Fears raised of chemical attack in UK and US

[54anickel]

http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1079420202592

Terrorists operating in Britain may have been planning to use a deadly chemical capable of killing or blinding victims, it emerged on Tuesday.


British counter-terrorism officials refused to comment on a report by the US news channel ABC that terrorists had been heard discussing the possible use of osmium tetroxide, a chemical that emits toxic fumes to create an asthma-like choking attack.

The US also fears terrorists detonating bombs containing osmium tetroxide. Greg Hull, security director for the American Public Transportation Association, confirmed on Tuesday that law enforcement agencies had warned the association recently about the possibility of bombs using the chemical.

The ABC report said GCHQ, the British government's eavesdropping centre, had heard the conversation discussing the possible use of osmium tetroxide during a bugged telephone call, which might have been between operatives in Britain and an al-Qaeda agent in Pakistan.

more...

[Newsjock]

1. Osmium tetroxide?

Donny and Marie are terrorists!?

Seriously, they're pulling another fast one on us, right up there with the dreaded al-Qaida scuba divers.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

2. It was/is an "orange alert" distraction story IMHO

TV over here really ran with it & pushed Iraq off the headlines. This is from Jon Snow (anchor for Channel 4 News) in his daily roundup:

"ABC Television News in America is making the startling claim tonight that Britain has been spared a major chemical attack using a substance called osmium tetroxide. Now I'm not a chemical man but this sounds suspiciously like the gas that might be exuded from the decomposing body of Osama himself. Now, given that Osama is not yet, so far as we know, decomposing, I am suspicious in the extreme. However as the BBC and Sky have gone big on it given the global nature of telecommunications these days, we are bound to take a sniff. And I can tell you if you do, this particular substance is foul indeed.

But can it really be used as an agent of chemical warfare... doubtful. Frankly, this is one of those moments when I shall hope to persuade my fellow hacks here that how ever much noise people are making about this "revelation" we have absolutely no independent corroboration that there is any truth in this story.

But I can tell you, I can see the headlines now "Terror Gas Attack on Britain foiled", "Smelly Gas threatened to Kill Thousands" and perhaps "Gasman Cometh". Now I don't want to jest we all worry about chemical attacks on Britain, but chemical attacks aren't easy, this gas is obscure and so far I don't buy it. And by that I don't mean the gas, I mean the story. Tom Clarke is on the case. Sorry to go into all that at length but you know in these dicey times it's a good idea to set one's stall out and sort out the chaff from the wheat and frankly, this has all the whiff of chaff."

[belle]

3. Well, I hope he's right. But even so...

Just because our paranoia about Bush & his cohorts is justified doesn't mean other people aren't also out to get us.

I'm just remembering the Aum Shinrikyo attack on Japanese subways. We're so vulnerable to this sort of shit; it doesn't even have to come from Islamic fundamentalists.

[prodigal_green]

6. The aum attack showed how difficult chemical attacks are

Considering how crowded the Japanese subways are, a relatively few were harmed (relative to the intended casualties). They were using Sarin gas which was used in the nazi death camps. More should have died, but it is hard to pull off these kind of attacks from portable devices.

I take a subway and a bus every day--I'm worried about attacks, but I believe it will come in the form of suicide bombs--much easier to pull off.

[Auntie Bush]

4. Thanks for warning us. We'll take it with a grain of salt.

[54anickel]

8. Sort of what I figured when I came across it. Always nice to know

if others consider it bogus as well.
Thanks.

[DoYouEverWonder]

5. So some folks who might be terrorists

Were thinking about buying some stuff, that is only lethal in a confined space, but they didn't actually have any of this stuff and it's not very effective if you want to cause mass casualties? Boy, am I glad they nipped that one in the bud?


Experts say in gas form it could be lethal in a confined space.

The plot was foiled after US and British intelligence intercepted communications between the plotters and it is not thought that they had managed to obtain any of the chemical, osmium tetroxide.

[prodigal_green]

7. Here's what to do if an attack occurs.

http://www.proscitech.com.au/catalogue/msds/c010.pdf

carry a bottle of water with you, you'll be fine. Looks like it could be useful for scaring a bunch of people. More would probably die in the panic than from the actual chemical.

[truthisfreedom]

9. it sounds scary. that's good enough, right?

[Kool Kitty]

10. As far as this administration is concerned,

it is.