Posts Tagged ‘Terror Threat’

The UK is to set up a Maritime Control Centre to monitor shipping after new evidence shows increased electronic traffic concerning the traffic and movement of radiological material.

The Security Minister Lord West has said the increase in piracy around the Horn of Africa and the seaborne Mumbai terror attacks has highlighted the need for such a centre.

With the proliferation of freely available shipping information we feel this is a step in the right direction. Currently anyone can get information on vessel location size cargo destination and current location based on its AIS signal.

There would be absolutely nothing preventing the targeting of such vessels in our waters. Passenger vessels including ferries and cruise liners are at risk and we know from recovered intelligence that places of public gathering are a prime target. What better target than a cruise liner with 1 or 2 thousand people aboard.

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One of the reasons it is thought that the UK Threat level was raised from substantial to severe is to counter a new and emerging threat.

As we reported a few days ago AQ has gone through a restructure and are arguably more popular than ever in the Muslim world.

It is thought that AQ in Pakistan has the capability to take over an airliner and plan to fly it into a British City. We reported before Christmas how UK intelligence feared a Mumbai style attack on the Capital. AQ does indeed have global reach and despite mutterings to the contrary the UK is a hot breeding ground for fundamentalism.

We have no doubt that Farouk Abdulmutallab (Christmas Day bomber) was radicalised in the UK. We support free speech and of course with such liberal views on free speech is going to mean that suggestive ideas are bound to be aired.

We in no way advocate the damping down of freedom of speech but we certainly advocate the message to the masses that terrorism is and remains a very real risk and we ALL should be playing our part.

Vigilance is key to our safety. The Security Services have and do do a magnificent job but they also rely on low level intelligence, what's happening on your street that is unusual? Are you concerned about something that you have heard or witnessed?

We are very good and overriding our better judgement and trying to make sense of what we have seen or heard but if we take stock and report our fears it may just avert an attack.

The way AQ operate, especially in Europe and other developed Countries is to recruit people who are not on Security Service radar and so don't arouse suspicion.

The only way of combatting this is the vigilance of the masses. Many people don't think they or their businesses would be terrorist targets. What is a terrorist target? In the case of AQ any business and anybody is a target so burying heads in sand is a very short sighted and misguided view.

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The England team has withdrawn from the World Badminton Championships in India because of “a specific terrorist threat”.

The championships are being played in the city of Hyderabad.

The eight-strong squad pulled out of the tournament, which starts on Monday, following reports of a threat by the Muslim extremist group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

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