Terror in the Skies

ABREATHTAKING jihadist plot to blow as many as ten U.S. airliners out of the trans-Atlantic sky after take-off from London’s Heathrow Airport could well have reprised the horror of 9/11. Still, however thankful all of us must be about the two dozen arrests that have taken place in England and Pakistan since August 10, the preemption of this scheme will prove very discomfiting for liberals and civil-libertarian extremists who have barnstormed for five years against all sensible counterterrorism measures.

First and foremost, the successful thwarting of this plot demonstrates again that there is no substitute for spies. While the investigation was a model of international cooperation and brought to bear several sophisticated surveillance techniques, it appears to have been triggered by an informant’s tip-after which authorities managed to infiltrate the terror plot with an undercover agent. While perhaps not privy to the highest echelon of the vast conspiracy-which may have involved more than four dozen operatives-the agent gave investigators access to key details over many months.

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.

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ABREATHTAKING jihadist plot to blow as many as ten U.S. airliners out of the trans-Atlantic sky after take-off from London’s Heathrow Airport could well have reprised the horror of 9/11. Still, however thankful all of us must be about the two dozen arrests that have taken place in England and Pakistan since August 10, the preemption of this scheme will prove very discomfiting for liberals and civil-libertarian extremists who have barnstormed for five years against all sensible counterterrorism measures.

First and foremost, the successful thwarting of this plot demonstrates again that there is no substitute for spies. While the investigation was a model of international cooperation and brought to bear several sophisticated surveillance techniques, it appears to have been triggered by an informant’s tip-after which authorities managed to infiltrate the terror plot with an undercover agent. While perhaps not privy to the highest echelon of the vast conspiracy-which may have involved more than four dozen operatives-the agent gave investigators access to key details over many months.

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.