08-10-2008, 03:46 PM
I was struck at the time that the number of bullets pumped into Charles De Menezes was intended as an example to deter others, and I see no reason whatsoever to change my mind about this.
De Menzes was killed as an example. Everything that has followed is typical political blame-storming to deflect this unpalatable truth from the public mind.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2008/oc...ity.london
De Menezes inquest: Army put on standby after London attacks
Met created 'fly teams' to respond to attacks in other cities
Jenny Percival and agencies
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday October 01 2008 13:13 BST
Article history
Army units were put on standby across Britain following the failed London terror attacks on July 21 2005, jurors heard today at the Jean Charles de Menezes inquest.
Counter-terrorism officers at Scotland Yard put soldiers on alert for attacks on cities such as Birmingham or Manchester as they launched the hunt for those behind the London attacks.
Details of the extent of the security operation emerged during the eighth day of the inquest into the death of De Menezes, who was shot dead the day after the failed bombings. Police firearms officers killed the 27-year-old at Stockwell tube station after he was mistaken for on-the-run terrorist Hussain Osman.
Detective Superintendent Jon Boutcher said he was responsible for identifying those behind both the failed July 21 attacks and those on July 7, in which 56 people died including four suicide bombers.
Giving evidence at the Oval cricket ground in south London, where the inquest is being held, Boutcher said a series of meetings were held late on July 21.
The inquest heard senior officers were made aware of a number of similarities between the July 7 and July 21 attacks.
Boutcher said: "My assessment was London was going through a unique period and we were trying to make contingencies to prevent further attacks elsewhere.
"So I did seek to put measures, police measures, in place for firearms capabilities outside London, including military assets."
Boutcher said two-man "fly teams" were created so Met police specialists could be sent quickly to any location in Britain.
He said the officers could travel to other cities, for example Birmingham or Manchester, if there were attacks.
Boutcher said their role would be to use their experiences of July 7 to improve coordination of the police response.
"There was an ability to put people around the country very quickly," he said.
Boutcher, a former Flying Squad detective, said he had arranged for an armed surveillance team and officers from the Met's CO19 specialist firearms unit to be put on standby.
He said the hunt for the failed suicide bombers was an unprecedented challenge.
"Was it going to be the case that they had simply fled or were they - which was my main concern - reorganising somewhere to come back and attack London?
"I was especially conscious of what we had learned from July 7 and that a bomb factory existed that had sufficient materials, component parts and mixture to make additional devices."
Boutcher said a training exercise took place on July 15 to test the suitability of operations room 1600 at New Scotland Yard.
The inquest heard officers found the extra people and communications created a "chaotic" environment with noisy radio communications.
De Menzes was killed as an example. Everything that has followed is typical political blame-storming to deflect this unpalatable truth from the public mind.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2008/oc...ity.london
De Menezes inquest: Army put on standby after London attacks
Met created 'fly teams' to respond to attacks in other cities
Jenny Percival and agencies
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday October 01 2008 13:13 BST
Article history
Army units were put on standby across Britain following the failed London terror attacks on July 21 2005, jurors heard today at the Jean Charles de Menezes inquest.
Counter-terrorism officers at Scotland Yard put soldiers on alert for attacks on cities such as Birmingham or Manchester as they launched the hunt for those behind the London attacks.
Details of the extent of the security operation emerged during the eighth day of the inquest into the death of De Menezes, who was shot dead the day after the failed bombings. Police firearms officers killed the 27-year-old at Stockwell tube station after he was mistaken for on-the-run terrorist Hussain Osman.
Detective Superintendent Jon Boutcher said he was responsible for identifying those behind both the failed July 21 attacks and those on July 7, in which 56 people died including four suicide bombers.
Giving evidence at the Oval cricket ground in south London, where the inquest is being held, Boutcher said a series of meetings were held late on July 21.
The inquest heard senior officers were made aware of a number of similarities between the July 7 and July 21 attacks.
Boutcher said: "My assessment was London was going through a unique period and we were trying to make contingencies to prevent further attacks elsewhere.
"So I did seek to put measures, police measures, in place for firearms capabilities outside London, including military assets."
Boutcher said two-man "fly teams" were created so Met police specialists could be sent quickly to any location in Britain.
He said the officers could travel to other cities, for example Birmingham or Manchester, if there were attacks.
Boutcher said their role would be to use their experiences of July 7 to improve coordination of the police response.
"There was an ability to put people around the country very quickly," he said.
Boutcher, a former Flying Squad detective, said he had arranged for an armed surveillance team and officers from the Met's CO19 specialist firearms unit to be put on standby.
He said the hunt for the failed suicide bombers was an unprecedented challenge.
"Was it going to be the case that they had simply fled or were they - which was my main concern - reorganising somewhere to come back and attack London?
"I was especially conscious of what we had learned from July 7 and that a bomb factory existed that had sufficient materials, component parts and mixture to make additional devices."
Boutcher said a training exercise took place on July 15 to test the suitability of operations room 1600 at New Scotland Yard.
The inquest heard officers found the extra people and communications created a "chaotic" environment with noisy radio communications.
The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the shadow without considerable moral effort. To become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real. This act is the essential condition for any kind of self-knowledge.
Carl Jung - Aion (1951). CW 9, Part II: P.14