Britain foils many terror plots, but missed one
Major terror trial reveals that two of the July 7 subway bombers were tracked before the attack.
from the May 2, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
Two key counterterror weaknesses
But Charles Shoebridge, a former counterterrorism intelligence officer, says two important strands of counterterrorism are still lacking. The failure to pass on intelligence about Mr. Khan to local police in his area demonstrates that "the supply of information to the security services is something of a one-way street. This is a situation that could certainly be improved."
Secondly, the intelligence services are still no better at infiltrating Islamist groups than they were six years ago, he says. They have been assiduously hiring ethnic minorities, but security experts say it will take years before these new recruits can be entrusted with – and credibly execute – infiltration operations.
Instead, successes tend to stem from foreign-intelligence tips or public cooperation, such as when staff at a west London depot called in their suspicions about material stored there, which turned out to be 600 kilograms of ammonium nitrate for use in the fertilizer bombs.
But last week, the Metropolitan police's top counterterrorism officer, Peter Clarke, indicated that mistrust of the police was inhibiting the flow of intelligence from the public. Botched raids, like one last summer in which an innocent Muslim man was shot, alienate the very people who can provide the local intelligence to help police foil plots.
"It's a major problem," says Dr. Neumann. "It's the most important thing in prevention terrorism that you have communities who trust the authorities."
But Neumann says the counterterrorism effort has improved in several respects. He says that once the Pakistan connection emerged in 2005 (three of the 7/7 bombers were of Pakistani extraction) the focus switched away from Algerian radicals previously considered the biggest threat.
"They have done a very good job on catching up," he says. "MI5 opened offices in Northern England, where a lot of these people live. And they have established a good working relationship with Pakistani intelligence services."
Whether they are improving fast enough is another matter. From afar, the increasing frequency of terror raids, arrests, charges, and now trials may look like growing British competence in tackling terrorism. But Neumann says it's also because the number of would-be terrorists is growing.
"It's partly because the intelligence services are getting better and are focusing on the right people, which they didn't before 2005," he says. "But also, there are more radicalized young Muslims in Britain so the number of people considered dangerous extremists has risen. Whether the security services are keeping up with the threat is another question. It's difficult to judge."
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