Dangerous bomb deactivated in London

June 29, 2007

While some of the recent alleged terrorist plots in the U.S. haven’t withstood much scrutiny, it looks as if London avoided a serious terrorist incident today.

Police in London say they have deactivated a bomb packed with nails and capable of creating huge casualties, raising renewed fears of a terrorist strike almost two years after the city was hit by deadly suicide bombers.

The device, consisting of 200 liters of fuel, gas cylinders and nails linked to a triggering mechanism, was found in a car in Haymarket, in the city’s busy nightclub and theater district shortly before 2 a.m. (0100 GMT) on Friday.

British police anti-terror chief Peter Clarke said the explosives would have resulted in significant injury and loss of life had they detonated.

Details are still a little sketchy, but apparently an ambulance crew alerted police after they noticed a smoke-filled car parked close to the popular nightclub. Explosives officers discovered the fuel and nails attached to a “potential means of detonation,” inside the vehicle. Officers “courageously” disabled the trigger by hand, Clarke he said.

Several news outlets are noting the proximity to the anniversary of the 7/7 attacks, but I’m also curious about the possible attack coinciding with the announcement of a new British Prime Minister. The ’93 attack in NYC happened shortly after Clinton took office; 9/11 occurred shortly after Bush took office; might today after something to do with Brown?

Regardless, I think Atrios raises a valid point about the temptations towards hysteria:

Watching the CNN coverage of the thwarted car bombing in London I’m struck by how the coverage makes something that didn’t happen thousands of miles away sound like something around the block. You know, foiled bomb plot in London! Terrorists crawling up through your toilet!

Good point. As for Londoners, the chances of something like this sending London into a panic are about zero. In 2005, Slate’s David Plotz happened to be in London on 7/7 and noted, within a couple of hours of the attacks:

The natural state of the English is a kind of gloomy diligence, which is why they do so well in hard times. In 1940, Londoners went dutifully on with their business while the Luftwaffe bombed the hell out of them. Today, most of them are doing the same. I was in Washington for 9/11, and the whole city went into a panic. Offices emptied, stores shut, downtown D.C. became a ghost town. But in London today, everyone still has a cell phone clutched to their ear. The delivery vans are still racing about, seeking shortcuts around all the street closures. The Starbucks is packed.

And when I walked by the Queen’s Larder Pub, not half a mile from the Tavistock Square wreckage, at 11 a.m., a half-dozen men were sitting together at a sidewalk table, hoisting their morning pints of ale. Civilization must go on, after all.

Hearty bunch, those Brits.

“In 1940, Londoners went dutifully on with their business while the Luftwaffe bombed the hell out of them.”

Don’t forget all those years dealing with IRA bombings.

Not to say this kind of stuff is old hat for the British people, but they seem to lack our hysteria when it comes to these events.

Must be the tempered voice of the BBC.

  • What was it the old travel commercials used to say? Oh—yeah:

    “THIS FORTRESS; THIS ROCK; THIS ENGLAND.”

    Here, we get to deal with the fundies and the foxnoisers and their tactic of division. England has more “united” wrapped around her little finger in any five-minute period of any day of the year, than these “United” States have had in all of the Bush Presidency.

  • Brits have been used to sporadic terrorist efforts for over four-hundred years, since Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot, and probably way back beyond that. Apart from the Blitz in WWII, they’ve also contended with the IRA for over forty years, till recently. For sure they’re sanguine, but that should not be mistaken for complacent. Hysteria is understandable but rather impractical. Underneath it all, at a safe distance (like a few thousand miles), I suspect most people secretly enjoy a little shock-and-horror drama in their lives, from time to time — gives us something to feel indignant and resourceful about.

  • “…might today after something to do with Brown?”

    Good point. These may very well be tests to see how exactly certain world leaders will react, to see what terror tactics may be better pursued in the future.

    I was in London during one of the IRA bridge bombings, and again for the period pre and post 9/11 and into 2003. There is a distinct and admirable difference in the manner in which Brits handle themselves, as compared to Americans, after such things. Brits tend to act like rational adults, while Americans tend to act like selfish and crazy 10 year olds, although there were many in NY or DC that did act like rational adults. Interesting that most of the mass hysteria in this country comes from areas that have not been and likely will never be targets of such attacks.

  • but they seem to lack our hysteria when it comes to these events.

    they also lack a government determined to fan the flames of hysteria

  • Excitable bunch, us yanks. Or maybe just dumb enough to believe Murdoch’s crap when he shovels it at us.

    Still, what happens when somebody finally manages to do a real car bomb on this side of the pond? Oh, yeah, Tim McVeigh did that already. Goddamn wingnuts.

  • Wait, the planned car bomb attack was discovered and stopped by police? I thought the antidote to terrorism was to send your army to invade a country full of brown people. I’m confused. I don’t even think the police over there carry guns! Seriously, how can you prevent terror if everyone is not afraid a cop might blow them away for twitching funny.

    Americans are freaks, lets face it. Drama queens to the end (which will likely come soon in some terrible way at the hands of some evil-doer).

    I think I’d take Britain with the bonbs over the US with the parinoa, fear mongering and lack of bombs. That is just me!

  • Looks like it’s time again for the NeoCon 9/11 Hit Squad to spring into action and mount another vulgar psychological attack upon the American public to remind them why Iraqi national security (and soon to be Iranian national security) is more important than American national security.

  • MNProgressive–maybe the US should bomb the snot out of London in order to save them from the terrorists, and to make sure we are fighting them over there and not over here!

  • I am glad that the Brits were able to stop this before anything bad happened. I would imagine that they are pouring through the feeds from the ubiquitous surveillance cameras for more info on just how that car came to be parked there, and who left it.

    With my tin foil hat on, however, this may have been a setup, in that it can be shown how the cameras were able to provide leads or even show the perpetrators in the act, thus indicating that we Yanks need them anywhere, everywhere too. But that’d be silly.

  • The BBC has some great comments from Londoners abouth the bombing. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6252788.stm

    Picture an American (of a particular ilk) saying any of the following:

    “It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last. I feel safe actually. If it happens, it happens.”

    “It’s sad but unsurprising. I’ve lived here nine years. The chances of becoming a direct victim of such an attack are low.”

    “I’m actually more concerned about gun violence at the moment than I am about terrorism.”

    “I feel as safe here as anywhere. I’m not surprised to hear about police finding an explosive device.”

  • If that car in London were parked outside of an abortion clinic, would it have even been news on this side of the Atlantic?

    Maybe the last stanza of the British national anthem should say “land of the free and home of the brave,” and the Star Spangled Banner should say “land of the free as Cheney lets us be and home of the terminally terrified of terrorists.”

  • MI5 and the CIA up to their old tricks again, just like with the 7/7 bombings. And again, an ambulance just happened to be near. Just like 7/7, when they held 3 anti-terror drills at the excact locations and time of 3 terror attacks. Odds of this? 1 in 10 to the 41st power. Thats 1 followed by 41 0’s. And the ONLY bus detained, and re-directed by the police, had the fourth bomb on it, an amazing coincidance, huh?

    Yep, I got my foil hat on and am tuned into the mothership alrighty.

    How “convienient ” that they found this bomb, in the nick o’time before it did harm.
    Probably planted, and discovered, to keep the Brits wary, and force the new PM to take a similiar stance against “terrorism” as did Blair. Over 4000 survelence cameras in London, and no pics of who drove this car? Hmmmmmm????…….

  • [Pulls Al B Tross’ TFH down over his mouth]

    Ahem.

    Good point. As for Londoners, the chances of something like this sending London into a panic are about zero.

    Yeah, this is the state of having been there and done that and bought a t-shirt (see also: Israel). Contrast this with the pants soaking hysteria that gripped Boston over a bunch of lite-brites.

    I suppose we should feel lucky to live in a country that has been so free of internal conflict for so long but it sure is embarrassing when other countries yawn over things that would have our general population diving under the nearest bed.

    Congrats to the UK police force once again.

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