JFK plot tip of iceburg

Telegraph:

The alleged conspiracy to blow up John F Kennedy airport, in New York, and a recent plot to kill soldiers at a nearby United States Army base represent only the "tip of the iceberg" of terrorist plots against America, according to US officials.

"There's a lot of activity out there," a counter-terrorism official said yesterday.

"Obviously, you don't want to tip off every suspect that they are being monitored. On the other hand, we are not going to wait until the fuse is lit."

He said that the airport plot, which sparked a lengthy FBI sting operation, was first detected by CIA operatives in the Caribbean and South America nearly 18 months ago.

"Our intelligence agencies pay careful attention to what goes on there," the official told The Daily Telegraph.

"Although a lot of the public focus is on Europe, we're also looking closely at the home-grown threat and what's going on in our own back yard."

He indicated that dozens of other plots were being monitored but that improved co-operation between the CIA and FBI - the patchy nature of which was a major criticism of the 9/11 Commission Report - was bearing fruit.

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The article hints at other plots that the FBI is evidently following, no doubt with informants. That is clearly the best way to stop a terror plot and the US is making it very difficult for the terrorist to operate in the US without great risk of detection. It is unfortunate that the CIA has not had as much success infiltrating bin Laden's inner circle.