UK 'plot' terror charge dropped

See also this article: The UK Terror plot: what's really going on?
-
A Pakistani judge has ruled there is not enough evidence to try a key suspect in an alleged airline bomb plot on terrorism charges.

He has moved the case of Rashid Rauf, a Briton, from an anti-terrorism court to a regular court, where he faces lesser charges such as forgery.

Pakistan has presented Mr Rauf as one of the ringleaders behind the alleged plan to blow up flights out of London.

The British authorities say they foiled it with Pakistan's help in August.

They say proceedings against suspects arrested in Britain will go ahead.

'Explosives'

The arrest of Rashid Rauf in Pakistan triggered arrests in the United Kingdom of a number of suspects allegedly plotting to blow up transatlantic flights.

The Pakistani authorities described him as a key figure.

But an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi found no evidence that he had been involved in terrorist activities or that he belonged to a terrorist organisation.

As well as forgery charges, Mr Rauf has also been charged with carrying explosives.

But his lawyer says police evidence amounts only to bottles of hydrogen peroxide found in his possession.

Hydrogen peroxide is a disinfectant that can be used for bomb-making if other chemicals are added.

The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says the judge's decision has reinforced the already widespread scepticism there about the airliner plot.

Several commentators said the threat was deliberately exaggerated to bolster the anti-terror credentials of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and that it helped to demonise British Muslims of Pakistani origin.

The Crown Prosecution Service in the UK said the dropping of charges against Mr Rauf in Pakistan would "make no difference" to the case against the men charged in Britain.

'Suspected conspiracy'

In August, the British government requested the extradition of Mr Rauf, a Briton of Pakistani origin who returned to Pakistan four years ago, in connection with a 2002 murder.

Scotland Yard declined to discuss which murder case the request related to.

The government in Pakistan, which has no extradition treaty with the UK, said it was considering the request.

Rashid Rauf was arrested in Pakistan earlier that month over the alleged plot to blow up US-bound aircraft, Pakistan's foreign ministry said.

He has been described by Pakistan's government as a "key person" in the "suspected conspiracy".

The August arrests led to increased airport security around the world, causing major disruption.

Passengers on many flights were forbidden to take liquids aboard aircraft.

The West and the Iranian Green Revolution - 1

The uprising in Iran has reminitions of non violent and violent actions by the west to overthrow governments. Is the Green Revolution entirely sponteneaous? In this article I quote from my book The Next War - The Attack on Iran - A Preview.

read more

Secret US policy is the real story behind the Somali pirates: Africa correspondent

Africa correspondent Thomas C. Mountain in an interview with DeepJournal: The pirates are protected in the military bases of the Ethiopian army in Somalia, a force protected by the United States for serving as the local policeman. Mountain explains that the corrupt Ethiopian military shares the loot of the Somali pirates: 'It's protection money'.

read more

The Next War: Donkerdoorn vs Daan de Wit (1)

DD: Daan, we now have Obama - the man of change - in Washington. Bush is gone, and with him goes the American threat to Iran. Or so you'd think. We're still hearing that trusty "Bush rhetoric" out of Washington. [...] Are we dealing with schizophrenic American policy here? How do you explain this American position?

read more

Unconventional weapons used in Gaza, says Norwegian surgeon based in Gaza

Israel has likely made use of unconventional weapons in the Gaza War. This according to the Norwegian surgeon Mads Gilbert speaking to the French press agency AFP. Gilbert worked in the Al Shifa hospital in Gaza during the war. In an interview [video] he says: 'I can tell you that we have clear evidence that the Israelis are using a new type of very high explosive weapons which are called Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME) and are made out of a tungsten alloy. [...] Gilberts view is supported by 'Paola Manduca, a genetics professor and member of the Genova based ‘New weapons committee’ [...].

read more

Interview financial expert: more expensive, less to spend, riots in the streets

You have to figure on riots and rebellions taking place, especially in the big cities. Some countries may see revolutions, the Mediterranean countries in particular. At that point government buildings could be set on fire and government employees attacked. You have to consider these kinds of scenarios. In any crisis situation you're going to have people who revolt. In order to see what can happen in a crisis situation we have only to look at what happened in Argentina. People went from being middle class one day to finding themselves below the poverty line the next.

read more