A frightening plan to blow up aircraft flying from Britain to the United States has been foiled in a timely intervention by security authorities, according to the British government. In taking the decision to impose a maximum security alert in the UK, they have put their security and political credibility fully on the line. They have reacted to what appears to be a dastardly plot which must be taken with the utmost seriousness.
Those involved in detecting it deserve to be congratulated. This, together with the arrest of 24 people on suspicion of being directly involved, was based on active intelligence and hinged on information that the plan was about to be implemented.
The consequent severe disruption to air travellers seems likely to last for quite some time and will probably usher in more stringent security measures for those flying to the UK and the US. Assuming that the reports that these attacks were to use liquid chemicals triggered by electronic devices is confirmed, what can be taken on board planes by individual travellers will be curtailed. The effects will endure, even if this particular plan has been successfully prevented. Nevertheless, even 9/11 five years ago did not prevent a strong expansion of air travel internationally, despite new security precautions.
An elaborate and intensive intelligence operation lies behind yesterday's dramatic announcements. There has presumably been an effective surveillance and penetration of cells planning these atrocities. It is widely reported that many of those arrested are British citizens of predominantly Pakistani background. According to police chiefs there is an international involvement, quite possibly by al Qaeda groups. They describe this as "a plan to cause untold death and destruction . . . intended to be mass murder on an unimaginable scale".
Attention will now turn to the motivations of those involved and their timing. Explanations range from deep cultural and political alienation, Islamic fascism or revenge for British and American policies in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon. The British public is entitled to some scepticism about police handling of terrorist investigations after several bungled operations following last summer's explosions on London buses and underground trains, which killed 52 people and injured more than 700. It may suit the government to over-dramatise the threat of such terrorism when its support for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Israel's operation in Lebanon are increasingly unpopular. But there is little room to suppose that the threat was - or remains - any less real.
Ireland is directly exposed to these threats and the response to them. Hundreds of thousands of people are affected by the disruption of flights to and through the UK. Serious issues arise about security measures at Irish airports and their possible use by terrorist groups to attack British or American targets. The travelling public needs to be fully reassured that these threats are being actively addressed by the authorities at national, European and worldwide levels.