Keep Us Strong WikiLeaks logo

Currently released so far... 97115 / 251,287

Articles

Browse latest releases

Browse by creation date

Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
ETRD EAGR ETTC EAID ECON EFIN ECIN EINV ELAB EAIR ENRG EPET EWWT ECPS EIND EMIN ELTN EC ETMIN EUC EZ ET ELECTIONS ENVR EU EUN EG EINT ER ECONOMICS ES EMS ENIV EEB EN ECE ECOSOC EK ENVIRONMENT EFIS EI EWT ENGRD ECPSN EXIM EIAD ERIN ECPC EDEV ENGY ECTRD EPA ESTH ECCT EINVECON ENGR ERTD EUR EAP EWWC ELTD EL EXIMOPIC EXTERNAL ETRDEC ESCAP ECO EGAD ELNT ECONOMIC ENV ETRN EIAR EUMEM ENRGPARMOTRASENVKGHGPGOVECONTSPLEAID EREL ECOM ECONETRDEAGRJA ETCC ETRG ECONOMY EMED ETR ENERG EITC EFINOECD EURM EENG ERA EXPORT ENRD ECONEINVETRDEFINELABETRDKTDBPGOVOPIC EGEN EBRD EVIN ETRAD ECOWAS EFTA ECONETRDBESPAR EGOVSY EPIN EID ECONENRG EDRC ESENV ETT EB ENER ELTNSNAR ECHEVARRIA ETRC EPIT EDUC ESA EFI ENRGY ESCI EE EAIDXMXAXBXFFR EETC ECIP EIAID EIVN EBEXP ESTN EING EGOV ETRA EPETEIND ELAN ETRDGK EAIDRW ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS EPEC ENVI ELN EAG EPCS EPRT EPTED ETRB EUM EAIDS EFIC EFINECONEAIDUNGAGM EAIDAR ESF EIDN ELAM EDU EV EAIDAF ECN EDA EXBS EINTECPS ENRGTRGYETRDBEXPBTIOSZ EPREL EAC EINVEFIN ETA EAGER EINDIR ECA ECLAC ELAP EITI EUCOM ECONEFINETRDPGOVEAGRPTERKTFNKCRMEAID EARG ELDIN EINVKSCA ENNP EFINECONCS EFINTS ECCP ETC EAIRASECCASCID EINN ETRP EAIDNI EFQ ECOQKPKO EGPHUM EBUD ECONEINVEFINPGOVIZ ENERGY ELB EINDETRD EMI ECONEFIN EIB EURN ETRDEINVTINTCS EIN EFIM ETIO ELAINE EMN EATO EWTR EIPR EINVETC ETTD ETDR EIQ ECONCS EPPD ENRGIZ EISL ESPINOSA ELEC EAIG ESLCO EUREM ENTG ERD EINVECONSENVCSJA EEPET EUNCH ECINECONCS ETRO ETRDECONWTOCS ECUN EFND EPECO EAIRECONRP ERGR ETRDPGOV ECPN ENRGMO EPWR EET EAIS EAGRE EDUARDO EAGRRP EAIDPHUMPRELUG EICN ECONQH EVN EGHG ELBR EINF EAIDHO EENV ETEX ERNG ED
KMDR KPAO KPKO KJUS KCRM KGHG KFRD KWMN KDEM KTFN KHIV KGIC KIDE KSCA KNNP KHUM KIPR KSUM KISL KIRF KCOR KRCM KPAL KWBG KN KS KOMC KSEP KFLU KPWR KTIA KSEO KMPI KHLS KICC KSTH KMCA KVPR KPRM KE KU KZ KFLO KSAF KTIP KTEX KBCT KOCI KOLY KOR KAWC KACT KUNR KTDB KSTC KLIG KSKN KNN KCFE KCIP KGHA KHDP KPOW KUNC KDRL KV KPREL KCRS KPOL KRVC KRIM KGIT KWIR KT KIRC KOMO KRFD KUWAIT KG KFIN KSCI KTFIN KFTN KGOV KPRV KSAC KGIV KCRIM KPIR KSOC KBIO KW KGLB KMWN KPO KFSC KSEAO KSTCPL KSI KPRP KREC KFPC KUNH KCSA KMRS KNDP KR KICCPUR KPPAO KCSY KTBT KCIS KNEP KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KNNB KGCC KINR KPOP KMFO KENV KNAR KVIR KDRG KDMR KFCE KNAO KDEN KGCN KICA KIMMITT KMCC KLFU KMSG KSEC KUM KCUL KMNP KSMT KCOM KOMCSG KSPR KPMI KRAD KIND KCRP KAUST KWAWC KTER KCHG KRDP KPAS KITA KTSC KPAOPREL KWGB KIRP KJUST KMIG KLAB KTFR KSEI KSTT KAPO KSTS KLSO KWNN KPOA KHSA KNPP KPAONZ KBTS KWWW KY KJRE KPAOKMDRKE KCRCM KSCS KWMNCI KESO KWUN KPLS KIIP KEDEM KPAOY KRIF KGICKS KREF KTRD KFRDSOCIRO KTAO KJU KWMNPHUMPRELKPAOZW KEN KO KNEI KEMR KKIV KEAI KWAC KRCIM KWCI KFIU KWIC KCORR KOMS KNNO KPAI KBWG KTTB KTBD KTIALG KILS KFEM KTDM KESS KNUC KPA KOMCCO KCEM KRCS KWBGSY KNPPIS KNNPMNUC KWN KERG KLTN KALM KCCP KSUMPHUM KREL KGH KLIP KTLA KAWK KWMM KVRP KVRC KAID KSLG KDEMK KX KIF KNPR KCFC KFTFN KTFM KPDD KCERS KMOC KDEMAF KMEPI KEMS KDRM KEPREL KBTR KEDU KNP KIRL KNNR KMPT KISLPINR KTPN KA KJUSTH KPIN KDEV KTDD KAKA KFRP KWNM KTSD KINL KJUSKUNR KWWMN KECF KWBC KPRO KVBL KOM KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KEDM KFLD KLPM KRGY KNNF KICR KIFR KM KWMNCS KAWS KLAP KPAK KDDG KCGC KID KNSD KMPF KPFO KDP KCMR KRMS KNPT KNNNP KTIAPARM KDTB KNUP KPGOV KNAP KNNC KUK KSRE KREISLER KIVP KQ KTIAEUN KPALAOIS KRM KISLAO KWM KFLOA
PHUM PINR PTER PGOV PREL PREF PL PM PHSA PE PARM PINS PK PUNE PO PALESTINIAN PU PBTS PROP PTBS POL POLI PA PGOVZI POLMIL POLITICAL PARTIES POLM PD POLITICS POLICY PAS PMIL PINT PNAT PV PKO PPOL PERSONS PING PBIO PH PETR PARMS PRES PCON PETERS PRELBR PT PLAB PP PAK PDEM PKPA PSOCI PF PLO PTERM PJUS PSOE PELOSI PROPERTY PGOVPREL PARP PRL PNIR PHUMKPAL PG PREZ PGIC PBOV PAO PKK PROV PHSAK PHUMPREL PROTECTION PGOVBL PSI PRELPK PGOVENRG PUM PRELKPKO PATTY PSOC PRIVATIZATION PRELSP PGOVEAIDUKNOSWGMHUCANLLHFRSPITNZ PMIG PREC PAIGH PROG PSHA PARK PETER POG PHUS PPREL PS PTERPREL PRELPGOV POV PKPO PGOVECON POUS PGOVPRELPHUMPREFSMIGELABEAIDKCRMKWMN PWBG PMAR PREM PAR PNR PRELPGOVEAIDECONEINVBEXPSCULOIIPBTIO PARMIR PGOVGM PHUH PARTM PN PRE PTE PY POLUN PPEL PDOV PGOVSOCI PIRF PGOVPM PBST PRELEVU PGOR PBTSRU PRM PRELKPAOIZ PGVO PERL PGOC PAGR PMIN PHUMR PVIP PPD PGV PRAM PINL PKPAL PTERE PGOF PINO PHAS PODC PRHUM PHUMA PREO PPA PEPFAR PGO PRGOV PAC PRESL PORG PKFK PEPR PRELP PREFA PNG PGOVPHUMKPAO PRELECON PINOCHET PFOR PGOVLO PHUMBA PRELC PREK PHUME PHJM POLINT PGOVPZ PGOVKCRM PGOVE PHALANAGE PARTY PECON PEACE PROCESS PLN PRELSW PAHO PEDRO PRELA PASS PPAO PGPV PNUM PCUL PGGV PSA PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA PGIV PRFE POGOV PEL PBT PAMQ PINF PSEPC POSTS PHUMPGOV PVOV PHSAPREL PROLIFERATION PENA PRELTBIOBA PIN PRELL PGOVPTER PHAM PHYTRP PTEL PTERPGOV PHARM PROTESTS PRELAF PKBL PRELKPAO PKNP PARMP PHUML PFOV PERM PUOS PRELGOV PHUMPTER PARAGRAPH PERURENA PBTSEWWT PCI PETROL PINSO PINSCE PQL PEREZ PBS

Browse by classification

Community resources

courage is contagious

Viewing cable 08LONDON3191, UNITED KINGDOM: 2008 COUNTRY REPORTS ON TERRORISM

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
  • The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
  • The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
  • The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #08LONDON3191.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08LONDON3191 2008-12-22 12:26 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy London
P 221226Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY LONDON
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0756
INFO NCTC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
UNCLAS LONDON 003191 
 
 
S/CT FOR RHONDA SHORE; STATE PASS NCTC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER ASEC UK
SUBJECT: UNITED KINGDOM:  2008 COUNTRY REPORTS ON TERRORISM 
 
REF: STATE 120019 
 
 
1. (U) Below is post's 2008 submission for the Country 
Reports on Terrorism.  POCs for this report are Daniel 
McNicholas (McNicholasDF@state.gov) or Jim McDonald 
(McDonaldJP@state.gov).  Consulate Belfast contributed to 
this report. 
 
UNITED KINGDOM 
-------------- 
 
2. (U)  In December a jury at Woolwich Crown Court in south 
London convicted Bilal Abdulla, a doctor who had been 
practicing medicine in Scotland, of conspiracy to murder and 
conspiring to cause explosions in the June 30, 2007 car bomb 
attack at Glasgow International Airport and in failed car 
bomb attacks in London a day earlier.  He was sentenced to 
life in prison and is expected to serve at least 32 years 
before being eligible for release.  Abdulla was accused of 
planning two attacks in London and Glasgow just days after 
Prime Minister Gordon Brown took office.  The first attempts 
took place in London where the terrorists had positioned two 
cars filled with explosive materials outside a nightclub near 
Piccadilly Circus and near the popular tourist site of 
Trafalgar Square.  A paramedic became suspicious of the 
contents of one of the vehicles, (the other had already been 
towed away for parking illegally), which led to the discovery 
of the plot.  Neither vehicle detonated as police managed to 
defuse them.  The following day, two terror suspects, Abdulla 
and Kafeel Ahmed, believed to have fled from London, 
attempted to drive a vehicle filled with gas cylinders into 
an entrance of Glasgow airport.  The vehicle caught fire and 
did limited damage to the building.  The driver, Ahmed, died 
later as a result of injuries sustained at the scene, while 
an airport employee apprehended Abdulla as he exited the 
vehicle.  Abdulla, who is of Iraqi origin, had associated 
with a Sunni terror cell in Baghdad before returning to 
Britain to plan the 2007 attacks. 
 
3. (U) In December Manchester Crown Court convicted Rangzieb 
Ahmed of being a member of al-Qa'ida and directing a 
terrorist organization in Britain.  He was sentenced to life 
in prison and is expected to serve a minimum of ten years.  A 
co-defendant, Habib Ahmed, was also found guilty of belonging 
to al-Qa'ida.  Rangzieb was accused of leading a three-man 
terrorist cell that was planning a terrorist attack overseas, 
and his conviction marked the first of its kind in the United 
Kingdom since directing terrorism became an offense under the 
Terrorism Act of 2000.  The prosecution presented evidence 
that Rangzieb was in contact with senior al-Qa'ida members. 
Both men's arrest and the disruption of their cell was the 
result of a three-year, international investigation by police. 
 
4. (U) Parliament passed the Counterterrorism Act 2008 in 
November.  The act lays out and refines government powers to 
pursue and prosecute suspected terrorists, and focuses mainly 
on rules of evidence and information gathering, search and 
seizure, terrorist finance, jurisdiction, questioning 
suspects, and forfeiture of assets.  The government was 
forced to throw out one provision of the act which would have 
extended the detention period for terror suspects before 
being charged to 42 days.  A heavy defeat in the House of 
Lords voted down the controversial measure 309 to 118 in 
October.  In the wake of Lords defeat, Home Secretary Jacqui 
Smith indicated that new legislation would be brought forward 
to allow the director of public prosecutions to apply to the 
courts for the right to question terrorist suspects for up to 
42 days if necessary. 
 
5. (U) Police re-arrested radical cleric and terror suspect 
Abu Qatada at his home in west London on November 8 after a 
Special Immigration Appeals Commission revoked his bail over 
concerns that he was a flight risk and was in danger of 
breaching his bail conditions.  Suspected of being Osama bin 
Laden's "right-hand man in the UK" and an al-Qa'ida recruiter 
in Europe, Qatada had been released from prison to house 
arrest in June after successfully contesting UK plans to 
deport him to Jordan where he was convicted in absentia of 
planning terror attacks.  Between his release in June and his 
re-arrest in November Qatada had been living under strict 
bail conditions, including a 22-hour per day curfew and a ban 
from using mobile telephones or the Internet.  The Home 
Office continued attempts to secure his deportation to Jordan. 
 
6. (U) Abdelbasset al-Megrahi, a Libyan citizen, continued to 
pursue a second appeal of his conviction by a Scottish court 
in connection with the 1988 terrorist bombing of Pan Am 
flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people. 
 Following his diagnosis of incurable cancer by Scottish 
doctors in September Megrahi applied for bail (he qualified 
to make the bail application because of his pending appeal). 
The Scottish High Court of Justiciary denied Megrahi's bail 
request on November 14, indicating that Meghrai's declining 
health had not reached a stage at which early release would 
be appropriate.  Megrahi is currently serving a life sentence 
in Scottish prison. 
 
7. (U) The government continued to hone its response to 
terrorism under its "CONTEST" Counterterrorism Strategy, and 
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said in April that the terrorism 
threat facing the UK was severe and growing.  The CONTEST 
strategy divides government resources under four thematic 
response areas:  Prevent, Pursue, Protect, Prepare.  In 
December the government hosted its second annual "Prevent" 
conference, drawing together over 700 participants from 
national and local government, community and civil society 
organizations, law enforcement agencies, and social service 
providers to review progress in the government's 
counter-radicalization efforts at the local level.  The 
conference was a stocktaking among stakeholders involved in 
developing and implementing local, government-funded programs 
aimed at countering extremism in communities throughout 
England.  Participants shared information on best practices 
and discussed programs as varied as cultural and sports 
workshops, discussion forums, theater groups, and joint 
police-social service partnerships focused on identifying 
young people vulnerable to messages of extremism.  The Home 
Secretary opened the conference by calling on participants to 
confront radical ideology that attempted to argue that being 
British and being Muslim were incompatible. 
 
8. (U) In October the Home Secretary announced new measures 
aimed at strengthening the government's power to exclude 
foreign extremists from entering Britain.  The so-called 
"preachers of hate" rules are expected to extend to anyone 
suspected of advocating illegal activity to stir tensions in 
the UK.  The new rules will hand the Home Office new powers 
to "name and shame" extremists blocked from entering Britain 
and to share their details with other countries.  The rules, 
which could apply equally to radical clerics as well as 
animal-rights protesters and far-right groups, are expected 
to see an increase in the number of people banned from 
entering Britain and will shift the burden of proof from the 
government to suspected individuals -- demanding that they 
refute accusations made against them by publicly denouncing 
or retracting their reported views.  By year's end, it was 
not clear whether the measures had been applied to anyone, 
nor was it clear whether the measures would survive a court 
challenge. 
 
9. (U) In testimony to the House of Commons Defense Committee 
in October, government Security Minister Lord West warned 
that Britain faced a 30-year struggle to counter 
radicalization among extremist elements of the country's 
young Muslims.  West praised the government's efforts to open 
dialogue with young British Muslims, insisting that 
engagement was beginning to pay dividends, but cautioned that 
there was still a long way to go, and that it would take 
decades to win the battle of ideas against terrorism and 
extremism.  Lord West's testimony before the committee 
investigating Britain's preparedness to defend itself against 
terrorism drew strong reaction when West, a former Royal Navy 
admiral, raised concern over the UK's ability to monitor all 
the vessels entering British waters and to patrol the 11,000 
miles of British coast effectively.  UK media reported that 
committee members expressed concern that management of the 
UK's national security apparatus remained fragmented between 
various ministries and Whitehall departments. 
 
10. (U) The Secretary of State for Schools announced plans in 
October to issue guidance to UK primary and secondary schools 
requiring teachers and school administrators to play a key 
role in getting young people to reject extremism.  The goal 
was to empower young people to expose and refute extremist 
ideology through class discussions, short courses, and 
anti-hate seminars.  The guidance would require teachers to 
report students to the police if there is suspicion of them 
being drawn to violent extremism.  Similarly, the Home Office 
requested in November that universities monitor the 
attendance and movements of international students in an 
attempt to counter student visa scams. 
 
NORTHERN IRELAND 
---------------- 
 
11. (U) Since May 2007 Northern Ireland has been governed by 
a power-sharing agreement led by Sinn Fein, political wing of 
the IRA, and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).  Activities 
by dissident republican groups opposed to Sinn Fein's 
participation in the peace process and the current power 
sharing government are the main source of concern.  In June 
the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Shaun Woodward 
stated that dissident republican activity was at its highest 
level in five years.  Later in the year police raised 
concerns that a five-month impasse between Sinn Fein and the 
DUP over devolution of policing and justice could embolden 
dissident groups.  The impasse was resolved in November, 
however, and the parties were working together toward 
devolution, which is expected to take place in 2009. 
Unionists raised concerns about devolution occurring while 
the IRA Army Council was still active.  At the request of the 
British and Irish governments, the Independent Monitoring 
Commission (IMC) looked into the Army Council's operations 
and determined that there was no evidence that it was 
operational. 
 
12. (U) In November a small dissident republican protest of a 
welcome home parade for troops returning to Northern Ireland 
from Iraq and Afghanistan took place in central Belfast 
without incident.  Due to the lessening of tensions in 
Northern Ireland it was announced in December that the head 
of the British military in Northern Ireland would no longer 
be a senior general. 
 
13. (U) The Independent Monitoring Commission, a four-person 
body established by the Irish and British governments in 
2004, regularly releases reports on paramilitary activity in 
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.  Its report 
issued this year stated that the IMC had not observed a 
material increase in the number of dissident activists or an 
increase in their access to weapons.  The IMC did note that 
the targeting by dissident groups of Northern Ireland police 
officers remained a serious concern.  Various dissident 
republican groups, including the Continuity IRA and the Real 
IRA, were involved in attacks on police throughout the year. 
 
14. (U) In December the British government announced that 
loyalist paramilitary groups had until February 2010 to 
decommission their weapons or face prosecution for illegal 
possession of illegal arms.  The International Commission on 
Decommissioning (IICD) continued to work with the Ulster 
Defense Association (UDA) and Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) to 
complete this process. 
 
Visit London's Classified Website: 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Unit ed_Kingdom 
 
TUTTLE