It's all in the Jihad Manual which governments who are supposed to prevent this sort of thing have had for 10 years.
Bruce Bin Laden's followers learn to seek out 'soft targets' By Anton La Guardia, Diplomatic Editor (Filed: 08/07/2005) Ever since September 11, 2001, security chiefs warned that London was a prime target for terrorist attack. But as the weeks without an incident turned into months and then years, counter-terrorism experts began worrying about something new: public complacency. Yesterday's bombs showed that the dangerous new world of international terrorism has not gone away. Terrorists may have regarded Britain as a "hard" target. But they have now discovered that London's Tube and bus system is as "soft" as any target struck in recent years in Bali, Mombasa, Casablanca or Madrid. The current phase of violent Islamist extremism against the West goes further back than the war in Iraq and, in the case of America, can be traced to the first World Trade Centre bombing in 1993. A key role in the conflict belongs to Arab veterans of the struggle against Soviet forces and the man who has become their figurehead, Osama bin Laden. Their return home intensified the struggle in Egypt and Algeria. At first most concentrated on fighting the Arab regimes, rather than the Western governments that supported them. But their tactics soon changed. World Trade Centre: In 1993 Islamic extremists exploded a bomb in the New York landmark's garage, killing six and injuring more than 1,000. Luxor: They resorted to attacking tourists in Egypt in 1997 as the means of undermining a vital pillar of the economy. Six gunmen opened fire on tour groups visiting the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, killing 58. Fatwa: In February 1998 bin Laden launched the "Islamic World Front for the struggle against the Jews and the Crusaders". Their fatwa said it was a duty for Muslims "to kill the Americans and their allies - civilians and military". Embassies: In August, six months after bin Laden's declaration of war, two truck bombs destroyed the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salam, killing more than 200 people. USS Cole: In October 2000, suicide bombers on motorboats damaged an American warship moored in Aden, killing 17 US sailors. 9/11: On September 11, 2001, al-Qa'eda flew aircraft into New York's Twin Towers and the Pentagon in Washington. A fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania. President George W Bush launched his "war on terrorism" and, with the help of Britain and other allies, toppled the Taliban. Having lost his base of operations in Afghanistan, bin Laden is believed to have found refuge among the Pathan tribesmen on the border with Pakistan. Security forces have arrested al-Qa'eda leaders but bin Laden still taunts the West. Intelligence sources say the al-Qa'eda "holding company" has largely collapsed. But Islamist groups inspired by bin Laden still thrive. Shoe Bomber: In December 2001 Richard Reid, a British convert to Islam, tried to blow up an American Airlines flight to Miami by setting off explosives in his shoe but was overpowered by passengers Tunisia: A lorry bomb killed 21 people, mostly Germans, when it exploded in April 2002 outside a synagogue on the island of Djerba. Bali: Two bombs exploded outside nightclubs on Bali in October, 2002, killing 202 people, most of them Australian holidaymakers. Iraq: The US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 intensified the attacks. In May, al-Qa'eda turned its sights on Saudi Arabia with a series of four suicide bombings at Western residential compounds in Riyadh that killed 35 people. Four days later, five simultaneous suicide bombings are aimed at Western and Jewish targets in the Moroccan city of Casablanca, killing more than 45 people. Turkey: Two suicide bombers set off their explosives in November 2003 near two synagogues, killing 23 people, mostly Turks. Suicide car bombs were then exploded outside the British consulate in Istanbul and the headquarters of the HSBC bank, killing 27 people, including the British consul-general, Roger Short. Madrid: 10 remote-controlled bombs placed on commuter trains killed 191 people in the Spanish capital just days before the elections last year. The opposition socialists swept to power. If 9/11 prompted America to go to war, Spain's attack encouraged the new prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, to withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq. Extremists now appear to have been drawn mainly to Iraq. Mr Bush said last month that nation was "the central front in the war on terror". But for Mr Blair, the central front is now in British cities. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/07/08/nterr208.xml <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/07/08/nterr208.xm l&sSheet=/news/2005/07/08/ixnewstop.html> &sSheet=/news/2005/07/08/ixnewstop.html Al-Qa'eda link hides multitude of suspects By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor (Filed: 08/07/2005) Who was responsible? Reports that a group linked to al-Qa'eda was claiming responsibility for the London bombings tells us very little. There are many fundamentalist organisations that fly under Osama bin Laden's flag of convenience and some of them have bases or off-shoots in London. Suspects are kept under surveillance by MI5 and the police Special Branch. But one thing appeared clear last night: there was not an inkling of intelligence that this attack was about to happen, even though one had long been feared. Only a few weeks ago, the state of terrorist alert was lowered from "severe general", the second highest, to "substantial", which means the threat remained but it was not known where it was coming from or against whom it was targeted. For many years before September 11, 2001, Britain's capital was known derisively throughout the world as Londinistan because of the preponderance of extremist groups that had set down roots, publishing tracts and newsletters and providing financial and propaganda support to overseas activists such as Hamas. At least a dozen international terrorist organisations and their British-based supporters are banned under a proscribed list introduced in the wake of September 11. They range from Middle Eastern groups such as Hamas and Hizbollah to the Peruvian Shining Path organisation and the Japanese Aum Supreme Truth movement, a religious cult that released poison gas into the Tokyo underground system. Organisations can be proscribed if they "commit or participate in acts of terrorism, prepare for terrorism, promote or encourage terrorism or are otherwise engaged in terrorism". Any group added to the list can mount a challenge before a new independent tribunal called the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission, which has still to be established. Once a group is on the list it becomes an offence to be a member, to support it financially, to display its emblems in public or to share a platform at a meeting of three people or more, with someone belonging to such an organisation. The intention of this legislation was to ensure that Britain could not be used as a base for the planning and preparation of terrorism here or abroad. But its introduction was accompanied by the sound of stable doors being closed after the horse had bolted. Britain has long offered a haven to exiled dissidents and in recent years has become an international centre for Islamic militancy. Experts also doubted whether the new law would have much impact on British-based groups since they can change their names and could be driven underground. For many years prior to September 11, politicians maintained that Britain must not be allowed to become a haven for international terrorists. But it has and, arguably, still is. More than half a dozen governments have filed diplomatic protests with the Foreign Office about the presence of such groups. They included Egypt, whose President Hosni Mubarak even denounced Britain for "protecting killers". His principal complaint was that supporters of extremist groups that wanted to overthrow the government in Cairo were operating out of London. Among them are leaders of al-Gama'at al-Islamiya (Islamic Group), which in November 1997 carried out a massacre of tourists in Luxor in which 62 people, including Britons, died. Several members of the group were, or still are, living in Britain, some as political refugees. After the Luxor massacre, the Egyptian government posted a list of 14 men it said were linked to terrorism. Seven were living in London. Organisations allegedly linked to Egyptian terror movements have operated out of London under a variety of names. Algerian terrorists, too, operate in London. France, which has been the target for terrorist attacks, has sought, often in vain, to have the alleged perpetrators extradited. In 1995, after a wave of bombings on the Metro, the French government said the campaign had been ordered from London. It asked for the extradition of Rachid Ramda, 35, said to be the organiser of al-Ansar, a newsletter of the Algerian Armed Islamic Group, who was alleged to have passed on funds to Islamic terrorist units in France. He is still in custody 10 years after his arrest, although Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, agreed in April to extradite him after the French issued their third warrant. However, he has lodged an appeal and remains in Britain. The difficulties of extraditing suspects and the apparent unwillingness of the British authorities to close down their operations contributed to the country's reputation as a haven for terrorists. One American-based security group even called for Britain to be placed on the list of countries that sponsor terrorism. Most of the dissidents in London have either been granted political asylum or exceptional leave to remain, both of which carry some obligations not to break the law or foment trouble. Some who were considered a threat were imprisoned, but the law lords ruled that this was discriminatory and disproportionate and the former detainees are now subject to special orders limiting their movements and contacts. They include Abu Qatada, a London-based Muslim cleric, who has been identified as the most significant Islamic fundamentalist in Britain and an "inspiration" for terrorists. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=DVFADDKMVBTQ5QFIQMFSNA GAVCBQ0JVC?xml=/news/2005/07/08/nterr08.xml C Copyright <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/main.jhtml;jsessionid=DVFADDKMVBTQ5QFIQMF SNAGAVCBQ0JVC?view=COPYRIGHT&grid=P9> of Telegraph <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/pressoffice/index.jhtml;jsessionid=DVFADDKMVBTQ5 QFIQMFSNAGAVCBQ0JVC> Group Limited 2005. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. FAIR USE NOTICE: All original content and/or articles and graphics in this message are copyrighted, unless specifically noted otherwise. All rights to these copyrighted items are reserved. 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