Uhh...Wow.

Allah has put together all you need to know about the most recent terror plot:

The Guardian has this:

"When the jets were in midair over American cities, they planned to combine the explosives and detonate them using an electric charge from an iPod, the security services believe. [British Airways] flights were among the targets. US officials said the bombers had been seeking to hit New York, Washington, San Francisco, Boston and Los Angeles. Other airlines targeted were thought to be United, American and Continental."

the Independent says different:

"The suicide bombers allegedly intended to carry out three “phased” attacks on nine or 10 jets over a period of several months. The plan, it is understood, was to blow up the aircraft over the sea so that investigators would be unable to discover how the explosive - possibly a peroxide-based liquid explosive - was taken through the airport security without being detected."

the Blotter says the Brits had a man on the inside:

"They had an undercover operative deep inside the group of at least 30 terrorists who had developed a simple, effective and potentially devastating plan to close the world’s busiest airport, Heathrow, by carrying on small but deadly bombs concealed in sports drink containers and detonated by the flash of a disposable camera, intelligence and law enforcement officials told ABC News…
When the arrests were made Thursday morning, the plotters had reached the point of identifying airlines and routes, but had not yet picked flight numbers. An arrest in Pakistan two days ago prompted authorities to begin to their round-up of suspects."

Allah snarks a bit about the NSA implications of this:

"In the two or three days before the arrests, the cell was going operational, and authorities were pressed into action. MI5 and Scotland Yard agents tracked the plotters from the ground, while a knowledgeable American official says U.S. intelligence provided London authorities with intercepts of the group’s communications."

Take that, you "our civil liberties are being eroded" crowd. It's called National Security.

This is chilling:

"A British government source said an intercepted message from Pakistan telling the bombers to “go now” had triggered the arrests."

Allah goes on to ponder this:

"Curious. As is the claim of a senior Pakistani official, who told the Times of London that at least three of the people arrested were linked to AQ. As is the report in the Blotter that “two of those arrested in London came [to Pakistan] in the last few months for explosives training with known al Qaeda commanders.”

Allah also has a partial list of the suspects and their ages.

Allah also links to the TimesOnline article that has this stunning observation:

"Michael Chertoff, the US Homeland Security Secretary, said that the British plot was “getting really quite close to the execution stage”. For British and American crisis planners, the date August 22 looms large. This year it corresponds in the Islamic calendar to the day in 1427 which Muslims commemorate as when Muhammad took flight on the winged horse Buraq to the “furthest mosque”, usually assumed to be Jerusalem. Bernard Lewis, an expert on the Middle East, writes: “This might well be deemed an appropriate date for the apocalyptic ending of Israel and if necessary of the world.”

President Ahmadinejad of Iran has cited August 22 as the date on which he will give his final answer on nuclear development. The suggestion that the foiled British plot involved blowing up aircraft over towns and cities corresponds with a longstanding ambition held by al-Qaeda."

Good God. I think we might have dodged not just a bullet, but a firing squad.