Detonation means failure.
Bruce MI5 rises to the challenge it had been dreading - and expecting By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor (Filed: 09/07/2005) Daily Telegraph One of the busiest offices in London yesterday was the headquarters of MI5 in Thames House, Westminster. In one way, the Security Service's operations will have moved seamlessly into top gear, as Thursday's co-ordinated and murderous assault on the capital's transport network was precisely what Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, the director general, and her team had been dreading and expecting. However, they did not have an inkling that an attack was imminent - which, while understandable given the clandestine nature of the enemy, will nevertheless give rise to concern. Hundreds of extra MI5 officers have been recruited in the four years since September 11 to provide the very essence of counter-terrorism: intelligence. Yet despite monitoring the so-called "chatter" from known al-Qa'eda sources, keeping suspects under surveillance and assessing the seriousness of the threat, the timing of the bombings took everyone by surprise. Although the method of the attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon was unpredictable, it had been known for several months that a so-called "spectacular" was imminent because the world's counter-terrorist agencies had been picking up signals suggesting that planning was at an advanced stage. What they did not know was when and how. In London, they did not even get a hint that an attack was about to take place. The task of working out what happened and what might happen next falls to the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, set up in 2003 and consisting of representatives from 11 government departments and agencies. It has the primary responsibility for analysing and assessing all intelligence related to international terrorism, and works closely with MI5's International Counter Terrorism branch, which manages investigations into terrorist activity in Britain. This branch will liaise with the Metropolitan Police in trying to track down the cell responsible for the bombs before it can strike again. If the body of one of the bombers is, as suspected, among the dead on the Tavistock Square bus, this will give them a potentially crucial lead: if he can be identified, so can his associates and their movements and, possibly, the cell itself. CCTV footage from stations near where the bombs went off will also be pored over by specialists on the lookout for known faces. MI5 will rely for information on any agents who have managed to infiltrate fundamentalist organisations, hoping they might pick up a name or a pointer to further suspects. So-called "targets" will also be closely watched by teams of specialist officers from the directed surveillance unit, who work in vehicles, on foot or in fixed observation posts, often alongside the police. Suspect fundamentalists will have their phones tapped, letters opened and homes bugged, again in the hope of stumbling across a key piece of intelligence. Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, whose authority is needed to issue interception and covert intrusion warrants, will probably have a busy weekend. GCHQ, the listening post outside Cheltenham, will also be working overtime surfing the mobile phone networks, trying to pick up key words that may alert the police to the bombers or to the imminence of another atrocity. It may be that the bombers came to Britain to carry out the attack before escaping to the Continent, so liaison with foreign intelligence agencies, much improved since September 11, will be important, as will their resources. However, if the cell is home-grown or has been in the country for months, or even years, days of painstaking detective and intelligence work lie ahead. _____ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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