This is the story of the biggest terror plot since 9/11 told by the people who stopped it. Liquid Bomb Plot, captions, National Geographic 2017
‘In 2006 we’re only just coming to terms with the fact that we were facing a substantial terrorist threat from within the United Kingdom.’ ibid. Andy Hayman, assistant head rozzer
‘There were more than just the British and the American services involved here.’ ibid. Michael Hayden, CIA
‘They were quite ordinary. They had families, they had responsibilities, most of them didn’t have criminal convictions.’ ibid. investigating rozzer
‘We had never come across the use of a liquid explosive disguised as a drinks bottle.’ ibid.
‘One of the largest surveillance operations … 28 surveillance teams.’ ibid.
‘You’re talking about 2,000 lives.’ ibid.
‘The arresting phase was an adrenalin rush.’ ibid.
‘They were looking to make this bigger than 9/11.’ ibid.
There are enough nuclear weapons on Earth to wipe out the human race. We have already stood on the very brink of Armageddon. The race for nuclear supremacy has fueled a world of conspiracy, deceit and espionage. It is a race in which spies risked their lives to betray their country, their friends and their family. And at its heart lies the world’s best-kept secrets. Nuclear Secrets I: The Spy from Moscow, BBC 2007
His [Penkovsky] offer to spy for the West reached Washington but the CIA failed to make contact. ibid.
Penkovsky made an astonishing claim that turned Cold-War perceptions on their head: the Soviets were way behind in the nuclear race, but Khrushchev was planning an all-out nuclear attack. ibid.
Penkovsky was going back behind the Iron Curtain as the Cold War intensified still further. ibid.
In May 1963 Penkovsky & Wynn were tried in Moscow. The KGB had arrested Wynn in Hungary – sentenced to eight years, he was released within eighteen months in a spy exchange. Oleg Penkovsky received the sentence of a common traitor. ibid.
1945: America prepares to unleash the most destructive weapon ever seen. It’s the dawn of the nuclear age … a weapon of mass murder created by men of genius – but one is a communist spy: Dr K Fuchs. Nuclear Secrets II: Superspy
Fuchs was against any country having a monopoly on the bomb. ibid.
The Soviets were progressing fast building four secret nuclear cities to service the bomb project. ibid.
In six London meetings Fuchs passed on ninety documents of nuclear secrets. ibid.
There are enough hydrogen bombs on Earth to destroy every human being. But sixty years ago there was no such thing. And one man was determined to keep it that way. Robert Oppenheimer claimed he was defending the human race. His enemies believed he should be crushed for betraying America. Was the world heading for Armageddon? Nuclear Secrets III: Superbomb
‘As of today we are living in the age of the superbomb.’ ibid. Oppenheimer
Sakhorov had seen all of Fuch’s information but he wanted to go his own way. ibid.
A three-mile wide fireball recreated every element the universe had ever seen. It was equivalent to a thousand Hiroshimas. Five thousand miles away Teller watched the birth of his bomb. ibid.
The Soviet H-bomb had arrived several years earlier than the CIA had predicted fuelling suspicions there were still spies at large in America. ibid.
[Lewis] Strauss ordered the FBI to seize all Oppenheimer’s classified files. ibid.
The world’s worst nightmare: a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. But hidden in the desert is an atom bomb factory the West helped build it and it belongs to Israel. One man exposes an international conspiracy of silence. He’s up against one of the most feared secret services in the world. And they won’t stop till they’ve got him. Nuclear Secrets IV: Vanunu and the Bomb
He risked a heavy prison sentence to take photos of what he’d seen. ibid.
Mossad would be coming after him. ibid.
‘Israel could have up to 200 atom bombs.’ ibid. UK expert
There was a long list of Western countries who would be very embarrassed if Vanunu’s story ever got out. ibid.
The next day Israel denied the allegations. ibid.
The Sunday Mirror printed pictures of Vanunu and ridiculed his story. ibid.
The Sunday Times finally decided on publish on October 5. ibid.
Curiously, the world’s press didn’t want to know. ibid.
For eleven years Vanunu was in solitary confinement. ibid.
Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, brilliant scientist, trusted colleague, nuclear spy. Khan’s masterplan: to steal Europe’s nuclear secrets, build an atomic bomb for Pakistan, and set up a smuggling network to sell those secrets on to Middle Eastern states from Libya to Iran. A nuclear network reaching as far as North Korea. Nuclear Secrets V: The Terror Trader
The mastermind behind the biggest global nuclear smuggling ring. ibid.
He got a job at Europe’s largest civilian atomic research consortium. ibid.
Khan flew to Pakistan Christmas 1975. ibid.
With contacts all over Europe Khan’s bomb project rapidly accelerated. ibid.
‘The Chinese provided invaluable assistance to Pakistan’s nuclear efforts.’ ibid.
At a chicken farm in the Iraqi desert they uncovered a treasure trove of documents … The Iraqi secret service received an offer from Khan’s network. ibid.
1998: Pakistan exploded its first bomb in response to Indian nuclear tests of the same month. ibid.
The cheque cleared: Khan had helped Iran on the road to nuclear power. ibid.
About two-thirds of the population agrees with Bush that we should bomb the United States; two-thirds of the population agrees that we should bomb any country as a right. Noam Chomsky, Merrimack College, The Onslaught Against Freedom and Democracy Led by the Bush Administration Reactionaries
The most horrendous car bombing in Beirut in 1985 a huge explosion killing 80 people and wounding 200 mostly women and girls leaving the mosque exit where the bomb was placed, the attack aimed at a Muslim cleric was traced to the CIA. Noam Chomsky, Failed States audio
Last year David Copeland caused explosions in Brixton, Brick Lane and Soho. He killed three people and he terrorised London. At his trial Copeland admitted he’d planted the bombs. But who inspired him to do it? Panorama: The Nailbomber, BBC 2000
Resilience and solidarity can’t be the only response to the worst attack this city has seen but right now it’s what they need. Panorama: Manchester Attack: Terror at the Arena, BBC 2017
It’s now a week since thousands of young girls were looking forward to another concert – American superstar Ariana Grande. The Manchester arena was packed with more than 20,000 fans. ibid.
A bomb had been detonated in the foyer of the arena. ibid.
22 people died in the Manchester arena on May 22nd, the youngest was 8 years old. 116 people were injured. ibid.
‘Today the nation’s oldest marathon will be run for the 117th time. Some 27,000 runners from all over the world are expected to run Boston this year.’ Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing, morning news, HBO 2016
‘Oh my God. My God. We’ve had an explosion on the marathon course. People on the finish line. Two explosions went off. One after the other.’ ibid. rozzer
‘Two devices. Two hundred yards apart. That’s a big crime scene.’ ibid. FBI agent
‘Someone beside me said he saw a red flash. Others close by told me they felt the spray of what they thought were shards of shrapnel. My ears were ringing from the blast, my eyes stinging from the smoke.’ ibid.
Time felt like it had slowed down – the disorientation, the confusion, the strange silence stealing my breath and delaying my ability to comprehend’. ibid. newspaper report
‘Becomes known to us as White Hat; we expand out that triage of analysis and we find Black Cap also carrying a backpack.’ ibid. investigator
In April 1999 during a two-week rampage 22 year old David Copeland embarked on a murderous campaign to maim and kill on the streets of London. As the clock ticked, the body count rose. Killing Spree: London Nail Bomber s2e2, CI 2017
The bomb inside the black bag had been packed with hundreds of nails which had ripped through the small space … The bomb left to detonate inside the Admiral Duncan pub had been the third explosion in a series of similar blasts across London over the last two weeks. ibid.