In today’s Gruniad, Azzam Tamimi suggests what many of us have also been suspecting - that the recent alleged “shampoo bombers”, the twelve or so conspirators might not have been quite as guilty as the blanket coverage from the mainstream media would suggest.
Allegedly these men were about to launch the worlds most audacious attack ever on civil aviation. The news has been full of the potential horror of just what might have happened if this evil plan was allowed to run it’s course, however for all the 24 hour coverage of the plot, we are very short on actual evidence.
Given that nothing actually happened, I am amazed at how so few details can expand to fill up so much news time. Had these men bought their tickets? Did they even have passports? On what date was the dastardly plot going to unfold? These answers are missing from the news reports. Instead we have been given non-stop punditry and dramatic re-creations that show how nasty men might put nasty substances into bottles which used to contain shampoo or sports beverages.
It’s also quite odd that the ’shock’ revelation came at a time when Tony Blair was feeling exposed to criticism on his anti-terrorist policy. It was also the day after Senator Joe Lieberman (the Democrat’s most hawkish senator) lost his nomination as the Democratic candidate in the next senatorial elections. Republicans have been somewhat dissapointed to see the the President’s favorite Democrat replaced with a “Cut’n'Run” candidate.
Could the great Atlantic powers have chosen this most politically advantageous moment to break the news? Were the strict and ultimately pointless security measures at our airports designed to instill a sense of fear?
Would the President and the Prime Minister influence a national security issue for short-term political gain? Of course they would!
Of course, it could all be real and the “tip-off” from our agents in Pakistan. They might have delivered a red-hot, genuine lead. Then again, our Government has acquired a reputation for a shoot-first, think later approach to containing terrorism that tends to undermine any trust that law-abiding people might be tempted to place in those who protect us.
I personally fear the misguided attempts of our security forces more than some nebulous terrorist threat.
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