War On Terror: When Omar Khayam Met 7/7 Bombers
ARE we winning the War on Terror? It would appear so.
The Times leads with the “fertiliser gang from the suburbs”, jailed for plotting to build a 1,300lb bombs to blow up a nightclub or mall, like the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent.
But there is another story. The leader of this gang of “CRUEL MISFITS”, one Omar Khyam, had met with 7/7 murderers Mohammed Siddique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer.
The Betrayal
It has been established in court that Khayam and his gang of four others would have killed on a massive scale had they got the chance. But what does his meeting with Khan and Tanweer reveal?
Disaster has been averted. This should be a time for celebration, certainly relief. The police have done their work, so too the judiciary.
In summing up, trial judge Sir Michael Astill tells the five British Muslims: “You have betrayed the country which gave you every advantage in life.”
And on the bitter irony of the British Muslim extremist (three, including Khan, were born in Britain), says Sir Michael: “You have enthusiastically claimed your rights which are acknowledged in full measure by the community you had the ambitions to damage so grievously.”
Each would-be killer has been jailed for a long time. The trial, which cost £150m, has been a success. The 960 officers involved in the case did their jobs. The 106 prosecution witnesses spoke up.
The Inquiry
But enough was not done. In “7/7 MEETS BLUEWATER,” the Mirror leads with that meeting of murderous minds, when Khayam met Khan and Tanweer. A meeting captured on camera by MI5.
All three men were observed by the security service 16 months before the London bombers killed 52.
There is talk of “furious 7/7 families demanding an independent probe claiming the outrage could have been avoided”.
In the Times, Rachel North, who survived that attacks, says she remembers then Home Secretary Charles Clarke saying how the bombers came “out of the blue, these men were clean skins”.
She finds the revelation that the 7/7 killers were known to the authorities “devastating”. She wants to know the truth. And a group of survivors will deliver a solicitor’s letter to the Home Office demanding “an independent and impartial public inquiry”.
The Result
The authorities could have down more. But how easy is it to stop a gang of Muslim fanatics committed to causing carnage?
As the Mirror says, Khan and Tanweer were just two of 55 Muslims the Bluewater gang were seen meeting.
Which of them should the security services has focused on? As reported, at the time 1,500 surveillance officers were keeping tabs on 600 terror suspects. Over 500 were involved in observing Khayam and his gang. A total of 54 officers are needed to watch one person for 24 hours.
A “senior source” at Scotland Yard’s counter terrorism command tells the Mirror: “Some work was done of Khan and Tanweer but it did not indicate they were part of an active bomb plot. Work on them was put on the back burner.”
Resources were limited. Resources were directed towards Khayam and his bloodthirsty crew. Is this why MI5 chief Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller was calling for more funding? Is this why we need ID cards?
An inquiry may help the survivors and those who lost loved ones in the 7/7 bombs get to the truth.
But at what cost to liberty and our way of life?
Posted: 1st, May 2007 | In: Uncategorized Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
