Tel-Chai Nation

Even if the suspects in the following anti-terror raid were apprehended in the end, what kind of dummies do the Brits think they're assigning to protect the country? Here's one of these clods, now a former leading counter-terror operative:

LONDON (AP) - Britain's top counterterrorism officer resigned Thursday after appearing in front of photographers with clearly visible secret documents about an operation against what Prime Minister Gordon Brown called a "very big terrorist plot."

Assistant Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bob Quick's blunder Wednesday forced police to launch raids faster than planned against a dozen suspects in northern England.

"We are dealing with a very big terrorist plot. We have been following it for some time," Brown told reporters. "There were a number of people who are suspected of it who have been arrested."

Quick, the senior police counterterrorism officer in Britain, was photographed clutching confidential documents as he arrived for a meeting with Brown at 10 Downing St. The document on top showed details of the planned anti-terror operation.

When officials became aware that clearly readable photographs of the document were in circulation, they warned media organizations against publication and changed their timetable for action.

"I deeply regret the disruption caused to colleagues undertaking the operation and remain grateful for the way in which they adapted quickly and professionally to a revised time scale," Quick said.

Okay, first, what I'd like to know is, why was this dummy carrying the documents in plain sight, broad daylight, and not inside a briefcase? Was this done on purpose?

Greater Manchester Chief Constable Peter Fahy said nearly of those arrested were Pakistani nationals. Police also said the suspects ranged in age from the teens to a 41-year-old man.

Police didn't provide details about the suspected plot except to say they "acted on intelligence received" in conducting the raids.

Law enforcement officials said they were not aware of any instances in which a readable image of the document was published before Wednesday evening's raids.

News organizations were warned by a joint government-media body Wednesday that "publication or broadcast of any details of this photograph would seriously damage national security."

After the raids took place, television news reports showed images of Quick holding them. Thursday newspapers also carried the photos, with The Daily Telegraph and the Evening Standard showing close-up images that were clearly readable.

Quick stepped down swiftly Thursday morning. "I have today offered my resignation in the knowledge that my action could have compromised a major counterterrorism operation," he said in a statement.

Commissioner Paul Stephenson, who heads the Metropolitan Police, said Quick "accepted that he made a serious error and that has led to his resignation this morning."

Assistant Commissioner John Yates is replacing Quick as head of counterterrorism, Stephenson said.

Yates has been involved in several prominent cases, including an investigation into whether honors such as knighthoods and seats in Britain's House of Lords were being given in exchange for Labour Party donations. At the end of the investigation in 2007, which included questioning Tony Blair who was prime minister at the time, prosecutors did not charge anyone.

Government officials calling on the prime minister can expect to find photographers standing in Downing Street, often with powerful telephoto lenses.

In May, two government ministers were snapped carrying sensitive materials that could be seen. Caroline Flint, who was then minister for housing, was holding a document forecasting a 10 percent drop in British house prices - a bigger fall than the government was then predicting.

Hazel Blears, the communities minister, was photographed with an e-mail on the possible participation of the prime minister in an "Apprentice"-style TV program, to be called Junior PM.

"I'm not the first person to have been caught out in this way and probably won't be the last," Flint said.

Quick's blunder was the first to raise a security issue and force a resignation.

Quick previously was criticized for his role in the decision to arrest opposition lawmaker Damian Green last year during an inquiry into alleged leaks of sensitive information from the Home Office. Conservative lawmakers were upset about the arrest of Green, who was never charged, and the search of his office in Parliament.

Hundreds of officers across northwest England were involved in the anti-terror raids Wednesday evening. Normally, such major police operations are conducted in early morning hours.

Greater Manchester Police said the suspects were detained under anti-terrorism laws at addresses in the cities of Manchester and Liverpool and the surrounding area, about 200 miles (300 kilometers) northwest of London.

The British government currently assesses the country's terror threat level as "severe," the second-highest of five possible ratings.

It has been at that level or higher since four suicide bombers killed 52 commuters on London's bus and subway system on July 7, 2005.

Glad he resigned as fast as his name, though maybe he needs a better one that would signal just how slow on the uptake he really is! This is just one more example of how Britain is not as well prepared for the WoT as they might seem.

Others on the subject include Doug Powers, The Daley Gator.

Labels: jihad, londonistan, terrorism, war on terror