Apparently, the goal is driving American voters to the candidates of the War Party, after it had lost the confidence of American voters. I wrote about this issue in my article Nassrullah and Peres: The War Was Supposed to Be October Surprise, and to Weaken Iran.  http://www.aljazeerah.info/Opinion%20editorials/2006%20Opinion%20Editorials/July/26%20o/Nassrullah%20and%20Peres%20The%20War%20Was%20Supposed%20to%20Be%20October%20Surprise,%20and%20to%20Weaken%20Iran%20By%20Hassan%20El-Najjar.htm

The announcement yesterday of a British terrorist plot to destroy ten US aircraft using liquid bombs can be considered the second stage of an October surprise. It aims at keeping the US voters in tense conditions, making them feel that the world is not safe around them. This, purportedly, may push them back towards the War Party, which has the reputation of being "strong on security."

The timing of the announcement of such a terrorist plot should be received with skepticism and scrutiny, particularly because the pro-war corporate media have adopted the story and fully propagated it to death. The following are some points to be taken into consideration in scrutinizing the story.

First, the announcement came just one day after the earthquake of defeating the symbol of war in the Democratic Party, Joe Lieberman, representing a determination among American voters to fire proponents of war in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike. The announcement of the terrorist plot would serve as the Bush administration counterattack against the peace camp.

Second, it came after a month of a disaster Israeli war to subjugate Lebanon. The Israelis succeeded in destroying the country's infrastructure, forcing a million Lebanese out of their homes, but they couldn't defeat Hizbullah fighters. News about such a terrorist plot may aim at distracting the American people away from the Israeli atrocities in Lebanon, leaving it to pounded even more in the coming days by the crazy Israeli leaders.

Third, the US war in Iraq is worse than any time before. There is no end in sight for the US quagmire there. Just the day before the announcement about this terror plot, US military commanders and their boss testified in Congress about the coming Iraqi civil war. This is an acknowledgement of the Iraqi disaster by the Bush administration and it is not going to serve the War Party at the ballot box. The announcement about the terrorist plot may help to divert the attention of Americans and Britons away from the Iraq disaster.

Fourth, the war in Afghanistan has not ended and Taliban fighters have been fighting against the US-led NATO forces on daily basis. They have not gone away. The announcement about the British terrorist plot may help make Americans and Britons forget about Afghanistan a little bit.

Fifth, news reported mentioned that there was an under cover British government agent inside the terrorist group, for several months. This should spark a public debate about the role of government agents who penetrate suspected groups. What if the agent was playing a leading role? What if the whole thing was prompted, suggested, and orchestrated by the government agent and his superiors? Is this really a terrorist plot or a government-staged operation created for political reasons? We still remember the case of the six African American youngmen in Florida who were influenced by the under cover government agent, who posed to them as an Alqaeda operative. Did they want really to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago or it was the government agent's idea? We don't know. There should be more public scrutiny about this issue.

Finally, there has been a relentless attempt to link it to Alqaeda. Pundits, experts, and even officials did their best to convey this idea to the public. Among what they said was the travel of two members of the group to Pakistan then receiving money from Pakistan after they had returned to buy tickets to America. This should remind us with a similar story in the US about a Pakistani father and his son who were implicated first for traveling to Pakistan then they were released after that. With regard to the money received to buy tickets to the US, it is hard to believe that plotters with all this sophistication would not be able to buy tickets from London to New York, couple hundred dollars.

There's a lot to be skeptical about in the story. I hope that the American people stay the anti-war course and change the course of our country in November. By voting the pro-war candidates out of office and bringing anti-war candidates into office, we will be able to address the true cause of wars and reactions to them, resistance and terrorism.

My biggest fear is that we may still see other stages of the October surprise, God forbid!

May God send His peace to this planet, which is hungry for peace.

Al-Jazeerah, August 11, 2006