08-10-2006, 09:47 PM
http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/r...e.php?id=272080
U.K.: The Thwarted Airline Bombing Plot
August 10, 2006 13 00 GMT
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The disruption of this plot, which British authorities have described as a "very significant" one that could have resulted in "mass murder," shows the United Kingdom continues to be a major staging ground for al Qaeda jihadists in their attempts to carry out strikes in the West, especially the United States. Given that Britain is home to a large Muslim community, which is predominantly of Pakistani origin, al Qaeda's global headquarters is based in northwest Pakistan, and that London is the largest hub of radical Islamism in the West, the United Kingdom will remain as the main point of vulnerability for jihadist attacks inside the West.
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What further fuels this type of militancy is growing anti-American sentiments within the West, especially in Muslim communities. Indigenous Muslim groups in Western countries promote such discourse and are facilitated by the general rise in public opinion against U.S. foreign policies toward the Arab/Muslim world, which in turn allow for the creation of a large pool of Islamist radicals for al Qaeda to tap into, and shape them into potential militants.
Given the deep-rooted nature of the problem, U.S., British and other Western governments will likely effect tougher immigration and travel restrictions against even their own citizens who hail from Muslims backgrounds, with those of Pakistani heritage on the top of the list. Such policies will be difficult to out into operation, given the complexity of enacting such legislation. Hence, it will be a while before such laws make it into the books. In any case, U.S., Canadian and EU citizenship held by people of Arab and Muslim origin will continue to be a point of vulnerability for security in the West<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
U.K.: The Thwarted Airline Bombing Plot
August 10, 2006 13 00 GMT
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The disruption of this plot, which British authorities have described as a "very significant" one that could have resulted in "mass murder," shows the United Kingdom continues to be a major staging ground for al Qaeda jihadists in their attempts to carry out strikes in the West, especially the United States. Given that Britain is home to a large Muslim community, which is predominantly of Pakistani origin, al Qaeda's global headquarters is based in northwest Pakistan, and that London is the largest hub of radical Islamism in the West, the United Kingdom will remain as the main point of vulnerability for jihadist attacks inside the West.
..........
What further fuels this type of militancy is growing anti-American sentiments within the West, especially in Muslim communities. Indigenous Muslim groups in Western countries promote such discourse and are facilitated by the general rise in public opinion against U.S. foreign policies toward the Arab/Muslim world, which in turn allow for the creation of a large pool of Islamist radicals for al Qaeda to tap into, and shape them into potential militants.
Given the deep-rooted nature of the problem, U.S., British and other Western governments will likely effect tougher immigration and travel restrictions against even their own citizens who hail from Muslims backgrounds, with those of Pakistani heritage on the top of the list. Such policies will be difficult to out into operation, given the complexity of enacting such legislation. Hence, it will be a while before such laws make it into the books. In any case, U.S., Canadian and EU citizenship held by people of Arab and Muslim origin will continue to be a point of vulnerability for security in the West<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->