h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've been seeing reports that there have been troop deployments in and around London due to a specific terrorist threat - does anyone know what is going on?

Something to do with Heathrow airport being targeted by Al Quaeda because it's nearly the end of Hajj - a Muslim festival apparently.

I don't believe it for a second, but I suppose that's a matter of opinion.

Well, the US Governemnt upped its terrorist alert to "orange," which is the second highest alert, so something must be going on.

Probably there's something politically unappetizing going on, and they need to distract the public for a while.

They are just trying to scare us into supporting them in this war. Forgetting that a) No links with Iraq to AL Quaeda and b) We aren't stupid.

So cynical

Apparently there were troops stopping and searching vans in Windsor this morning, I wonder what the specific threat is? The BBC are reporting that the PM says it is something more specific than Eid approaching, but haven't actually said what yet.

Where have they been deployed to, other than Heathrow? Will they be stopping and searching around the City like they did last time the pIRA had a campaign?

Agree with Saturnine on this; it just looks as if they are trying to give the impression of a huge risk when there is probably not any more than 'normal. To help them justify, and convince the public of this war. There is of course one easy way to make a country a target of terrorism; invade a country, for no real reason, and watch their opinion of the invading country drop even lower.

According to "PM", tourists are passing through all this unhindered. So, how exactly would this pose a deterrent to, say, a suicide bomber? The more Police and Army around, the better, from their viewpoint.

What scares me is that they can declare terrorist alerts anytime they want, say it's because of a "specific threat," and not tell anyone what that threat is towards. If I were them, I'd be pushing that terrorist alert button whenever it was politically expedient to.

Another Fortune 500 company goes under? Terrorist alert! New unemployment figures out? Terroist alert! Dead bodies found under buried under my bed? Terrorist alert!

Apparently "intelligence" () has pointed to a rocket attack being launched on aircraft that take off from Heathrow. So they are stopping and searching vehicles under the immediate flight paths...

It's utter s**t in my humble opinion. They just want us to bow down to pressure and support them. Unfortunately...some people will.

If they're looking for rocket launchers along the flightpath, *why* are they concentrating all the armour at the airport itself? Just in case someone decides to fire a rocket at a plane taxiing along the runway? Or just to give the army guys who otherwise wouldn't be there anyway somewhere to hide from falling debris?

It is sort of a damned if you do-damned if you don't, Iraq-like situation though isn't it.

If there has been a threat and nothing is done about it, and an attack is made we'd all be ranting that something should have been done. Something *is* being done so hopefully there won't be any attack so no big news story and we will conclude that it was a ploy on the part of the govt.

k - hasn't decided yet if there is a real threat or not as I don't have the evidence

I heard earlier that they aren't using tanks; they are using lesser armoury.

Tosh! All of it! Try again Mister Blair.

Where did you hear they were concentrating everything around Heathrow, I thought there were a few sites and they were patrolling the M25?

If they are around the airport it will be to prevent anyone getting close enough to fire anything off accurately when the planes are low and vulnerable - like the attempted attack on the airport at Mombasa.
If there is a threat...

I saw a line of light armoured vehicles on the TV news, parked in a line right outside one of the terminals. "Wow, there's a deterrent", I almost thought...

Basically, they've gone for the high-visibility option, not to deter terrorists, but rather to reassure the public. If anything happens, the gov't want to avoid any accusations of having done nothing to prevent it.

I can see it now...

"...the army surrounds Heathrow...however in a small but densely populated village in Cornwall, Al-Q strikes once more..."

My, you're a cynical lot. Might enjoy these then:

http://dir.salon.com/topics/ruben_bolling/index.html

I must admit my first thought was it was for war support. It did come after the announcement that support for the war is not up.

It also bugs me that it is NOT a war about religion but every Religious Holiday the alert goes up. Maybe with reason but it is kinda odd. Sept 11 was NOT a holiday ,religious or otherwise.

But it is a memorable date anyway - 09/11, like the number used to dial the emergency services, so the mnemonic is already there. And "september eleventh" kind of rolls off the tongue too.

If it had been something like 10/28 it just wouldn't have had the same long term effect. "Twenty eighth of october" .. man, I can barely say it without stumbling on the "thofo". And the numbers are very unmemorable.

Just as long as Al-Q don't pick the quiet Cornish village we are going to this weekend.....

It depends what you mean by 'ring of steel'. afaik what I know of as the ring of steel went away when the IRA had a cease0fire, but came back again pretty smartish when they gave that up.