UK claims to have foiled 'terrorist' plot against airbase

[Andy_Ross]

Katie Hopkins
@KTHopkins
·
Thank you Trumpy Trump Trump @WhiteHouse

Our moron ‘leaders’ release terrorists. But lock up white family men & women for standing up for their children

Praise the Lord America has you

2A ALL THE WAY.

Video in link

 

[P.J. Denyer]

It's allowing right wing gobs on sticks and certain Putin admiring politicians to add to the division in the country, given how many of them are backed by foreign money of undisclosed origin...

 

[Jack by the hedge]

Those reactions being what, exactly?

Trump told the press they had been watching these terrorists for some time.
Trump declared he would not have let them out on bail.
Rubio covered for his boss by telling the press he was pretty sure there was some nasty foreigners involved somehow, so maybe Trump wasn't just BS'ing after all.

 

[Pixel42]

Those reactions being what, exactly? They said stuff (often on Twitter) which people on Twitter got offended by. Did they actually do anything? No, they didn't.

They said ridiculous stuff which will make them look increasingly stupid and ignorant as the full story comes out, if our assumptions as to what that story is are correct. If that's what the perpetrators intended, then job done. A rather petty goal, if so, but one achieved far more easily than it should have been.

 

[Ziggurat]

They were two doctors who hatched the plan themselves, buying both the car and petrol. Fairford is far more complicated, so not like that at all, which again suggests it is not terrorist.

Yes, it does suggest that. I think this probably wasn't a terrorist plot.

I also think the police should say so explicitly. I haven't seen any good arguments for why they shouldn't (assuming of course that they know that it isn't).

 

[Ziggurat]

Trump told the press

Exactly: he said stuff. Did he do anything besides say stuff? No, he didn't.

 

[Ziggurat]

They said ridiculous stuff which will make them look increasingly stupid and ignorant

Do you think Trump's statements will actually change anyone's mind about him? I don't.

If that's what the perpetrators intended, then job done.

That seems like quite a stretch.

 

[Ziggurat]

It's allowing right wing gobs on sticks and certain Putin admiring politicians to add to the division in the country, given how many of them are backed by foreign money of undisclosed origin...

If this is actually what concerns you, then you should be even more vocal than I am about having police clarify that these were not terrorists. I don't understand why you aren't.

 

[Pixel42]

Do you think Trump's statements will actually change anyone's mind about him?

Every little helps.

That seems like quite a stretch.

It's wild speculation you are forcing me to make in order to explain the actions of people who will explain them themselves in their own good time, because you (unlike I) were impatient and unwilling to wait. Of course it's a stretch.

 

[catsmate]

Exactly: he said stuff. Did he do anything besides say stuff? No, he didn't.

Words have consequences.

 

[Jack by the hedge]

Exactly: he said stuff. Did he do anything besides say stuff? No, he didn't.

You appear to be saying that merely causing a panic and making Trump make a fool of himself is so implausible as an intended outcome, that we can safely say there was no foreign intelligence direction of these petty thieves.

I agree it is very unlikely there was any foreign direction, but I'm not going to bet the farm on it just yet.

 

[Ziggurat]

Words have consequences.

And what do you imagine the consequences would be of the police announcing that the suspects are not terrorists?

 

[Matthew Best]

Then we'll want to know why Trump was watching them for so long.

 

[Safe-Keeper]

My film plot.

An Iranian hires a group of low level London criminals nominally to steal fuel, telling them the best location to go to, where they will meet an American air force man, who will sell them some. Nearby, they find a fuel tank and decide to steal some more, which is when one of the Londoners realises they may being set up, so he phones the police. Meanwhile, the SAS are plotted up, having known about the Iranian for some time and that he was planning some sort of attack, such as setting fire to vans full of fuel at an air base front gate. Just as the SAS are about to pounce, a local farmer disturbs them so they beat a retreat. The farmer phones the police, who make arrests. Then the US President puts pressure on the British to pretend it was a terrorist attack, but the plucky Brits refuse and release the confused London criminals on bail. The film ends with the arrest of an air force man for illegally selling fuel.

I'm Starting to Worry About This White Van of Doom.

 

[P.J. Denyer]

If this is actually what concerns you, then you should be even more vocal than I am about having police clarify that these were not terrorists. I don't understand why you aren't.

I know the police don't tend to release details about ongoing investigations, unless they think it will lead to more leads from the public. Why would I want to add to the febrile atmosphere? If the intention was to trigger an incident that could be used to stir up division, why should I play along and be part of it?

 

[Helen]

Yes, it does suggest that. I think this probably wasn't a terrorist plot.

I also think the police should say so explicitly. I haven't seen any good arguments for why they shouldn't (assuming of course that they know that it isn't).

Seems reasonable to not say what it isn't, until they know for certain what it is. It also seems to be fairly normal police procedure. There may be arrests to come, for instance, or other investigative measures, that could become more difficult to carry out, were the police to be more explicit. (Disclaimer; I am not a police officer, nor have i played one on tv, but that's the sort of thing i imagine they would say.)

 

[Jack by the hedge]

Then we'll want to know why Trump was watching them for so long.

Why doesn't he just tell us?

 

[Matthew Best]

I think we all know why.

 

[Nessie]

Yes, it does suggest that. I think this probably wasn't a terrorist plot.

I also think the police should say so explicitly. I haven't seen any good arguments for why they shouldn't (assuming of course that they know that it isn't).

The best argument is that they have yet to conclude their enquiries.

 

[Ziggurat]

The best argument is that they have yet to conclude their enquiries.

That's not an argument at all. You seem to be taking it as an axiom that they shouldn't say anything before they conclude their investigation, but have you thought about why that's often the case?