Rinaldo Francesca When we decide once and for all still in my head that the threat of terrorism is real and credible, and not at all a convenient bogeyman that keeps reappearing horizon whenever there is an urgent need to bring us back and meekly ammansuetirci order?
Well, we can say that the events of recent days have definitely closed the bill to a number of rude and nosy that - let's face it frankly - were beginning to relax a bit 'too much and become too arrogant. The audacity!
example? Well, it seems only yesterday when the spokesman of our wise masters explain patiently that the continuous air strikes against Pakistan, despite their hundreds of deaths among civilians in the last two years [1] were necessary because you can see, the evil enemy was plotting a attack on Europe to embarrass one in Mumbai two years ago: an attack in a big way, against our values, our traditions, our freedom, and all that stuff, you know? And it was thanks to these operations that we, the people skeptical and ignorant, is still protected from this invisible threat, as the experts did not fail to remind on time, in the aftermath of each new bombing [2].
Nothing to be done, cynicism seemed to prevail on such heartfelt arguments, even when, worse, the U.S. government warned its European protectorate to stay tuned - that evil never sleeps, you know - and to expect a imminent attack at some airport, or airliner [3], and the skeptics bold above the pereguitavano with their arrogant defiance: down Germany to say that " there was no concrete indication of an imminent attack [4], followed by some unidentified European diplomats to say " irritated that the U.S. spread such stories without first verifying their information " [5], e bla-bla-bla...
Irritati. Capite l'arroganza?
A niente era servito spingere sul palcoscenico il capo dei servizi segreti britannici John Sawers giovedì scorso, perché ci regalasse un commuovente discorso sulla realtà di attacchi presenti e futuri, e sulla necessità di non abbassare mai la guardia [6].
Niente. Si continuva a rimanere irritati.
Beh, diciamo che quanto è accaduto in questo weekend ha sicuramente dato una sonora lezione a questi irritabili signori, no?
Un bombarolo, pensate un po', che tramite posta aerea spedisce negli USA due plichi esplosivi dallo Yemen – il paese del momento per quanto riguarda il settore del terrore, con buone potenzialità di espansione sul mercato; i plichi tempestivamente intercettati in due aeroporti (ta-dah! come volevasi dimostrare), quelli di Dubai e Gran Bretagna, grazie a una soffiata – ça va sans dire – dei servizi americani.
A ben guardare, non si sarebbe potuto sperare in un episodio più clamorosamente provvidenziale di questo, a dimostrazione che questi allarmi erano ben fondati, nemmeno se lo si fosse pianificato a tavolino!
Provvidenziale è anche stato questo evento per chiudere il becco al presidente del consiglio di amminisrazione della British Airways Martin Brughton che, come ci fa notare Yvonne Ridley [7], aveva criticato le autorità aeroportuali britanniche , Just 24 hours before the foiled attack (you see the coincidence!), For being subjected to the orders of over-ocean and bring passengers to lengthy, excessive and irrelevant controls at airports [8].
Another little problem solved.
And in no time at all, the authorities responsible for ensuring our security have readily identified the mastermind of this diabolical plot - after, to tell the truth, the inevitable arrest and prompt release of a totally innocent person [9]: its name (the name of the real culprit) and Ibrahim Hassan al-Asir. Perfect!
To help us understand the BBC hurriedly made contact with several journalists and experts interviewed for us on its international service Newshour. On 30 October, for example, Lyse Doucet spoke to the journalist Mohamed Al-Qadi, a correspondent for The National newspaper of the United Emirates. Here are some excerpts from the interview:
MAQ : "[the president of Yemen, Ali bdullah] Saleh said that there is no confirmation from either Dubai or the UK, that these two parcels contain explosive materials.
What manners! How dare this so-called journalist to question what our media has revealed? Fortunately Lyse Doucet put it into a recalcitrant line al-Qadi:
LD: For chiarire, il presidente, quando ha parlato, ha detto eccome che le autorità in Gran Bretagna e Dubai avevano confermato che c'erano degli esplosivi nei pacchetti reperiti.
MaQ : Ha detto di no, che erano soltanto speculazioni, che non avevamo alcuna conferma da nessuno dei due lati che vi fossero esplosivi.
Ah, ma allora sei proprio cocciuto, Mohamed al-Qadi? Pronta a redarguirti, Lyse Doucet prosegue:
LD : Perché qui in Gran Bretagna ci sono state dichiarazioni da parte della Metropolitan Police, che ha detto di avere adesso informazioni secondo le quali c'era, come ce l'ha spiegato, una “bomba credibile”, ed era progettata to explode during flight.
Tsk, speculation. How dare you, al-Qadi? Some people can no longer invite.
Then, if you have trouble reconciling the fact that the infamous envelopes were addressed, it seems, some synagogues Chicago [10], with the fact that the "credible bombs" were planned, however, never to be delivered, but rather to explode during the flight (which would make little sense maybe the trouble to write the address on the envelopes so precise), listens well, that's your problem. Use a little 'imagination, no?
possible that we must teach them everything, 'sti ignorant? Equally interesting
Newshour is the service on October 31, where a puzzled Julian Marshall comes to terms with Professor Peter Neumann and the ease with which disassembles the credibility of the argument that this would be Ibrahim Hassan al-Asir " considered among the most fanatical adherents Al-Qaida [11], simply telling that: "[...]
if you look at the publications that have been disseminated by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, [Ibrahim Hassan al-Asir] is not known to have published anything, or in terms of strategies, not of ideology or religious interpretations of jihad "and that its weapons" have impressed the West for their sophistication and for the explosive used, practically impossible to obtain.
Unless, of course, you have the right connection.
is not for us to name names ... These interviews are
- for a while '- available as a podcast on the BBC website / Newshour:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/newshour
Enjoy.
[1] Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann: Pakistan war drone Takes a toll on militants - and Civilians, CNN, October 29, 2009, available at:
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/ 10/29/bergen.drone.war
As for this year: Cyril Almeida: Civilian deaths in drone attacks: debate heats up, Dawn News, 9 maggio 2010, reperibile su:
http://news.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/19-civilian-deaths-in-drone-attacks-debate-heats-up-950-hh-11
[2] Richard Norton-Taylor e Owen Bowcott: Mumbai-style raids on UK and France foiled by drone attacks, The Guardian, 29 settembre 2010, pubblicato su:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/29/terror-attack-plot-europe-foiled
[3] Nick Childs: Terror alerts sow travel confusion, BBC News, disponibile su:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11473242
[4] Ed Pilkington e Richard Norton-Taylor: UK and US alerts raise fears of al-Qaida offensive in Europe, The Gurdian, 3 ottbre 2010, available at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/03/al-qaida-terror-attacks-fears
[5] Richard Norton-Taylor: British intelligence Denies U.S. terror warnings sparked by new information, The Guardian, October 3, 2010, published at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/03/europe- commando-terror-attack-us
[6] The speech John Sawers is available here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/oct/28/sir-john-sawers-speech
-full-text [7] Yvonne Ridley: U.S. Intelligence Trades On Fear, available here:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26728.htm
[8] Peter Hutchins: Airport security checks are Completely redundant, BA chairman says, The Daily Telegraph, October 27, 2010, published at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/8089096/ Airport-security-checks-are-completely-redundant-BA-chairman-says.html
[9] Sean Rayment, Patrick Hennessy and David Barrett cargo Yemen bomb plot: female student arrested, Daily Telegraph, October 31, 2010, published on:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/8099617/Yemen-cargo-bomb-plot-female-student-arrested.html
[10] Chicago synagogues Warned to watch for suspicious packages, CNN, available at:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/10/29/illinois.jewish.warning/index.html
[11] Chris McGrel: Ibrahim Hassan al-Asir: the first suspect bombmaking, The Guardian, October 31, 2010, published at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/31 / ibrahim-hassan-al-asir-bombmaking-suspect
Well, we can say that the events of recent days have definitely closed the bill to a number of rude and nosy that - let's face it frankly - were beginning to relax a bit 'too much and become too arrogant. The audacity!
example? Well, it seems only yesterday when the spokesman of our wise masters explain patiently that the continuous air strikes against Pakistan, despite their hundreds of deaths among civilians in the last two years [1] were necessary because you can see, the evil enemy was plotting a attack on Europe to embarrass one in Mumbai two years ago: an attack in a big way, against our values, our traditions, our freedom, and all that stuff, you know? And it was thanks to these operations that we, the people skeptical and ignorant, is still protected from this invisible threat, as the experts did not fail to remind on time, in the aftermath of each new bombing [2].
Nothing to be done, cynicism seemed to prevail on such heartfelt arguments, even when, worse, the U.S. government warned its European protectorate to stay tuned - that evil never sleeps, you know - and to expect a imminent attack at some airport, or airliner [3], and the skeptics bold above the pereguitavano with their arrogant defiance: down Germany to say that " there was no concrete indication of an imminent attack [4], followed by some unidentified European diplomats to say " irritated that the U.S. spread such stories without first verifying their information " [5], e bla-bla-bla...
Irritati. Capite l'arroganza?
A niente era servito spingere sul palcoscenico il capo dei servizi segreti britannici John Sawers giovedì scorso, perché ci regalasse un commuovente discorso sulla realtà di attacchi presenti e futuri, e sulla necessità di non abbassare mai la guardia [6].
Niente. Si continuva a rimanere irritati.
Beh, diciamo che quanto è accaduto in questo weekend ha sicuramente dato una sonora lezione a questi irritabili signori, no?
Un bombarolo, pensate un po', che tramite posta aerea spedisce negli USA due plichi esplosivi dallo Yemen – il paese del momento per quanto riguarda il settore del terrore, con buone potenzialità di espansione sul mercato; i plichi tempestivamente intercettati in due aeroporti (ta-dah! come volevasi dimostrare), quelli di Dubai e Gran Bretagna, grazie a una soffiata – ça va sans dire – dei servizi americani.
A ben guardare, non si sarebbe potuto sperare in un episodio più clamorosamente provvidenziale di questo, a dimostrazione che questi allarmi erano ben fondati, nemmeno se lo si fosse pianificato a tavolino!
Provvidenziale è anche stato questo evento per chiudere il becco al presidente del consiglio di amminisrazione della British Airways Martin Brughton che, come ci fa notare Yvonne Ridley [7], aveva criticato le autorità aeroportuali britanniche , Just 24 hours before the foiled attack (you see the coincidence!), For being subjected to the orders of over-ocean and bring passengers to lengthy, excessive and irrelevant controls at airports [8].
Another little problem solved.
And in no time at all, the authorities responsible for ensuring our security have readily identified the mastermind of this diabolical plot - after, to tell the truth, the inevitable arrest and prompt release of a totally innocent person [9]: its name (the name of the real culprit) and Ibrahim Hassan al-Asir. Perfect!
To help us understand the BBC hurriedly made contact with several journalists and experts interviewed for us on its international service Newshour. On 30 October, for example, Lyse Doucet spoke to the journalist Mohamed Al-Qadi, a correspondent for The National newspaper of the United Emirates. Here are some excerpts from the interview:
MAQ : "[the president of Yemen, Ali bdullah] Saleh said that there is no confirmation from either Dubai or the UK, that these two parcels contain explosive materials.
What manners! How dare this so-called journalist to question what our media has revealed? Fortunately Lyse Doucet put it into a recalcitrant line al-Qadi:
LD: For chiarire, il presidente, quando ha parlato, ha detto eccome che le autorità in Gran Bretagna e Dubai avevano confermato che c'erano degli esplosivi nei pacchetti reperiti.
MaQ : Ha detto di no, che erano soltanto speculazioni, che non avevamo alcuna conferma da nessuno dei due lati che vi fossero esplosivi.
Ah, ma allora sei proprio cocciuto, Mohamed al-Qadi? Pronta a redarguirti, Lyse Doucet prosegue:
LD : Perché qui in Gran Bretagna ci sono state dichiarazioni da parte della Metropolitan Police, che ha detto di avere adesso informazioni secondo le quali c'era, come ce l'ha spiegato, una “bomba credibile”, ed era progettata to explode during flight.
Tsk, speculation. How dare you, al-Qadi? Some people can no longer invite.
Then, if you have trouble reconciling the fact that the infamous envelopes were addressed, it seems, some synagogues Chicago [10], with the fact that the "credible bombs" were planned, however, never to be delivered, but rather to explode during the flight (which would make little sense maybe the trouble to write the address on the envelopes so precise), listens well, that's your problem. Use a little 'imagination, no?
possible that we must teach them everything, 'sti ignorant? Equally interesting
Newshour is the service on October 31, where a puzzled Julian Marshall comes to terms with Professor Peter Neumann and the ease with which disassembles the credibility of the argument that this would be Ibrahim Hassan al-Asir " considered among the most fanatical adherents Al-Qaida [11], simply telling that: "[...]
if you look at the publications that have been disseminated by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, [Ibrahim Hassan al-Asir] is not known to have published anything, or in terms of strategies, not of ideology or religious interpretations of jihad "and that its weapons" have impressed the West for their sophistication and for the explosive used, practically impossible to obtain.
Unless, of course, you have the right connection.
is not for us to name names ... These interviews are
- for a while '- available as a podcast on the BBC website / Newshour:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/newshour
Enjoy.
[1] Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann: Pakistan war drone Takes a toll on militants - and Civilians, CNN, October 29, 2009, available at:
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/ 10/29/bergen.drone.war
As for this year: Cyril Almeida: Civilian deaths in drone attacks: debate heats up, Dawn News, 9 maggio 2010, reperibile su:
http://news.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/19-civilian-deaths-in-drone-attacks-debate-heats-up-950-hh-11
[2] Richard Norton-Taylor e Owen Bowcott: Mumbai-style raids on UK and France foiled by drone attacks, The Guardian, 29 settembre 2010, pubblicato su:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/29/terror-attack-plot-europe-foiled
[3] Nick Childs: Terror alerts sow travel confusion, BBC News, disponibile su:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11473242
[4] Ed Pilkington e Richard Norton-Taylor: UK and US alerts raise fears of al-Qaida offensive in Europe, The Gurdian, 3 ottbre 2010, available at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/03/al-qaida-terror-attacks-fears
[5] Richard Norton-Taylor: British intelligence Denies U.S. terror warnings sparked by new information, The Guardian, October 3, 2010, published at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/03/europe- commando-terror-attack-us
[6] The speech John Sawers is available here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/oct/28/sir-john-sawers-speech
-full-text [7] Yvonne Ridley: U.S. Intelligence Trades On Fear, available here:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26728.htm
[8] Peter Hutchins: Airport security checks are Completely redundant, BA chairman says, The Daily Telegraph, October 27, 2010, published at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/8089096/ Airport-security-checks-are-completely-redundant-BA-chairman-says.html
[9] Sean Rayment, Patrick Hennessy and David Barrett cargo Yemen bomb plot: female student arrested, Daily Telegraph, October 31, 2010, published on:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/8099617/Yemen-cargo-bomb-plot-female-student-arrested.html
[10] Chicago synagogues Warned to watch for suspicious packages, CNN, available at:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/10/29/illinois.jewish.warning/index.html
[11] Chris McGrel: Ibrahim Hassan al-Asir: the first suspect bombmaking, The Guardian, October 31, 2010, published at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/31 / ibrahim-hassan-al-asir-bombmaking-suspect
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