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Islamist Terrorist Plots in Great Britain: Uncovering the Global Network Ted R No. 2329 October 26, 2009 Revised and updated January 4, 2010 Islamist Terrorist Plots in Great Britain: Uncovering the Global Network Ted R. Bromund, Ph.D., and Morgan L. Roach Abstract: Data on major Islamist terrorist plots in Brit- ain reveal a physical and ideological terrorism pipeline between Britain and Pakistan. At least 27 of 87 convicted Talking Points individuals were trained or sought training in Pakistan or • Both the United States and Great Britain need Afghanistan. Homegrown Islamism is also a major threat: to recognize the existence of and seek to 18 individuals received terrorist training in Britain. Britain break the physical and ideological terrorism and the U.S. need to fight and win both the counterterror- pipeline between Britain and Pakistan. ism war and the broader war of ideas. This will require • Individuals with family ties to Pakistan com- fighting Islamism both in Afghanistan and at home, con- prise a significant proportion, although not tinuing and expanding cooperation in intelligence and the majority, of those who have been pub- homeland security, and opposing the Lisbon Treaty and licly connected with terrorist plots in Britain. other European Union initiatives that would undermine Homegrown Islamism is also a serious prob- Britain’s ability to control its own borders. lem in Britain. • The first front in the war on Islamist terrorism is in Afghanistan. A premature U.S. and Brit- In January 2009, the head of MI-5, Britain’s domes- ish military retreat from Afghanistan would allow that country to serve again as an inter- tic security service, stated that 2,000 individuals in national terrorist haven and would embolden Britain were directly connected to Islamist terrorist al-Qaeda and its affiliate organizations to plots and that many more supported terrorism expand their ambitions both regionally and 1 through fundraising or propaganda. From Sep- globally. tember 11, 2001, to the end of March 2008, British • At home, Britain needs to continue to authorities arrested 1,471 individuals on terrorism- improve its border controls, and the U.S. and 2 related offenses. Britain should continue and enhance their This report analyzes data on major Islamist terrorist close cooperation on homeland security plots in Britain and reveals that individuals who trav- through the Visa Waiver Program. eled in Pakistan and received terrorist training there or in Afghanistan are a central part of the challenge of This paper, in its entirety, can be found at: Islamist terrorism in Britain. Because al-Qaeda’s strat- www.heritage.org/Research/Europe/bg2329.cfm egy relies partly on using European nationals to carry Produced by The Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom out attacks against the United States, the rise of Islam- Published by The Heritage Foundation ist terrorism in Britain and Europe poses a serious 214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002–4999 (202) 546-4400 • heritage.org Nothing written here is to be construed as necessarily reflect- ing the views of The Heritage Foundation or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before Congress. No. 2329 October 26, 2009 _________________________________________ danger to the U.S. and its allies in Europe and 12 around the world. The Islamist challenge is not exclusively or even In a forthcoming paper, The Heritage Founda- centrally a terrorist challenge. tion will draw on the data presented in this report to ____________________________________________ offer long-term recommendations for breaking this terrorist connection between Britain and Pakistan. It is important to note that not all individuals This paper presents and summarizes the data and named in this report were found guilty. Some were makes closely related policy recommendations for acquitted, some were not charged, and others were Great Britain and the United States. deported or convicted of lesser offenses. The status of still others cannot be determined. This report • The central recommendation for both states is draws its conclusions based only on the collective that, together with their allies, they need to rec- records of individuals convicted or punished in ognize the existence of and seek to break the connection with terrorist plots. Data that could not physical and ideological terrorism pipeline be ascertained are clearly noted. Where data have between Britain and Pakistan. To this end, they been “presumed,” that is also clearly noted: All “pre- must continue to fight on the ground in Afghan- sumptions” are that statuses and activities were or istan and coordinate policy toward Pakistan. are legal and innocent. • Great Britain and the United States also need to Because data collection for this report ended on continue and enhance their close cooperation on August 14, 2009, this report does not reflect develop- homeland security to prevent British Islamists ments after that date.3 This data set is not comparable from infiltrating the United States. with the data released by the British government in • Finally, both need to recognize that further Euro- May 2009, because it encompasses a different time pean integration will imperil Britain’s ability to period and focuses on major Islamist terrorist plots, control its own borders, reducing security in which are defined as attempts to cause mass casual- both Britain and the United States. It is therefore ties, target political leaders, engage in recruiting, or not in the interest of either country to support raise funds for fighters in conflicts in other states. the deepening of the European Union (EU). Terrorist incidents connected with leftist or The Purpose and Limitations nationalist groups are not included in this data set. of This Report This should not be interpreted as diminishing their seriousness. The purpose of this report is to draw together publicly available data on individuals who have The nature of this subject means that the pub- been officially connected with a major Islamist ter- licly available data are incomplete and may be inac- rorist plot in Great Britain since September 10, curate in some cases. Therefore, this report focuses 2001. (For the full data set, see Appendix A.) By on the trends revealed by the data as a whole. To this summarizing these data, this report draws attention end, this report organizes the data by plot, with to the challenges that the British and allied authori- summary tables revealing the central trends. As ties face in defeating the terrorist threat. (For the developments warrant, this report and its under- summary data, see Appendix B.) lying data set will be updated and revised. 1. David Stringer, “MI5 Chief: Terror Plots Against UK Have Fallen,” ABC News, January 7, 2009, at http://abcnews.go.com/ International/wireStory?id=6592084 (June 15 2009). 2. U.K. Home Office, “Statistics on Terrorism Arrests and Outcomes Great Britain, 11 September 2001 to 31 March 2008,” Home Office Statistical Bulletin, May 13, 2009, at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb0409.pdf (June 15, 2009). 3. On September 7, 2009, three individuals were convicted in the “liquid bomb” plot of conspiring to detonate explosive devices on transatlantic airplane flights. These individuals had already been convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in a previous trial related to the same plot. This report deals only with the verdicts from the first trial. See BBC News, “Three Guilty of Airline Bomb Plot,” September 7, 2009, at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8242238.stm (September 21, 2009). page 2 No. 2329 October 26, 2009 The Islamist Challenge Is attacks. Part of fulfilling this duty is to understand Broader Than Terrorism the trends of participation in terrorist plots. These The focus of this report—major plots—should trends will not reveal the source or target of the next not obscure the fact that the Islamist challenge is not plot, nor will they necessarily remain stable in the exclusively or even centrally a terrorist challenge. future, but the trends suggest some of the realities For the most extreme Islamists, violence is a means that British and American authorities must confront to an end: the re-establishment of the caliphate, a in addressing the threat of terrorism. purely Islamic form of government. The radical Summary of the Data on Major Islamists challenge the legitimacy of democratic Islamist Terrorist Plots in Britain government, all the institutions of world order, and, more broadly, the international state system. Five patterns run through the major Islamist ter- rorist plots in Great Britain. The world’s democracies cannot defeat this ideo- logical challenge by simply treating it as a terrorist • Pattern #1: Pakistan is central. The data show threat. The move from radical Islamist sympathies that individuals with family ties to Pakistan com- to terrorism is obviously important, but it is a com- prise a significant proportion, although not the paratively easy move for Islamist extremists to majority, of those who have been publicly con- make, precisely because Islamism delegitimizes nected with terrorist plots. Of the 87 individuals today’s national and international order and legiti- in the data set who have been convicted or pun- mates the use of force to change it. The vital move is ished in some way, at least 19 had family ties to the initial one to radical Islamism. Pakistan, at least one was a Pakistani citizen, and _________________________________________ at least 61 were affiliated with al-Qaeda. Finally, a minimum of 27 had sought or received training The radical Islamists challenge the legitimacy in Pakistan or Afghanistan—more than in any of democratic government, all the institutions other region of the world. of world order, and, more broadly, the inter- • Pattern #2: Pakistan does not stand alone. national state system. ____________________________________________ Taken as a region, North Africa—defined as the states of Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, and Egypt—was a significant contributor to terrorist The British government recognizes this fact.
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