The outlines of the plot become visible

From The Washington Post:

Details of the foiled terrorist plot to blow up airliners bound from Britain to the United States are beginning to emerge:

It all began with a tip: In the aftermath of the July 7, 2005, suicide bombings on London's transit system, British authorities received a call from a worried member of the Muslim community, reporting general suspicions about an acquaintance.

From that vague but vital piece of information, according to a senior European intelligence official, British authorities opened the investigation into what they said turned out to be a well-coordinated and long-planned plot to bomb multiple transatlantic flights heading toward the United States -- an assault designed to rival the scope and lethality of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackings.

It would seem that there are moderate Muslims who do not support terrorism and are willing to act on their opposition. This is a good sign.

Precise details of the plot -- how many planes, their destinations and the date -- remain unknown. The shape of the operation changed regularly as the would-be bombers considered which transatlantic flights to target and prepared for a practice run, which was expected to take place in the next few days, U.S. law enforcement officials said.

The original reports were that the authorities made the arrests because the terrorists were making their airline reservations. The fact that they weren't on the way to board planes the day they were arrested opens the possibility that this plot was to be the "answer" that Iran promised to give on Aug. 22 to the UN's demand that they stop their attempts to build nuclear weapons.

By late 2005, the probe had expanded to involve several hundred investigators on three continents. They kept dozens of suspects under close surveillance for months, even as some of the plotters traveled between Britain and Pakistan to raise money, find recruits and refine their scheme, according to interviews with U.S. and European counterterrorism officials.

I can't help but wonder if the program to track terrorist finances played a part in this, if so don't tell the ACLU.

A law enforcement bulletin issued Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI described the conspiracy as "international in scope" but said there was no evidence that the plotters or any accomplices had set foot in the United States. "This plot appears to have been well planned and well advanced and in the final stages of preparation," the bulletin stated.

One U.S. intelligence source, however, said some of the British suspects arrested had made calls to the United States.

Wouldn't it be nice to know who they called in the US? Be nice if there was some way to identify who they called and find out what they talked about. It might also be nice to know who else these American contacts were talking to. Perhaps the ACLU would have some ideas on how we might get this done.