Test runs or pranks? UPS bomb threats in England and USA

The “foiled plot” could either be a test run by hard-core terrorists or it could be a couple of amateur trouble-makers. At this point, everything is speculation.

Let’s just let the facts spill out over time. This could have been a prank by a couple of idiots, or it could be a test run to figure out the security of cargo that comes into the United States and England. You realize that having overnight package service with limited screening offers up opportunities like this right?

Want to have a discussion about the security checks of cargo that is placed on international and domestic flights? We can have that discussion, but it’s impossible to manually inspect everything, and the TSA has admitted this.

Ed Morrissey has the breaking stuff and the updates. Michelle Malkin and Sister Toldjah also writing.

Fox News, CNN, and other news channels now featuring the story.

The CNN minute-by-minute update – with my emphasis in bold – went from this …

[Update 11:18 a.m.] Investigators in the United Kingdom found a bomb disguised as a toner cartridge aboard a plane flying from Yemen to Chicago when it stopped in London on Thursday night – one reason for heightened concern at U.S. airports on Friday, a law-enforcement source with detailed knowledge of the investigation said.

to this…

[Update 11:31 a.m.] Investigators in the United Kingdom found a suspicious device containing a “manipulated” toner cartridge aboard a plane flying from Yemen to Chicago when it stopped in London on Thursday night – one reason for heightened concern at U.S. airports on Friday, a law-enforcement source with detailed knowledge of the investigation said. The device tested negative for explosive material.

in 13 minutes.

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Steve McGough

Steve's a part-time conservative blogger. Steve grew up in Connecticut and has lived in Washington, D.C. and the Bahamas. He resides in Connecticut, where he’s comfortable six months of the year.

8 Comments

  1. Tim-in-Alabama on October 29, 2010 at 2:34 pm

    If you're Jewish, don't order toner cartridges from Yemen no matter how good the deal seems.



  2. Wind on October 29, 2010 at 2:47 pm

    This is just a diversion. They want us to look one way and divert resources and attention to an area so they can concentrate on the next big event. Yes , we intercepted the intelligence and acted but really…if you think they are that naive your kidding yourself. They have something 180 degrees away planned to catch us off guard and to create panic. I don't mean to sound dismal, but they think of things every minute of every day to get to us.



  3. GdavidH on October 29, 2010 at 3:14 pm

    I agree…. This is a misdirection

     These are not test runs in my opinion. The "undie bomber" was real. The shoe bomber was real. The times square bomber was real. Yet the one thing these all have in common was the degree of sophistication… Or lack there of. This seems to be an amatuer group of Al Qaida looking for recognition to warrant better resources. Or perhaps looking to cause "chatter" and measure the response.

    Too bad I have no faith in this administration to get to the bottom of this.



  4. Wind on October 29, 2010 at 4:55 pm

    Al Qaida knows that this administration is reactive…and that is what they are working on. Bush/Cheney were proactive after 911 and that is why we had no attacks. Israel is very proactive and we should take their example. Obama has crippled the CIA, FBI and any intelligence gathering. As far as I am concerned this was pure luck that someone caught this.



  5. porschepete on October 30, 2010 at 1:52 pm

    I guess you don't need a multi billion dollar missile systems just send your WMDs via Fedex orUPS. That is just

    terrific.



  6. sammy22 on October 31, 2010 at 11:06 am

    If this was speculation, I'm amazed at how many "facts" were offered up above.



  7. Wind on October 31, 2010 at 12:04 pm

    It all depends on who you know..in the business. Research and knowledge can keep you alert but not always safe.



  8. TomL on November 1, 2010 at 2:45 am

    In my opinion the current system in place for packages is not adequate. To much is left up to employee's to do their jobs right. Human nature tells you that if you are busy things slip thru. I can just imagine the lax standards at foreign airports that would allow things to happen that just did. What happened is not a problem with our domestic airport security measures but how the packages are handled overseas.



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