The United States warned Britain that it was about to seize the key terrorist suspect in Britain's largest ever international terrorist operation and "render" him to a secret prison, according to a report Sunday in a British newspaper.
The Observer said it was told by sources in British intelligence that the US was prepared to seize the suspect even if it undermined the British operation.
American intelligence agents told their British counterparts they were ready to 'render' Rashid Rauf, a British citizen allegedly linked to Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and who was under surveillance in Pakistan, unless he was picked up immediately. Rauf is the key suspect in the alleged plot to detonate explosives on up to 10 transatlantic planes that was exposed in August and, according to the police, would have brought 'mass murder on an unimaginable scale.'
The Americans' demand for Rauf's quick arrest dismayed the British intelligence services, which were worried that it could prompt terrorist cells in the UK working on separate plots to bring forward their plans or go underground. In the weeks preceding his arrest it is understood that MI5 and MI6 discussed with their US counterparts the best way to dismantle the alleged plot. Britain wanted more time to monitor Rauf, but the US was adamant that Rauf should be arrested immediately.
The Observer reports that the US demanded the British take action because they did not trust Pakistan's intelligence service, the ISI. US intelligence agencies allegedly believe that the ISI had not done enough to combat terrorism and were worried that Pakistan would allow Mr. Rauf to slip away. But while the British had hours of wiretapped conversations, such evidence is not admissible in British courts, so the British wanted to continue surveillance.
 |
|
|
|
|
Subscribe via RSS Feed:
    |
Immediately following the US's veiled ultimatum that MI6 should 'lift' Rauf, which was communicated to ISI, he was arrested by Pakistani intelligence officials, a move that forced the British police to carry out a series of arrests as they looked to pick up those allegedly linked to him. Rauf's father, Abdel, was arrested in Pakistan. Rauf's brother, Tayib, from Birmingham, was arrested and later released without charge. The intelligence source said the alleged plot had not been at the advanced planning stage.
Rauf is still in custody in Pakistan. Britain is trying to extradite him on previous criminal charges that have nothing to do with the alleged terrorist airplane plot.
Meanwhile, The Daily Mail reported Sunday on another potential blow to US-British relations that was revealed in Washington Post editor Bob Woodward's new book. In State of Denial, which discusses how the Bush administration fought both the war on terror and the Iraq war, Woodward writes that British Prime Minister Tony Blair "pleaded in vain with George Bush to share vital combat intelligence about the Iraq war."
The book, State Of Denial ... reveals that the Prime Minister repeatedly complained to Bush after discovering Britain was being denied access to key information on the grounds that it was a 'foreign' nation. The attempt to bluff the Prime Minister involved a highly classified database called the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNET) which the Pentagon used to store and communicate years of potentially embarrassing intelligence, as well as technical information about combat operations in Iraq.
Woodward says that top Pentagon officials took the decision to deny Britain access to it, apparently with the backing of America's Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and then National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.
The Times of London reports that even British pilots who were flying US planes like the F-117 Nighthawks and F015E Strike Eagles were denied access to classified pilot manuals because they were foreigners. "At times it went beyond absurd," Woodward writes.
In July 2004, The Daily Mail reports, Mr. Bush told Blair that he had signed a directive that would allow Britain access to the information that was denied to foreigners. But the Woodward book says the Pentagon ignored the directive, and "hatched a scheme" that would trick the British into thinking they were being given the information. The Times reports that the Pentagon did this by creating a new, separate SIPRNET to prevent the British from getting the information they sought.
Finally, the Guardian reports that Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona addressed the British Conservative Party's national convention Sunday, where he talked about the enduring nature of the relationship between Britain and the US. But he also apparently had some criticisms for his own government back in the US. First he accused "conservatives who came to office" in the US of "hypocrisy" for dramatically increasing the size of the federal government, rather than reducing it. Then he spoke about the way the Bush administration has depicted the war in Iraq, warning against the "attempt to placate public apprehension with false promises of swift victory and passing dangers."
"[The American people] have seen enough of this war, in Iraq, Afghanistan and on our own streets to know better. We have an advantage over some countries. We serve a practical and stouthearted people. They can stand the truth better than they can stand deceit and hypocrisy."
The Associated Press reports that Sen. McCain also urged British Conservative leader David Cameron to emulate former US President Ronald Reagan, by being "rooted in authenticity."
- Alarm bells for banks after US bombings ruling (Reuters)
- Let's have an open and honest discussion about white people (Guardian)
- American exceptionalism (American Spectator)
- Are you an 'unlawful combatant'? (antiwar.com)
- British accused admits buying fertilizer for bomb, but 'not to use here' (Guardian)
- Airlines now in 'impossible' position as EU, US miss deadline on anti-terrorism accord (Bloomberg)
Feedback appreciated. E-mail Tom Regan.
RSS feed
