI men? Did they deny everything, too?
I’ll bet they have! Maybe even longer, perhaps?
So … it’s no wonder the aroma seems familiar!!
Suspicions?
That it was not as far advanced?
As authorities initially claimed?
Oh, puhh-leeeeze!
Suspicions?!
They didn’t all have passports yet. They didn’t even have plane tickets. And they hadn’t made any bombs.
And yet we saw this exchange on CNN [emphasis added]:
CHERTOFF: You know, I don’t know that I can give you a definitive answer to that. I think we’re still investigating. We’ve uncovered a lot of material. The British have, and so it may take awhile before we get a precise picture. It’s clear that the plan was multiple planes at about the same time.
Now, whether the exact number had been decided upon or whether that was going to depend upon some factors has not yet resolved. We don’t know. But it was, under any circumstances, an attack which had the potential to kill hundreds of thousands of people.
This is our chief of homeland insecurity talking. Look at all the things he says he doesn’t know. Now look at what he doesn’t know, but thinks he does know. How many people would have to fit on an airplane before you could kill “hundreds of thousands” of them by knocking 10 or 12 planes into the ocean? Tens of thousands, right? And it’s an easy calculation, too.
But this Chertoff character, who allegedly wields all sorts of power, who supposedly is doing everything possible to keep us all safe, clearly has no idea what he’s talking about. Or else he’s a stone-cold liar.
Either way, how could we not have suspicions?
Quoting the August 19th Daily Mail again:
Well, that’s what “they” always do, don’t they?
And “we” do it too, no? But still …
… which is why I would have said “The Brits won’t be seeing this Rauf character in person anytime soon!”
A couple of days ago.
But maybe I would have been wrong.
Here’s the latest from the Times of India [emphasis added]:
[August 26, 2006]
Pakistan set to extradite Rauf to UK
Britain is waiting expiry of the physical remand of Rauf, whose arrest was registered in Airport police station for holding tampered travelling documents, The Nation said.
…
Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam confirmed the possibility of shifting Rauf to Britain where he is required in the extensive probe into the London terror plot.
…
A tip-off from Rauf through a phone call is believed to have been the green signal for the plot that was foiled by the timely arrests in Pakistan and in London suburbs.
Right.
“Timely” arrests indeed.
And what did “the green signal” say?
Here’s my guess:
Start applying for your passports now, but don’t all go in together.
Don’t buy any airline tickets until you all have your passports. Doh!
Remember what I told you about making a bomb on a plane: It’s really, really easy!
And above all, don’t believe the crazy French website that says
“Après trois jours (ou plus), il est temps de filtrer les cristaux!”
It doesn’t really mean:
“After three days (or more), it is time to filter the crystals!”
Honest, it doesn’t! Would I lie to you?
Ok, Good. Praise the Will of Allah!!
And repeat after me:
Rashid Couldn’t Possibly Be An Agent Provocateur!
Rashid Couldn’t Possibly Be An Agent Provocateur!
Rashid Couldn’t Possibly Be An Agent Provocateur!
I’m glad you’re on this story WP. This charade needs to be exposed for what it is. Keep on digging.
On a completely unrelated though not irrelevant topic, I thought I’d relate what happened Saturday night at the Democratic Party fundraiser in Daytona Beach. I was honored to attend it with Clint Curtis, and the scheduled speakers were the Democrat candidates for governor, and Max Cleland gave the keynote. In contrast to Brad’s experience with the DLC shying away from the vote fraud issue, those who spoke at this gathering were definately among those of us who understand the problem and want to address it. I just wanted to say that it made my heart glad to know that while many still want to bury their head in the sand, there are growing numbers who are seeing the light. Keep up the great work!
What a post! Kudos to WP! The denizens of the MSM would be quaking in their undoubtedly fetid boots if they happened to read the fruits of your digging – you seem to have carpe’d the diem right out of their pudgy, greasy, sweaty fingers. Please, keep up the fine work…
Democracy fans, I’m back with Part 2 from Brad’s press conference in San Diego on 7/15. This segment features the fabulous Mimi Kennedy and citizen patriot Barbara Gail Jacobson. So take a short break from WP’s nutball reality theory based on documented facts and evidence and enjoy some vintage Brad:
http://electiondefensealliance.org/bfpc2
Coming next: Brad’s interview with the local media and what actually go on the teevee.
What would the key ingredient in a penis pump be I wonder:-) This would be funny if it wasn’t true.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/2006..._pump_threat_5
Thanks Ginny for the video’s.
I’m so cyincal now that I just roll my eyes whenever there is an arrest of “terrorists.” The London guys apparently didn’t know much about chemistry either:
Seems like the security establishments have nothing to sell but fear itself .
There isn’t enough hydrogen peroxide produced in China (since the only thing made in the U.S. these days are prisons) to clean the wounds of families and friends tied to the 250,000 dead Iraqi civilians from the Bushit war of terror. A Bush war based on complete lies and manufactured intelligence http://www.downingstreetmemo.org Why would a country with this many dead based on bushit have animosity against the actions of a Fascist government run by TERRORISTS posing as PEACEFUL DEMOCRACY?
In any case, good work frozen patriot and only time will tell if any of the dreamed charges will hold water or any other liquid for that matter. Expect the truth to come out about the time the public gets to view the confiscated videos of what hit the Pentagon on 911 or how some of those wiley Alcaida terrorist snuck over to World Trade Tower building #7 on 911, situated across the street from World Trade Towers 1 and 2. Building #7 did have a small containable fire. Loaded the building with carfully placed explosives which housed the Secret Service and the CIA, as well as Guiliani’s $23 million bomb proof floor removation just to watch the 47 story steel concrete building fall controlled demolition style just like the twin towers some 10 hours later.
A building not hit by an airplane although the twin towers were built to take a hit from an aircraft.
A building according to the GOVERNMENT’S 911 REPORT fell for unknown reasons.
A building a majority of Americans are unaware even fell to ground on 911 even though these 3 building are the only steel concrete structures in history of steel concrete skyscapers to fall by the reasons of related to a fire/s.
Terrors in the air.
How interesting that the U.S. military has told 7 different stories so far what the they were doing that day and why they stoooooooooooooood down.
I still remain skeptical that the “true story” of 9/11 will be told in my lifetime.
My reasoning is fairly simple — the rule of implied consequences. IF it were was shown that Bush / Cheney / Pearle / Bolton / et al. were deeply involved in the planning and execution of 9/11 and more than just criminally incompetent, then I really believe that their lives would be in danger. Given that, and knowing that they plan to keep their power AT ALL COSTS, I don’t believe that the truth can be known until long after they are dead.
Given the consequences of discovery of their involvement in the false-flag attack and death of 3000+ Americans, I suspect they would be quite willing to kill tens, hundred, or perhaps even thousands MORE to avoid discovery.
IF the story keeps coming out in pieces (as it has been) then we should expect to see more and more investigators, journalists, and media people having Silkwood-like “accidents.”
It’s not that 9/11 isn’t the most important story of our lives — it is — it’s just not one we are likely to read. Realize, we barely know the truth about JFK (Thom Hartmann’s book is pretty complete and thorough) and that took 40 years, and we had a much better FOIA and open media during many of those years.
The path to Fascism is through careful manipulation of the meme. 9/11 is a massive part of that plan. This was their “Reichstag Fire” and “Gulf of Tonkin” in one, and the neo-con Repuglican thugs running this country (from the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee to the West Wing to the SCOTUS to the FBI) are not going to let the cornerstone of their manipulation of the public mind be undermined by something as sentimental or inconsequential as “the truth.”
On a separate note, for Wolf to not pick up on that provocative “slip of the tongue” by Chertoff about “hundred of thousands” shows what a contemptible and pathetically incompetent piece of crap journalist Blizer is.
A college newspaper reporter would have had the brains to ask: “What exactly do you mean by ‘hundreds of thousands’? Did they have plans to take down a thousand planes at once? How do you arrive at THAT figure?” A pro-active reporter might ad: “Or are you just an idiot?” But I guess THOSE days are gone, if they were ever here.
STOP WATCHING CNN. STOP WATCHING MSNBC. STOP WATCHING T.V. AT ALL!!!
Charlie, I already have!
Gee-whiz,.. another Chertoff media frenzy case falls apart,.. but the judges ruling against the bu$$hco wiretap illegality and unconstitutionality was sufficiently smothered by this fiasco.
Bonet Ramsey/ Michael Mark Karr case comes apart at the seams like a cheap Walmart dress.
Mr Karr’s visa has been revoked because he is an “undesirable person”, Gen Suwat said. A Bangkok-based US homeland security official, Ann Hurst, told the news conference that Mr Karr had been a suspect for “a long time”, would be extradited “within a week” and then taken straight to the Boulder County district attorney’s office. Extradition from Thailand to the United States usually takes months.
She said Mr Karr did not resist but “did express surprise” when arrested.
The Boulder County district attorney, Mary Lacy, said in a press release that the arrest followed “several months of a focused and complex investigation”.
Source : British Guardian,..Link.
=======================
Less than a week later the case completely falls apart,… Link NYT Article.
Terror ,.. Terror everywhere,..
a KKKarl Rove mirage,.. till November 2006.
Christian Science Monitor/False Terror Alerts
Charlie L #8
I was in the kitchen when the “100,000s of thousands of victims” quote came in from the TV in the living room.
I didn’t catch who had said it, but from the discussions here I take it was Chertoff.
As soon as I heard it I thought “Ya sure – a minimum of 10,000 people on each plane!” And since it was plural – “Hundreds” I guess at least 20,000 per plane.
I know there’s a new jumbo jet currently doing test flights, but i never realized it was that big!
What exactly do they think they are going to find about all this by tapping our phones when back in Feb. 2001 they were telling us that Terror groups hide behind Web encryption
The one thing that always seems to get lost in all of this – never talked about in the press – is the fact that Osama and his buddies were initialy set up by the CIA to fight the Russians in Afghanistan back in ’79 – ’89. They were the good guys then and received much money and arms from the US and the Arabs.
And to sum it all up this Greg Palast piece shows that Osama long ago got what he wanted from us and that all the rest is a bunch of BS to keep the sheeple in line.
Bingo, Bluebear2. Bingo!
People just don’t realize how easily they are frightened. They don’t pay attention to all their reactions based in that fear. Our government knows that, and that’s how they are keeping control over us.
People in general aren’t all that bright, and must make a concerted effort to understand things. Americans are intellectually lazy and don’t make that effort. Hell, RawStory has an article about how Republicans are likely to be re-elected despite criminal charges against them, and the Dems aren’t backing a Dem in that race.. go figure. And the people say “crooked politicians don’t really effect us”.. uh.. what??!! The person who decides the policy that determines if you can make a living, or determines what quality of life you are given access to has “no effect” on you??!!??
People are too caught up in watching TV and buying crap. Too caught up in their own self-importance. Too busy looking for ways to improve their lives on the micro level. Too slow and lazy to understand that we can’t fix things for ourselves until we fix things in general.
When I was a boy, I believed man was good. I believed man was capable of great things and we could make the world a wonderful place to live, all we had to do was think about how to do it. Now I know man is neutral, at best, and likely evil by nature. Man isn’t concerend with making a eutopia for everyone, man, in general, only cares about abject selfishness. Now that I am an adult, looking at the world without the fog of innocence, I fear we’re doomed as a spieces. We care nothing for the planet, nor do we care about other living things (other people included). We only care about what we can get, what we can own, what we can control.
Until good people stand up and remove the bad people, AND the “average intelligence” people are willing to think and engage their brains, we’re screwed. The bad people are making a lot more noise (mostly because the masses are drowning out the sounds of reason) than can be overcome by the voices in the wilderness that are calling for peace and acceptance. Average people don’t want to think, don’t want to engage their brains.. they just want to consume and control, and in their blind ambitions are being controlled and abused. The good people can’t fix things until the masses want them fixed, and at present, the masses don’t want to deal with any of this. The failings of the nature of man will condem us all to massive suffereing before there is any relief.
mark my words
This thread needs to be moved up, or a new connected thread started. It is too important to get lost in the shuffle.
Savantster # 16
Very well said, and HOW true..!!
Copies of your message should be nailed to every wooden pole in your country. Maybe the sheeple might finally clue in …!!!
Savantster:
I see Bush supporters whose appearence remind me of people I used to admire when I was young. They remind me of people who used their intelligence to solve problems, but there they are, glaring at me like they want me to die. I wonder what went wrong!
But there are a lot of others who get it. They have been silenced mostly in the work place by the type of people you speak of. These Americans act like someone who has commited a crime so heinous that it’s just too late to be redeemed!
I’m afraid your insightful post may be right.