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Caribbean-Latin America

Falkland Islands to be left without warship

2008-12-08

The Falkland Islands are to be left without the protection of a British warship for the first time since the war with Argentina because the Royal Navy no longer has enough ships to meet all its commitments. The frigate HMS Northumberland, which is armed with guided missiles, torpedoes and a Lynx helicopter, was due to be sent on patrol to the islands this month. But it will now be replaced by a Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessel not equipped for offensive combat operations. The controversial decision was forced on senior naval commanders by the increasing problem of overstretch facing the Royal Navy. Cuts to the size of the fleet over the last 10-years – the Royal Navy has just 22 frigates and destroyers compared to 65 in 1982 – has left the service with too few ships to meet its responsibilities. The Telegraph also understands that the Royal Navy is likely to face more cuts in the near future while major projects such as the £3.9bn new carrier programme could be delayed. Ageing vessels such as Type 23 frigates, which were commissioned in the late 1980s, will have their service life extended by up to 20-years. The last time the British government reduced its naval presence in the South Atlantic was in 1982 when the ice patrol vessel HMS Endurance was withdrawn from patrolling the area around the Falkland Islands. The move prompted an invasion by the Argentine military and led to the Falklands War. HMS Northumberland was due to begin a six-month voyage in the South Atlantic but has been diverted to take part in the European Union counter-piracy mission off the coast of east Africa. A mission the French, Italians and Spanish could be doing, freeing up the Brits. In its place, RFA Largs Bay, a landing ship which is crewed by civilian sailors, will arrive in the South Atlantic this week to begin its mission of protecting the islands from the potential threat posed by Argentina, which still claims sovereignty of the islands. The vessel will be equipped with a Lynx Mark 8 helicopter and Sea Skua anti ship missiles for self-defence. The landing ship has a small number of Royal Navy sailors who are responsible for manning a helicopter flight deck as well as a boarding party made up of lightly-armed Royal Marines but Royal Navy sources have said that the ship would be able to do little more than protect itself in the event of an emergency. The size of the military force on the Falklands has been dramatically reduced since the end of the war in 1982. The islands are garrisoned by just 50 soldiers, composed of infantry, engineers and signallers. The RAF has four Tornado F3 air defence aircraft and crews to maintain them while the naval component consists of just one ship. As I recall, at the time of the Falklands War the military presence there was a platoon of Royal Marines. The Argentine government attacked in part to divert the attention of its people from a failing economy and government corruption. The more things change ... The Royal Navy has some 22 frigates and destroyers in the fleet, however only a third are available for operations at any one time and the seven currently available for operational service are already taking part in deployments. One senior naval source said that successive cuts by the government had left the Royal Navy vulnerable and unable to properly defend its interests overseas. He said: "The Royal Navy has been pared to the bone. The fleet is now so small that the Royal Navy can't even send a proper warship to guard the Falklands. By the time the Royal Navy has met all of its operational obligations there is nothing left and that is why a civilian-crewed Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship has been sent to the Falklands. "In any shooting war with a serious enemy the Royal Navy would cease to exist within a few weeks. Rock bottom is an appropriate description of where the Royal Navy now is." A Ministry of Defence document leaked to The Telegraph last year revealed that the Royal Navy would struggle to fight a war against a "technologically capable adversary". The report also stated that the Royal Navy was an "under-resourced" fleet composed of "ageing and operationally defective ships". Admiral Sir Alan West, a former Chief of the Naval Staff, and who is a security minister in the Lords, has previously warned that the reduction in the fighting capability of the Royal navy could cost lives and gave warning that Britain would end up with a "tinpot" Navy if more money were not spent on defence. Liam Fox, the shadow Tory defence spokesman, said: "The Government needs to explain how this won’t impact on the security of the Falklands. What on earth are we doing putting EU flag waving ahead of our own security priorities? It is outrageous that the British Government would ever diminish the protection of our strategic interests in order to pay homage to the politics of the EU." A spokesman for the MoD, said: "The government is fully committed to the defence of the Falkland Islands. There is a whole package of assets – air, sea and land assigned to the region, not simply one ship. The Royal Navy maintains the flexibility to redeploy its ships to where they will have maximum effect."

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Britain

Iraqi al-Qaeda in terror plot?

2007-07-09

British security agencies on Sunday were reported to be looking at the possible involvement of an Iraqi al-Qaeda group in the London-Glasgow terror plot after it emerged that an intelligence report warned of an al-Qaeda attack to coincide with the departure of Tony Blair as a revenge for his role in invading Iraq. According to The Sunday Times, at least one of the alleged suspects being questioned was “in recent contact” with the group. “Scotland Yard’s Counter-Terrorism Command SO15 is understood to have uncovered evidence that in the months leading up to the attacks, one or more of the suspects communicated by telephone or e-mail with terrorist leaders in Iraq,” it said. Security sources were reported as saying that this chimed in with a warning from the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre of a possible attack on Britain around the time of Mr. Blair’s departure last month. The Centre, based at MI5’s headquarters here, reportedly said a senior Iraqi al-Qaeda commander had set out details of such an attack. He was believed to belong to a group led by Abu Ayyub al-Masri, who took over from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Britain’s new Security Minister, Admiral Sir Alan West, a former Navy chief, has warned that the battle against “radicalisation” of young British Muslims could take up to 15 years. “This not a quick thing. I think it will take 10 to 15 years. But I think it can be done so long as we as a nation apply ourselves to it, and it’s done across the board,” he told The Sunday Telegraph. He criticised the term “war on terror,” saying it had a “wrong” connotation. “It’s not like a war in that sense at all,” he said.

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Britain

Glasgow suspect linked to senior al-Qaeda figure

2007-07-08

BRITAIN'S former spy chief has warned the country faces a terrorism threat of "unprecedented scale, ambition and ruthlessness" as links are drawn between one of the failed Glasgow bombers and a senior al-Qaeda member. More than 100 suspects were awaiting trial in British courts for terrorist offences, Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller said. "It remains a very real possibility that they may, some time, somewhere, attempt a chemical, biological, radiological or even nuclear attack." Thankew, Dame Eliza, for today's statement of the obvious. Now, if we can get on to the meat of the article? I dunno, Liz seems one step ahead of many of her peers ... Reports in The Observer and The Sunday Times said Kafeel Ahmed, 27, who barbecued himself is critically ill with severe burns from the Glasgow attack that followed unsuccessful car bombs in London, was a "known associate" of a senior al-Qaeda figure. The Observer quoted a source as saying he was linked to Algerian-born Abbas Boutrab, 29, who was arrested in Belfast in 2003 and jailed for six years in 2005 for plotting to blow up an airliner. The newspaper said Ahmed had met Boutrab in Belfast while studying for a master's degree in aeronautical engineering. My initial guess was that this was an al-Qaeda job, and I started out filing the reports under al-Qaeda in Britain. But it soon became apparent that there was no Pak (or maybe Egyptian) mastermind involved, and maybe no mastermind at all. Not being al-Qaeda or an al-Qaeda subsidiary-controlled, it's someone else, which could include a random gang of Takfiri. The Sunday Times said Scotland Yard's Counter Terrorism Command SO15 was understood to have uncovered evidence that at least one of the suspects communicated with terrorist leaders in Iraq. That would be someone associated with Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, if not with Himself. Zark ran al-Tawhid as a separate operation before throwing in his lot with Binny. I believe that he's maintained it as a separate operation. There's been much oohing and ahhing over how smart the perps were since were able to make it through medical school. To me, that's just another demonstration that IQ and common sense are two different things, since they were dumb enough to buy the takfir line and render themselves cannon fodder -- and inept cannon fodder at that. The development has fuelled a theory that the failed attacks were designed as a farewell to Tony Blair to punish him for his role in Iraq. It seems to be the day for statements of the obvious, doesn't it? Dame Eliza, the former director-general of MI5, said the radicalisation of teenage Muslims "from first exposure, to extremism, to active participation in terrorist plotting" was now worryingly rapid. That's because the surrounding culture prepares them for it. It turban-trendy. All the kewl kids are doing it and all the lushest Islamic babes are throwing their underwear at them. The new Minister for Security, Admiral Sir Alan West, warned that Britain faced a 15-year battle to end the threat posed by Islamist terrorists. Assuming they start now. In his first interview since his surprise appointment, Sir Alan called on people to be "a little bit un-British". "Britishness does not normally involve snitching or talking about someone," he said. "I'm afraid, in this situation, anyone who's got any information should say something." Why would Britishness not involve reporting problems to the proper authorities and/or discussing one's neighbors? For hundreds of years the pastoral Brits had nothing to talk about but each other. Britons spent hundreds of years building a reputation for being law-abiding, for doing the right thing. Why should a few turbans in their midst make them stop and become something else? Dame Eliza, writing in the periodical Policing: A Journal of Policing and Practice, repeated an earlier caution that 1700 terrorists in 200 networks "scattered across the country" were thought to be plotting 30 attacks at any one time. She warned of the "pressing demand" for the police to create a network of Muslim spies capable of improving intelligence gathering. Might we also suggest a regular eruption of burly policemen brandishing truncheons through Islamic doors? The first suspected bomber to be charged, Bilal Abdullah, 27, an Iraqi doctor, was remanded in custody after he appeared before magistrates in London accused of conspiracy to cause explosions. Police in Bangalore, India, home to three suspects, were hunting 12 others who might be linked to the conspiracy, The Sunday Times reported.

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Britain

Hero copper saves 100s from Iraqi style car blast horror

2007-07-01

A DEVASTATING car bomb was just two minutes from exploding in a 900ft fireball when it was defused by a brave expert yesterday. The silver 1990 E-class Mercedes saloon was packed with eight propane gas cylinders, 60 litres of fuel in a dozen petrol cans plus another 30 in its tank and fistfuls of lethal three and six-inch nails. Parked outside a Haymarket nightclub packed with 1,000 revellers, the Baghdad-style bomb could have killed and injured hundreds, laying waste to people and property in a 300-yard radius. Astonishingly the hero bomb squad officer immediately recognised a mobile phone in the car as the potential trigger device. Knowing he could have been blown up on the spot, he severed a wire from it, disabling the detonator, and hurled it from the vehicle. Earlier, a message on a jihadist website boasted: "Today I say: Rejoice, by Allah, London shall be bombed." A Scotland Yard source said: "If the officer hadn't acted swiftly there would have been a cataclysmic explosion. The results would have been awesome. It is no exaggeration to say that anyone within 600-900ft caught in that conflagration would have been incinerated on the spot." Last night a massive international hunt for the would-be bombers, feared to be linked to al-Qaeda, was under way. Terror detectives working with MI5 are thought to have a description of the Mercedes driver. They have seized dozens of CCTV tapes from shops and pubs and will trace the car's movements on traffic cameras and through automatic number plate recognition. Propane cylinders carry a serial number identifying the point of sale. The undamaged car will also yield a feast of forensic clues. Officers could have a DNA profile of people linked to the vehicle as early as this morning. A second suspect Mercedes was left in Cockspur Street, near Trafalgar Square before being towed away by unsuspecting clampers to a car compound off Park Lane. The first Merc was discovered by chance outside the Tiger Tiger club in Haymarket, in the West End, at 1.30am after an ambulance crew was called to the club to treat a sick partygoer. Paramedics spotted what appeared to be smoke coming from the vehicle. But it was leaking vapour from the gas cylinders. Believing the car was on fire the crew contacted their control room who alerted fire crews and the police. Police were on the scene in minutes. Our source disclosed: "By the grace of God one of our officers spotted the trigger, realised its significance and literally threw it out of the car. He was a hero. He knew instantly it was a lethal situation. If he'd been standing close by at the moment of blast he'd have ceased to exist." Tiger Tiger was swiftly evacuated. Alastair Paterson, 25, said: "There were up to 1,000 people on all three floors. Suddenly, the music was turned off and all the lights went up. Doormen and security rushed to escort people out. We were all led out of the building through a side alleyway. I've never seen a place empty so quickly. I saw the car with smoke coming out of the boot. It could have been the next 7/7, it could have been the end. I thank God that I'm still alive." Mahinthaparan Yogarajah, the manager of a Spa store 50 metres away, said: "We're lucky to be alive as the bomb could have gone off at any time. This area is very busy early in the morning as clubbers leave to go home." Anti-terror boss Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke hailed the courage of the bomb squad officers. He said: "It's obvious that if the device had detonated there could have been significant injury or loss of life. Not only did the officers' action prevent damage and injury but they gave us opportunities to gather a great deal of forensic and other evidence. We're doing absolutely everything we can to keep the public safe. The threat from terrorism is real and is here. Life must go on but we must all stay alert." Worryingly, he added: "There was no intelligence whatsoever that we were going to be attacked in this way." Propane canisters contain liquefied propane which when released expands into 200 to 400 times the original size. Mixed with air, it creates a volatile cloud of vapour that is easy to ignite. Hans Michels, Professor of Safety Engineering at Imperial College, London, said last night: "The vapour cloud would fill a big room. When ignited, the effect would be even bigger. In addition to the power of the explosion and the shrapnel, you'd get a fireball the size of a small house. The nails would have been added to slice into people." Yesterday's drama carried echoes of two previously foiled plots. One aimed to target a London nightclub. The other was linked to the use car bombs. Words of Hatred On A Website A MESSAGE on a jihadist website hours before the bombs were found indicates the attack may have been planned by Islamic terrorists. The 300-word entry in the al Hesbah chatroom says: "Today I say: Rejoice, by Allah, London shall be bombed." It was posted by a regular contributor using the name abu Osama al-Hazeen. Al Hesbah is often used by Sunni militants, including al-Qaeda and the Taliban, to post propaganda. The message begins: "In the name of God, the most compassionate, the most merciful. Is Britain Longing for al Qaeda's bombings?" Al-Hazeen condemns the knighthood for Salman Rushdie and ends "by Allah, London shall be bombed." New PM Calls Up Big Guns IN a radical move Gordon Brown appointed Admiral Sir Alan West, former head of the Royal Navy, as the new Home Office Minister for Security. The decision to bring in a military chief known as a hardliner and with extensive experience of the war on terror will be seen as a master stroke. Mr Brown said the bomb drama showed Britain faces "a serious and continuous threat" and added that the public "need to be alert" at all times. He went on: "The first duty of Government is the security of the people and as the police and security services have said on so many occasions we face a serious and continuous threat to our country. I will stress to the Cabinet that the vigilance must be maintained over the next few days." Tiger Club 'Is Place To Pull' TIGER Tiger nightclub has been dubbed "the place to pull in town", according to one review. Described as a "colossal playground for twentysomethings", its early evening happy hours and cocktails draw in large crowds. It had been hosting its Sugar 'n' Spice night when the bomb was found. The club classic and party anthem event was "for women by women featuring Lady H on the decks". At full capacity, the venue can hold 1,770. Established in the West End in 1998, the over-21s club houses a restaurant, bars and a nightclub. It offers drinking and dancing until 3am. One reviewer remarked: "I have heard that it is, without a doubt, the place to pull in town."

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

'To Fight Would Not Be Clever'

2007-03-25

BBC interview with Admiral Sir Alan West. Noteworthy excerpt: Q: What are the rules of engagement in this type of situation? A: The rules are very much de-escalatory, because we don't want wars starting. The reason we are there is to be a force for good, to make the whole area safe, to look after the Iraqi big oil platforms and also to stop smuggling and terrorism there. So we try to downplay things. Rather then roaring into action and sinking everything in sight we try to step back and that, of course, is why our chaps were effectively able to be captured and taken away.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran ‘to try Britons for espionage’

2007-03-25

(Times) FIFTEEN British sailors and marines arrested by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards off the coast of Iraq may be charged with spying. A website run by associates of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, reported last night that the Britons would be put before a court and indicted. Referring to them as “insurgents”, the site concluded: “If it is proven that they deliberately entered Iranian territory, they will be charged with espionage. If that is proven, they can expect a very serious penalty since according to Iranian law, espionage is one of the most serious offences.” The warning followed claims by Iranian officials that the British navy personnel had been taken to Tehran, the capital, to explain their “aggressive action” in entering Iranian waters. British officials insist the servicemen were in Iraqi waters when they were held. Related Links * Iran raises the hostage stakes * Keep up the pressure * Hostage fears over servicemen seized by Iran The penalty for espionage in Iran is death. However, similar accusations of spying were made when eight British servicemen were detained in the same area in 2004. They were paraded blindfolded on television but did not appear in court and were freed after three nights in detention. Iranian student groups called yesterday for the 15 detainees to be held until US forces released five Revolutionary Guards captured in Iraq earlier this year. Al-Sharq al-Awsat, a Saudi-owned newspaper based in London, quoted an Iranian military source as saying that the aim was to trade the Royal Marines and sailors for these Guards. The claim was backed by other sources in Tehran. “As soon as the corps’s five members are released, the Britons can go home,” said one source close to the Guards. He said the tactic had been approved by Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, who warned last week that Tehran would take “illegal actions” if necessary to maintain its right to develop a nuclear programme. Iran denounced a tightening of sanctions which the United Nations security council was expected to agree last night in protest at Tehran’s insistence on enriching uranium that could be used for nuclear weapons. Lord Triesman, the Foreign Office minister, met the Iranian ambassador in London yesterday to demand that consular staff be allowed access to the Britons, one of whom is a woman. His intervention came as a senior Iranian general alleged that the Britons had confessed under interrogation to “aggression into Iran’s waters”. Intelligence sources said any advance order for the arrests was likely to have come from Major-General Yahya Rahim Safavi, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards. Subhi Sadek, the Guards’ weekly newspaper, warned last weekend that the force had “the ability to capture a bunch of blue-eyed blond-haired officers and feed them to our fighting cocks”. Safavi is known to be furious about the recent defections to the West of three senior Guards officers, including a general, and the effect of UN sanctions on his own finances. A senior Iraqi officer appeared to back Tehran’s claim that the British had entered Iranian waters. “We were informed by Iraqi fishermen after they had returned from sea that there were British gunboats in an area that is out of Iraqi control,” said Brigadier-General Hakim Jassim, who is in charge of Iraq’s territorial waters. “We don’t know why they were there.” Admiral Sir Alan West, the former head of the Royal Navy, dismissed suggestions that the British boats might have been in Iranian waters. West, who was first sea lord when the previous arrests took place in June 2004, said satellite tracking systems had shown then that the Iranians were lying and the same was certain to be true now.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran ‘to try Britons for espionage’

2007-03-25

FIFTEEN British sailors and marines arrested by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards off the coast of Iraq may be charged with spying. A website run by associates of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, reported last night that the Britons would be put before a court and indicted. Referring to them as “insurgents”, the site concluded: “If it is proven that they deliberately entered Iranian territory, they will be charged with espionage. If that is proven, they can expect a very serious penalty since according to Iranian law, espionage is one of the most serious offences.” “If it is proven that they deliberately entered Iranian territory, they will be charged with espionage. If that is proven, they can expect a very serious penalty since according to Iranian law, espionage is one of the most serious offences.” The warning followed claims by Iranian officials that the British navy personnel had been taken to Tehran, the capital, to explain their “aggressive action” in entering Iranian waters. British officials insist the servicemen were in Iraqi waters when they were held. The penalty for espionage in Iran is death. However, similar accusations of spying were made when eight British servicemen were detained in the same area in 2004. They were paraded blindfolded on television but did not appear in court and were freed after three nights in detention. Iranian student groups called yesterday for the 15 detainees to be held until US forces released five Revolutionary Guards captured in Iraq earlier this year. Iranian student groups called yesterday for the 15 detainees to be held until US forces released five Revolutionary Guards captured in Iraq earlier this year. Al-Sharq al-Awsat, a Saudi-owned newspaper based in London, quoted an Iranian military source as saying that the aim was to trade the Royal Marines and sailors for these Guards. The claim was backed by other sources in Tehran. “As soon as the corps’s five members are released, the Britons can go home,” said one source close to the Guards. He said the tactic had been approved by Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, who warned last week that Tehran would take “illegal actions” if necessary to maintain its right to develop a nuclear programme. Iran denounced a tightening of sanctions which the United Nations security council was expected to agree last night in protest at Tehran’s insistence on enriching uranium that could be used for nuclear weapons. Lord Triesman, the Foreign Office minister, met the Iranian ambassador in London yesterday to demand that consular staff be allowed access to the Britons, one of whom is a woman. His intervention came as a senior Iranian general alleged that the Britons had confessed under interrogation to “aggression into Iran’s waters”. Intelligence sources said any advance order for the arrests was likely to have come from Major-General Yahya Rahim Safavi, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards. Subhi Sadek, the Guards’ weekly newspaper, warned last weekend that the force had “the ability to capture a bunch of blue-eyed blond-haired officers and feed them to our fighting cocks”. Safavi is known to be furious about the recent defections to the West of three senior Guards officers, including a general, and the effect of UN sanctions on his own finances. Safavi is known to be furious about the recent defections to the West of three senior Guards officers, including a general, and the effect of UN sanctions on his own finances. A senior Iraqi officer appeared to back Tehran’s claim that the British had entered Iranian waters. “We were informed by Iraqi fishermen after they had returned from sea that there were British gunboats in an area that is out of Iraqi control,” said Brigadier-General Hakim Jassim, who is in charge of Iraq’s territorial waters. “We don’t know why they were there.” Admiral Sir Alan West, the former head of the Royal Navy, dismissed suggestions that the British boats might have been in Iranian waters. West, who was first sea lord when the previous arrests took place in June 2004, said satellite tracking systems had shown then that the Iranians were lying and the same was certain to be true now.

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Britain

British Admiral: 'tinpot' armed services

2006-12-24

Britain's beleaguered Armed Forces are in danger of being turned by the Government into a "tinpot gendarmerie" incapable of defending UK interests, according to one of the country's top military figures. Defence cuts and financial infighting at the Ministry of Defence are threatening Britain's status as a world power, said Admiral Sir Alan West in a blistering attack on Labour's defence policy. In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, he said the Government was risking the future security of British interests by reshaping the armed forces to wage long-term "anti-terror" campaigns in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Sir Alan, 58, said the MoD was behaving "like these tinpot countries" that fail to invest in major equipment programmes, and spend defence budgets on running rather than developing their armed forces. "That way is a recipe for disaster for a defence force that has to do all the things that Britain may have to do in the next 50 years," he said. In 10 years' time, the threat facing the UK could be something "far more dangerous than terrorism in central Asia". He added: "All we could be left with is an Armed Forces that is effectively a gendarmerie. And I suppose we would retire to our island and hope that no one gets to us." Sir Alan's comments follow recent criticisms of Government treatment of the Army from General Sir Richard Dannatt and General Sir Mike Jackson, the present and former heads of the Army respectively. The latest attack comes amid speculation that the MoD is about to delay or even cancel its "Carrier Strike" programme to build two aircraft carriers by 2015. Sir Alan, who retired as head of the Royal Navy this year, said he now feared that the £3.5 billion he had ring-fenced for the project was under threat from MoD officials trying to "undermine the programme" so that the money could be used elsewhere in the cash-strapped department. He said: "The carrier programme is the jewel in the crown of the strategic defence review. Yet there are officials within the MoD who are casting lascivious looks at it. There is no doubt that the rats are out there having a nibble. If Britain wants to remain a world power and to operate with a deal of freedom around the world, these two carriers are vital." Sir Alan also criticised the Army for not "going through the pain" of addressing its own financial problems in the way the Navy had done over the past few years. He described the Army's attitude towards cost-cutting as "atrocious" and accused senior officers of attempting to "raid" the Forces' overall equipment budget in an effort to solve its own financial problems.

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Terror Networks

Al-Qaeda plans to disrupt maritime trade

2004-08-05

Intelligence shows al Qaeda has plans to blow up shipping in a bid to disrupt world trade, Britain's top Naval officer has said in an interview. The Royal Navy's First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sir Alan West, said that Western governments had intelligence that terrorists view shipping as an attractive target and have plans to destroy ships. "We have got an underlying level of intelligence which shows there is a threat," West told Lloyd's List maritime newspaper. West warned that terrorism could potentially cripple global trade and have grave knock-on effects on developed economies. "What we've noticed is that al Qaeda and other organizations have an awareness about maritime trade," he said. "They've realized how important it is for world trade in general and they understand that significance." Lloyd's list commented that the terrorist threat to merchant shipping is nothing new for the maritime industry --illustrated in 2002 by the attack on the French tanker Limburg off the coast of Yemen. But such a stark warning from such a senior figure in the British military establishment was likely to add further impetus to global efforts to increase security awareness at sea, Lloyds List said. "We've seen other plans from intelligence of attacks on merchant shipping," West said. "I can't give you detail on any of that, clearly, but we are aware that they have plans and they've looked at this."

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Terror Networks

Al Qaeda Has Plan to Target Merchant Shipping

2004-08-05

Intelligence shows al Qaeda has plans to target merchant shipping in a bid to disrupt world trade, Britain's top Navy officer said in an interview published on Thursday. "We have got an underlying level of intelligence which shows there is a threat," the Royal Navy's First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sir Alan West, was quoted as saying by Lloyd's List maritime newspaper. The Defense Ministry confirmed West had given the interview in which he reiterated previous warnings about the threat of an attack on the world's commercial fleets

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Afghanistan/South Asia

Pakistan joins naval bid against al-Qaeda

2004-03-21

Pakistan has agreed to allow coalition ships to hunt Al-Qaeda fighters deep inside its territorial waters, in an unprecedented move that will let British and American ships sail close to the country's coast. President Pervez Musharraf's decision to let the British-led naval task force patrol in Pakistani waters, within the official 19.2km limit, reflects fears that terrorists will try to escape by sea from the latest military offensive being waged against them, the London Telegraph reported. General Musharraf has committed Pakistan's navy to join ships from seven nations in a coalition task force that is guarding the Arabian Sea against the illicit movement of people, weapons and drugs - all vital elements of terrorist networks, the report said. When the Taleban regime was toppled in Afghanistan in 2001, hundreds of Al-Qaeda militants fled south from the mountains to the unguarded coastlines of Pakistan and Iran, escaping by boat to the Gulf, Yemen and the Horn of Africa. Washington and London are determined to ensure that it does not happen again as United States forces launch Operation Mountain Storm in Afghanistan's mountainous frontier belt, and Pakistani troops pursue their fresh offensive against Osama bin Laden and senior Al-Qaeda lieutenants. Diplomats in both capitals regard Gen Musharraf's decision as a significant breakthrough. It came after talks in Islamabad last week between Gen Musharraf and Admiral Sir Alan West, Britain's Chief of Naval Staff. The maritime campaign to deny terrorists a free run of the oceans had been made a top priority in recent weeks, said Sir Alan. 'The whole point of coming somewhere like this is to show that terrorists cannot dictate what we do or where we go,' he told the Telegraph, speaking aboard the frigate Grafton in Karachi. The Pakistani port city, a known hub for Al-Qaeda terrorists and homegrown militants, has been plagued by violence and bomb attacks against Western targets. At the heart of Operation Enduring Freedom, which was launched after the Sept 11 attacks, is the so-called HIV (high interest vessels) database. Among other suspicious ships, the database holds details of about a dozen freighters - some up to 91.2m in length - that are believed to be under the control of Al-Qaeda or its supporters. One dhow, which is at present thought to be moving along the East African coast, has 'Al-Qaeda links', according to naval officials, and is believed to be carrying explosives for a terrorist attack. 'We are still getting to grips with the scale of the problem,' Sir Alan said. 'The smuggling of drugs, terrorists and arms are inter-related.'

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