London Bombers Ignored Master's Warnings

Since word of the London-Glasgow car bomb plot broke, observers have been comparing it to the "Gas Limos" affair -- the scheme to detonate high-profile London buildings with propane-packed limousines. But in one key detail, the two plots differed, notes reader AR. And that detail may have saved many lives.

In his manifesto, Gas Limos ringleader Dhiren Barot warns that "it is very important that this project be limited to indoors. Should an attempt on an outdoor location be made, it will fail."

Whatever indoor target area is chosen, it is an essential requirement that we have unhindered and moreover undisturbed access to the area. That is to say, besides the main action group, no one else should be present while the IED is being set up, e.g. leaking gas, etc. This is because; the IED will be exposed visually (due to the vehicle windows being wound down so that gas may enter and fill up the target area… There will also be the smell of petrol.

"As we all know by now, the London bombs were found in precisely the way Barot warned they would be -- passersby seeing and smelling the gas," AR notes. "Thank God for the un-studious variety of terrorist."

Barot also suggested that the car bombs be remotely-triggered. The London-Glasgow bombers took that advice, planning to detonate the vehicles with "calls to mobile phones," according to AFP. But they "failed for technical reasons." CBS News reported last night that the Glasgow car failed to go off, for the same reason. "The calls made on the phones allowed police to trace those behind the failed attacks last Friday."