Al-Qaeda has become more organised and sophisticated and has made Britain its top target, counter-terrorism officials have told the BBC.

 

Security sources say the situation has never been so grim, said BBC home affairs correspondent Margaret Gilmore.

 

They believe the network is now operating a cell structure in the UK - like the IRA did - and sees the 7 July bomb attacks "as just the beginning".

 

Each cell has a leader, a quartermaster dealing with weapons, and volunteers.

 

University worry

 

According to our correspondent, each cell works on separate, different plots, with masterminds controlling several different cells.

 

Training is taking place in the UK and Pakistan.

 

It was thought that five years ago al-Qaeda was a number of "loosely-connected organisations" with common aims, but it is now more organised, she said.

 

Security officials are concerned the group is targeting universities and the community, and are "less worried" about mosques, she added.

 

However, intelligence analyst Crispin Black said another attack in the UK "was not inevitable", citing the UK's "considerable successes against the IRA".

 

He said the security services had a good idea about who they were dealing with, saying: "We still have that expertise and training present within our military forces and intelligence."

 

"It is no longer about looking for a needle in a haystack. We have some pretty good clues and information on where we should be looking," he added.

 

-----------------------------------

 

So, what is your opinion on this? Do you think it's true? Or is it more half baked intelligence?

 

Personally, I'm surprised. I would have thought that America would ALWAYS have been the number one target. I know the UK has done soem terrible things but the USA have always been the main perpetrators of it, which leads me to suspect that this information might be more half hearted intelligence. The idea of cells seems real and I can believe that happening, but I somehow doubt we're the number one target in Al-Qaeda's eyes.

They're always saying stuff like this though (and have been since 9/11), it's not really anything that new, and it's always, always rather vague and unattributable. It's not as if anyone of us can actually check the facts.

 

There have been a few really big (and very public) c**k-ups coming from supposedly 'intelligence-led' operations, so I'm really not that inclined to actually believe much of what the Govt says anymore... Frankly I'm a bit sick of being treated like a bloody six year old by this Govt, like we'll all just collapse and die if we're actually told the truth (either that or if we were told the truth the more likely outcome would be that we'd storm the Houses of Parliament en masse... :lol: ), give us some hard facts so we can make up our own minds, instead of merely saying 'the sky is gonna fall in'...

Well ideologically the US or especially Israel would seem to be the biggest target as you said, but an attack would be much easier to carry out in Britain, since there are far more Muslims already in the country and many more direct links to the Middle East. Personally I think if this report is true, it shows al-Qaeda has totally lost focus and become a crackpot organization of thugs just wanting to injure anyone they can...

if its remotely true then it highlights the downside of becoming 'multi-cultural'. in essence, weve let the enemy in.

seems like it's propaganda to remind us all the "war" on terror continues -_-

if its remotely true then it highlights the downside of becoming 'multi-cultural'. in essence, weve let the enemy in.

 

No, I think it's more a case that we've made an enemy out of a group of people who have historically been amongst the hardest working and most law-abiding people in the country.... You seem to forget that many Muslims living here have relatives still living in place like the Middle East, so do you expect them to be happy about the sh!t we've caused out there...? 20-odd thousand people were slaughtered by US and UK in a week of "Shock and Awe". And many, many thousands more have perished since the so-called "libearation" of Iraq... Siding with the US and Israel in the totally uncritical fashion that we have is the biggest mistake we could have ever made....

 

It's about time for us to get our troops out and tell Bush to fukk off. The Spanish did, and there aint been any problems in Spain since then....

No, I think it's more a case that we've made an enemy out of a group of people who have historically been amongst the most law-abiding people in the country.... You seem to forget that many Muslims living here have relatives still living in place like the Middle East, so do you expect them to be happy about the sh!t we've caused out there...? 20-odd thousand people were slaughtered by US and UK in a week of "Shock and Awe". And many, many thousands more have perished since the so-called "libearation" of Iraq... Siding with the US and Israel in the totally uncritical fashion that we have is the biggest mistake we could have ever made....

 

It's about time for us to get our troops out and tell Bush to fukk off. The Spanish did, and there aint been any problems in Spain since then....

 

 

1...... with or without our involvement there would still be radical fundementalists who would try to kill us..

 

2..... theres plenty of support from muslims in ending saddam hussains regime whereby he slaughtered many of his own subjects.

 

im not sold on the ideaology of 'multiculturalism'.... in reality it will not all go rosey.

 

im not sold on the ideaology of 'multiculturalism'.... in reality it will not all go rosey.

 

I take it you agree with Enoch Powell then.... :lol: :lol: So, what's your answer then, kick out everyone that aint White, Christian or Western European...? Sorry, I'm not down with that.... The facts are that it's only a fraction of a percentage that are fanatical, the Media makes out like it's a lot more than it actually is... And I dont count people who merely voice opinions or protest, or fight their corner (metaphorically speaking...) as being fanatics, which is what the media constantly implies and probably is the main reason for the gross distortion of the facts..

 

And it might interest you to know that quite a lot of the exiled Iraqis who did support the invasion in the first instance now want US and British troops out and they see us as part of the problem now as opposed to the 'solution' armed intervention was claimed to be....

Scott... actually, yes, I DO agree 100% with what Enoch Powell said about immigration in his 1968 Rivers of Blood speech - absolutely.

 

An extract:

"Here is the means of showing that the immigrant communities can organise to consolidate their members, to agitate and campaign against their fellow citizens, and to overawe and dominate the rest with the legal weapons which the ignorant and the ill-informed have provided. As I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding. Like the Roman, I seem to see ‘the River Tiber foaming with much blood’. That tragic and intractable phenomenon which we watch with horror on the other side of the Atlantic but which there is interwoven with the history and existence of the States itself, is coming upon us here by our own volition and our own neglect. Indeed, it has all but come. In numerical terms, it will be of American proportions long before the end of the century. Only resolute and urgent action will avert it even now. Whether there will be the public will to demand and obtain that action, I do not know. All I know is that to see, and not to speak, would be the great betrayal."

 

I don't see a single word in that paragraph that didn't turn out to be true. And worse.

 

Do you?

I take it you agree with Enoch Powell then.... :lol: :lol: So, what's your answer then, kick out everyone that aint White, Christian or Western European...? Sorry, I'm not down with that.... The facts are that it's only a fraction of a percentage that are fanatical, the Media makes out like it's a lot more than it actually is... And I dont count people who merely voice opinions or protest, or fight their corner (metaphorically speaking...) as being fanatics, which is what the media constantly implies and probably is the main reason for the gross distortion of the facts..

 

And it might interest you to know that quite a lot of the exiled Iraqis who did support the invasion in the first instance now want US and British troops out and they see us as part of the problem now as opposed to the 'solution' armed intervention was claimed to be....

 

 

its about proportion. i dont think that its a good idea to open our doors to absolutely everyone, simply because we live on a very small cramped island. just look at the water situation where you live, hasnt every drop been 'passed' 7 times or something by the time it reaches the sea?

 

the problems with multiculturalism is that we are losing our identity. christmas lights being taken down in islington because it offends.... thats just wrong.

...and we're losing our identity because everyone is too busy pussyfooting around issues like the one Jack Straw quite rightly brought up the other week. We are such an easy target - way too polite and welcoming.... it's a pity we didn't have the balls the Australians and the French have over these issues....

I agree with mushymanrob on this. This island is cramped enough with the people already living here. We can't support everyone as it is without adding more to it. I'm not against people emmigrating here if they are going to work, but this country is far too much of a soft touch, and it does have a reputation for being that way. I don't know any other country that just seems so soft on this as we are.

 

The loss of national identity is a key thing as well. Apart from when when theres an international football tournement on, you can't seem to express any form of national pride without being called a racist or a Nazi. It's just ridiculous.

 

I also hope GRIMLY FIENDISH is not implying that the 7/7 attacks were in some way 'morally justified' either...

 

I also hope GRIMLY FIENDISH is not implying that the 7/7 attacks were in some way 'morally justified' either...

 

Not morally justified, but I'm not gonna run away from the fact that the people who did it videotaped themselves and said the reason for it was the Iraq war.. And look at the facts - 28,000 Iraqis were killed by US and UK cluster bombs and daisy cutter bombs, 52 Londoners were killed by 4 suicide bombers with home-made equipment, you tell me what the bigger act of terror was, you and the media in this country need to put things in perspective...

Scott... actually, yes, I DO agree 100% with what Enoch Powell said about immigration in his 1968 Rivers of Blood speech - absolutely.

 

An extract:

"Here is the means of showing that the immigrant communities can organise to consolidate their members, to agitate and campaign against their fellow citizens, and to overawe and dominate the rest with the legal weapons which the ignorant and the ill-informed have provided. As I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding. Like the Roman, I seem to see ‘the River Tiber foaming with much blood’. That tragic and intractable phenomenon which we watch with horror on the other side of the Atlantic but which there is interwoven with the history and existence of the States itself, is coming upon us here by our own volition and our own neglect. Indeed, it has all but come. In numerical terms, it will be of American proportions long before the end of the century. Only resolute and urgent action will avert it even now. Whether there will be the public will to demand and obtain that action, I do not know. All I know is that to see, and not to speak, would be the great betrayal."

 

I don't see a single word in that paragraph that didn't turn out to be true. And worse.

 

Do you?

 

Oh, I'm sorry, I wasnt aware that, you know, the Prime Minister was a Muslim or a West Indian or even a Jew, or that we were living under Sharia Law or "Rasta Law" or summat. We're still being lorded over by the same corrupt, upper-middle-class, private-school/Oxbridge, educated b/astards we always were; the Thatchers and the Tebbitts just gave was to the Blairs and the Blunketts... Sorry, I dont feel 'dominated' by any ethnic minority. I dunno why you have so much of a problem with it mate.... Paranoia fuelled by media distortions, they HAVE NO POWER OR INFLUENCE to affect the sorts of change you and Powell are claiming....

tbh, im getting sick and tired of being 'outlawed' for being english...

 

im proud of our history, our culture that grew out of various imigrations from europe.... but over a period of time, and these europeans were from the same gene pool anyway.

 

im an englishman, who is most comfortable with our past, our culture, our history, our country.

 

whilst i do recognise the benefits of learning about other cultures it shouldnt be at the expense of ours.

 

im no nazi, im no fascist, im an ordinary bloke from england who is getting increasingly concerned about the degredation of the 'english' (or british) heritage.

its about proportion. i dont think that its a good idea to open our doors to absolutely everyone, simply because we live on a very small cramped island. just look at the water situation where you live, hasnt every drop been 'passed' 7 times or something by the time it reaches the sea?

 

the problems with multiculturalism is that we are losing our identity. christmas lights being taken down in islington because it offends.... thats just wrong.

 

Frankly, I dont give a fukk about Christmas lights, quite literally a waste of energy.... Christ, we're all being told to be more 'energy efficient' ffs!!! Good to see some Councils finally leading by example...

 

And I tell you what offends me, the fact that bloody shops have been putting out Christmas products at the end of fukkin' SEPTEMBER!!! <_< We aint even had Halloween yet....

 

The water situation is bad, sure, but it's made a damn sight worse when you have an utterly incompetent water company who let millions of gallons escape through leaks every fukkin' DAY!!!! The weather in this country is fukked because of climate change (hence not so much rain, hence less water...), guess what causes that...? Carbon emissions. Guess who the biggest polluters in the world are - USA and Europe, with China close behind...... Dont start just blaming this sh!t on the immigrants, that's totally cheap Rob....

.

 

im no nazi, im no fascist, im an ordinary bloke from england who is getting increasingly concerned about the degredation of the 'english' (or british) heritage.

 

You should be a lot more concerned about the Americanisation of our culture than anything else... to me, that is by far the most insidious anti-cultural influence.....

 

im an englishman, who is most comfortable with our past, our culture, our history, our country.

 

 

What, you're 'comfortable' with Imperialism, Colonialism???? :unsure:

 

 

Frankly, I dont give a fukk about Christmas lights, quite literally a waste of energy.... Christ, we're all being told to be more 'energy efficient' ffs!!! Good to see some Councils finally leading by example...

 

And I tell you what offends me, the fact that bloody shops have been putting out Christmas products at the end of fukkin' SEPTEMBER!!! <_< We aint even had Halloween yet....

 

The water situation is bad, sure, but it's made a damn sight worse when you have an utterly incompetent water company who let millions of gallons escape through leaks every fukkin' DAY!!!! The weather in this country is fukked because of climate change (hence not so much rain, hence less water...), guess what causes that...? Carbon emissions. Guess who the biggest polluters in the world are - USA and Europe, with China close behind...... Dont start just blaming this sh!t on the immigrants, that's totally cheap Rob....

 

 

i too hate crimbo, but like it or not we supposed to live in a christian society and the majority of the white population do celebrate crimbo... the point being that the MAJORITY are in favour of crimbo lights... foreigners should put up with it or f off!

 

waste of energy? ... well turn off the dwali lights too!

 

climate change is a red herring, the climate has always been variable, the main reason why theres a water shortage in the south east is the simple fact that there too many people there!... the south east has ALWAYS been drier then the rest of the country and the thames water authorities inefficiency is no worse then any other water authorities.... but we havnt the population, thats the main difference.

What, you're 'comfortable' with Imperialism, Colonialism???? :unsure:

 

 

because that was pertainent to the time..... it would be totally unacceptable by todays standards, but we are talking victorian times when standards were different, not right, just different. they totally believed that what they were doing was right.... it wasnt, but they believed that it was.