[News] British Terrorist Plot: Stage Two of the October Surprise

[Anti-Imperialist News]

http://www.aljazeerah.info/Editorials/2006%20Editorials/August/The%20British%20Terrorist%20Plot%20Stage%20Two%20of%20the%20October%20Surprise%20By%20Hassan%20El-Najjar.htm

The British Terrorist Plot: Stage Two of the October Surprise

By Hassan El-Najjar

Al-Jazeerah, August 11, 2006

According to the leader of Hizbullah, Shaikh Hassan Nassrullah, the 
Israeli war on Lebanon was approved by the Bush administration to be 
launched on late September or early October. However, the war was 
launched prematurely in reaction to the Hizbullah capture of Israeli soldiers.

Apparently, the goal is driving American voters to the candidates of 
the War Party, after it had lost the confidence of American voters. I 
wrote about this issue in my 
article 
<http://www.aljazeerah.info/Editorials/2006%20Editorials/August/../../../Opinion%20editorials/2006%20Opinion%20Editorials/July/26%20o/Nassrullah%20and%20Peres%20The%20War%20Was%20Supposed%20to%20Be%20October%20Surprise,%20and%20to%20Weaken%20Iran%20By%20Hassan%20El-Najjar.htm>Nassrullah 
and Peres: The War Was Supposed to Be October Surprise, and to Weaken Iran.

The announcement yesterday of a British terrorist plot to destroy ten 
US aircraft using liquid bombs can be considered the second stage of 
an October surprise. It aims at keeping the US voters in tense 
conditions, making them feel that the world is not safe around them. 
This, purportedly, may push them back towards the War Party, which 
has the reputation of being "strong on security."

The timing of the announcement of such a terrorist plot should be 
received with skepticism and scrutiny, particularly because the 
pro-war corporate media have adopted the story and fully propagated 
it to death. The following are some points to be taken into 
consideration in scrutinizing the story.

First, the announcement came just one day after the earthquake of 
defeating the symbol of war in the Democratic Party, Joe Lieberman, 
representing a determination among American voters to fire proponents 
of war in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike. The announcement 
of the terrorist plot would serve as the Bush administration 
counterattack against the peace camp.

Second, it came after a month of a disaster Israeli war to subjugate 
Lebanon. The Israelis succeeded in destroying the country's 
infrastructure, forcing a million Lebanese out of their homes, but 
they couldn't defeat Hizbullah fighters. News about such a terrorist 
plot may aim at distracting the American people away from the Israeli 
atrocities in Lebanon, leaving it to pounded even more in the coming 
days by the crazy Israeli leaders.

Third, the US war in Iraq is worse than any time before. There is no 
end in sight for the US quagmire there. Just the day before the 
announcement about this terror plot, US military commanders and their 
boss testified in Congress about the coming Iraqi civil war. This is 
an acknowledgement of the Iraqi disaster by the Bush administration 
and it is not going to serve the War Party at the ballot box. The 
announcement about the terrorist plot may help to divert the 
attention of Americans and Britons away from the Iraq disaster.

Fourth, the war in Afghanistan has not ended and Taliban fighters 
have been fighting against the US-led NATO forces on daily basis. 
They have not gone away. The announcement about the British terrorist 
plot may help make Americans and Britons forget about Afghanistan a little bit.

Fifth, news reported mentioned that there was an under cover British 
government agent inside the terrorist group, for several months. This 
should spark a public debate about the role of government agents who 
penetrate suspected groups. What if the agent was playing a leading 
role? What if the whole thing was prompted, suggested, and 
orchestrated by the government agent and his superiors? Is this 
really a terrorist plot or a government-staged operation created for 
political reasons? We still remember the case of the six African 
American youngmen in Florida who were influenced by the under cover 
government agent, who posed to them as an Alqaeda operative. Did they 
want really to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago or it was the 
government agent's idea? We don't know. There should be more public 
scrutiny about this issue.

Finally, there has been a relentless attempt to link it to Alqaeda. 
Pundits, experts, and even officials did their best to convey this 
idea to the public. Among what they said was the travel of two 
members of the group to Pakistan then receiving money from Pakistan 
after they had returned to buy tickets to America. This should remind 
us with a similar story in the US about a Pakistani father and his 
son who were implicated first for traveling to Pakistan then they 
were released after that. With regard to the money received to buy 
tickets to the US, it is hard to believe that plotters with all this 
sophistication would not be able to buy tickets from London to New 
York, couple hundred dollars.

There's a lot to be skeptical about in the story. I hope that the 
American people stay the anti-war course and change the course of our 
country in November. By voting the pro-war candidates out of office 
and bringing anti-war candidates into office, we will be able to 
address the true cause of wars and reactions to them, resistance and 
terrorism.

My biggest fear is that we may still see other stages of the October 
surprise, God forbid!

May God send His peace to this planet, which is hungry for peace.


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