By Matthias Gebauer in Glasgow
For Ian Dawson, the road to vacation in southern France began with a snarl of concrete road blocks. Heavily armed police with bullet-proof vests stopped his friend Edgar's car as he was trying to drop him off at the Glasgow Airport. "Park your car and walk the rest of the way," an officer ordered him. Following Saturday's attempted terrorist attack, no cars have been permitted near the terminal. Without making any fuss, Dawson made his way through the cement blocks and barricades.
Police patrols at the Glasgow Airport: A country in a state of emergency
Dawson, who works for an insurance company, says it felt a bit like being in Baghdad as he proceeded to the check-in counter. He just shrugs it off, though. "If it's for our safety, then it must be okay."
The signs above the check-in counter are already displaying the usual destinations: Palma de Mallorca, Larnaca, Ibiza. With hundreds of extra workers on the clock, the airport's managers are doing all they can to restore a sense of normality. And the only reminder of the near disaster is the faint smell of something burnt in the hall and blue cellophane affixed to the main doors.
If the Jeep Cherokee's driver had planned a bit more deftly, his car, filled as it was with several gas cans and propane tanks, would have gone up in flames -- in the midst of hundreds of travellers -- and many would have died. That's clear to Dawson. Just like everyone else, he saw the images of the burning SUV over and over again on the news.
The events of the past few days have yet again thrown Britain into a new terror shock -- creating a state of emergency in the country not much different to the days following the July 7, 2005 terror attacks on London. News that has the country collectively holding its breath seems to come regularly.
On Monday, police announced they had arrested two additional suspects in relation to the attempted plot on the airport. Five people had previously been taken into custody. The two suspects were aged 25 and 28 and were arrested under Britain's Prevention of Terrorism Act. However, the police didn't provide any additional details, saying only that "this continues to be a fast-moving investigation."
So who are the two detainees? Had they planned attacks? Were they the same six terror suspects who the British media said had been fervently sought in the hours before? The questions just kept coming -- and they suggested a Britain in tumult.
Police are present on the streets everywhere. Cars can't get anywhere near the entrances at train stations and airports. Even Wimbledon's steel gate has been cordoned off with cement car blockers.
Few people seem to be very reassured by the fact that the two bombs in London's nightlife district failed to detonate on Friday. Nor does the fact that the bombs had been the work of amateurs -- filled with gasoline cans and a propane gas tank. They are terror attacks that could be perpetrated by anyone -- and you certainly don't need to be a terror expert to understand the concept.
Who's Behind the Attacks?
The selection of targets has also made Brits aware that the security measures taken after the London Underground train attacks almost exactly two years ago cannot provide the country with complete protection from terror.
Back then, symbols of London were attacked -- the Tube, as the city's residents call the subway system, and one of the city's double-decker buses. This time the attackers had nightclubs in their sights. And completely normal airline passengers who were using budget air carriers to fly from Glasgow to their holiday destinations.
Police in Britain are monitoring thousands of radical Islamists, but they didn't appear to have had any information about the current culprits. "What can you do to protect yourself when everything is conceivably a target?" Dawson asks.
Police and the British government are holding back details about the suspects who may have been behind the plots. At press conferences, spokespeople have so far shielded themselves from questions about the background.
Instead, they appear to be pushing a single message: They are asking people for evidence and eyewitness accounts -- especially people who may have seen the two cars in London or the Jeep in Glasgow. Al-Qaida is mentioned often. But so far there is no evidence that Osama bin Laden's network has anything to do with the attempted attacks. For now, investigators are focusing on a more immediate problem: They fear more perpetrators are still on the ground in Britain, operating freely. Worse yet, they could strike soon, incited by the police investigation.
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