BRITISH SAS TAKES THE GWOT SERIOUSLY

HELICOPTERS READY TO CARRY SAS TO CRUSH ANY CHRISTMAS TERROR ATTACK

The Sun 22 Dec 2010

Helicopters are waiting on the SAS's football pitch - ready to carry crack troops to crush any Christmas terror attack.

Chinooks and Pumas were moved to the elite unit's Hereford HQ when fears of a Mumbai-style attack in the UK first emerged.

Army bosses put a "substantial" number of the Who Dares Wins soldiers on round-the-clock standby - set to go at a moment's notice. All other duties and exercises were cancelled.

Members of the SAS force are even banned from any booze over the festive period.

The alert is the most telling proof yet of how seriously anti-terror bosses are taking the nightmare threat of a "spectacular" attack.

The standby order has been confirmed by senior military sources.

But to protect national security, The Sun has agreed not to reveal the precise size of the force or how many choppers are involved.

The jumbo Chinooks - which can carry up to 40 fully armed troops - are usually based at RAF Odiham, Hants.

The Pumas - which can carry 16 - are from RAF Benson, Oxfordshire.

An SAS source said last night: "We haven't had this many troopers on immediate standby for a UK operation since the 1990s when the IRA were still active.

"The Government is taking the threat of a 'Mumbai' on a busy British shopping street extremely seriously."

Last week we revealed that some SAS troops have been moved from their Sterling Lines HQ to be closer to major urban areas.

The alert was triggered last month when foreign intelligence agencies discovered an Islamic plot to launch raids on European cities to rival the Mumbai horror that left 170 dead.

Home Secretary Theresa May has urged Brits to be vigilant. The official terror threat level is "severe" meaning an attack is likely.

An Ministry of Defense spokesman said: "We do not comment on Special Forces operations."

SAS DEPLOYS TO THE SHOPPING MALLS IN UK

AND WHY IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE

SAS hit squads are today protecting packed shopping centers from terrorists 

- with orders to shoot to kill.

The regiment's elite troops are poised to foil any al-Qaeda bid to cause Mumbai-style carnage amid Britain's Christmas crowds.

The Who Dares Wins teams have instructions to strike hard and fast to combat the "real and credible" threat of a bomb-and-gun onslaught by fanatics.

Terrorist gunman in Mumbai.

They have been briefed to "engage and neutralise" any terrorists as quickly as possible to minimise the chance of civilian deaths. They know the first 90 minutes are crucial to prevent the toll soaring.

Blazing hotel . . . Mumbai, India, 2008

The alert comes after growing fears that fanatics inspired by al-Qaeda plan a copy of the 2008 outrage in Mumbai, India.

Commando-style gunmen and bombers killed 175 and wounded more than 300 in a terror rampage.

Police stepped up security at shopping centres and airports across Britain over the weekend because of the fear of such an attack.

The SAS were drafted in because of the potential threat to shoppers on the streets of London, Birmingham and other major cities.

Read it all HERE


It won't happen here, however. This briefing was included when I went through door-kicking school at Fort Bragg:

The Posse Comitatus Act - 18 US Code § 1385 - prohibits most members of the federal uniformed services (today the Army, Navy, Air Force, and State National Guard forces when such are called into federal service) from exercising nominally state law enforcement, police, or peace officer powers that maintain "law and order" on non-federal property (states and their counties and municipal divisions) within the United States.

The Act was passed on June 18, 1878, after the end of Reconstruction, with the intention (in concert with the Insurrection Act of 1807) of substantially limiting the powers of the federal government to use the military for law enforcement.
The Coast Guard is exempt from the Act.

This is the reason why they kept talking about "FBI tanks" when the compound was taken down in Waco - and why there are a plethora of paramilitary law enforcement entities here in the United States.

It works in Britain, but we don't have squads of Delta Force commandos stalking our airports and crowded public places looking for someone to piss on . . . and when when you think of the problems we have simply with Federal Law Enforcement in places like Ruby Ridge . . . we really don't want to be in a hurry to let that tiger out of the bag.

British SAS troopers in combat . . . Iranian Embassy siege, London, 1980.

TERROR TEAMS READY TO STRIKE

Concern That Terror Teams Have Selected Targets, Ready to Strike

Strong concerns that terrorist teams in Europe have selected their targets, completed their surveillance, eluded capture and are now ready to strike at airports and tourist attractions have prompted the State Department to ready a highly unusual travel advisory for Europe, multiple law enforcement and intelligence sources tell ABC News.




Intelligence and law enforcement officials have information that the teams could at any time launch a "Mumbai style" terror attack that targets civilians for death or hostage taking. The 2008 Mumbai attack used small arms and explosives to kill 175 people and paralyze the Indian city for days.


From a security point of view, racial profiling is absolutely counter-productive.


The current concerns are for scenarios that include opening fire at airports in Europe as well as executing similar attacks at "soft" targets like tourist attractions or hotels.


Crowded European transportation facilities are obvious targets.

According to ABC News sources, the terror plotters have moved through the surveillance stage, checked back in with al Qaeda in Pakistan, and have received the go-ahead to strike.


Read the entire story HERE.


Prepare for delays and enhanced security measures as we go into the holiday travel season.


We hope & pray this thing pans out and nothing happens . . . S.L.



.

US CITIZEN LINKED TO MUMBAI ATTACKS

As reported in:



December 7th, 2009


Chicago Suspect Linked to Mumbai Attacks


By CAM SIMPSON

WASHINGTON -- A U.S. citizen from Chicago played a leading role in planning the terrorist assault that killed 170 in Mumbai last year, even changing his name to ease five reconnaissance missions to videotape and photograph what would become the bloodiest target zones, U.S. authorities alleged Monday.
More

The charges against David Headley, the son of a Pakistani diplomat and an American mother raised in the U.S., reveal perhaps the most significant role played a U.S. citizen in a major terrorist operation. They also provide fresh insight into the global reach and sophistication of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the terror group responsible for the assault.

The group trained Mr. Headley in Pakistan in 2002 and 2003, then "activated" him in late 2005, including asking him to change his name from Daood Gilani in order to facilitate his travel into India, authorities said. Mr. Headley, who is 49 years old, is cooperating with federal prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to U.S. officials and his own attorney.

Officials briefed on the case said U.S. and Pakistani officials are tracking fresh leads through his cooperation. There have been least five arrests in Pakistan as a result of information Mr. Headley provided, these officials said.

Mr. Headley is accused of conducting surveillance of the key Mumbai targets: the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, the Leopold Café, a Jewish outreach center, and the bustling train station where more than 50 people were believed killed, authorities said. He took an April 2008 boat trip around Mumbai's harbor where the terrorists would later land to stage their attacks, so he could shoot surveillance video, according to U.S. officials.

The detailed planning behind the two-day assault in November 2008 by a team of well-armed terrorist commandos added to the ferocity of the attacks. Mr. Headley is charged with conspiracy to murder and maim in a foreign country and for providing material support to a terrorist group.

Mr. Headley worked closely with terrorist leaders in Pakistan, authorities say, visiting them after each of his five Mumbai surveillance missions. They were conducted between September 2006 and July 2008. He handed over fresh intelligence to Lashkar-e-Taiba on each trip.

His work for the group the trips were facilitated by a business he established as a cover in Mumbai called First World Immigration Services.

Mr. Headley was charged in October with planning an armed assault on a Danish newspaper that published cartoons of the Muslim prophet Mohammed. New details in that case, also made public Monday, show similar sophistication and tactics, and appear to show how active the terror group is becoming on an international level.