Britain Gets Ready for Tough Times

By MARA D. BELLABY Associated Press Writer

LONDON - With the world facing a recession, London's financial district - second only to New York City as an international center - is juggling economic uncertainty, the threat of big job losses and fears it might be the next target for terrorism. Some economists warned that Britain's economy may grow only by 2% this year, well below government predictions. The biggest shock could be felt in The City, the financial heart of London that serves as banker, insurance broker and financial adviser to much of the world.

''We are going to have a rough 12 months in my view in the City of London, a very rough 12 months,'' said David Webb, a professor of finance and financial markets at the London School of Economics.

British consumer confidence virtually evaporated in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes in the United States. Britons are less optimistic about their country's economic future than at any time in the last 20 years, according to a Mori poll published Thursday.

The airline and tourism industries have already sounded dire warnings, and there are fears more job losses are still to come after thousands have already been laid off.

''We are looking at an extended period of weakness,'' said economist Ben Levett.

The City is likely to bare the brunt of the economic fallout.

Lloyd's of London warned this week that it stood to pay out $1.9 billion to cover insurance claims related to the terror attacks. Lloyd's said it could absorb the costs, but industry analysts said many insurance companies may go bankrupt.

Investment banks, troubled before the terrorist attacks, are facing an even gloomier future now, while the shaken stock market ''is not good for anyone, from a mergers and acquisitions perspective or from an investment perspective,'' Levett said.

Workers in the financial industry may find their annual bonuses significantly curtailed, which will have a domino effect from the housing market to the leisure industry. For many dealers, their bonuses - based on sales and profits - are the main source of income.

Economists also predicted that trans-Atlantic business was likely to suffer, as worried Americans simply stayed home and canceled business meetings.

Prime Minister Tony Blair urged Britons on Thursday to ''carry on with confidence in the basic strength of the economy and in our basic way of life.''

In the days after the attacks, the mood in the tradition-bound City was glum.

Thousands filled the streets around St. Paul's Cathedral for a memorial service for the victims of the attack. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder - in their dark, pinstriped suits - brokers and others wept openly as the service was broadcast over loudspeakers.

''New York's tragedy is very much our tragedy, for London and New York are sister cities,'' Lord Mayor Sir David Howard, the ceremonial head of the City, told financiers this week. ''Indeed, the two cities are closer than many people imagine.''

There were 15 British companies housed in the World Trade Center, and about 200 Britons are still missing, he said.

Rory Taylor, a spokesman for the financial district, said that while business goes on, people have been spooked.

''There is a lot of uncertainty, so people hold back their purchases, cancel their plans, buy fewer Christmas presents and get nervous about their jobs,'' Webb said. ''The real issue is just how long that is going to last?''

http://www.usatoday.com/aponline/2001092718/2001092718103400.htm

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), September 27, 2001

Answers

British consumer confidence virtually evaporated in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes in the United States. Britons are less optimistic about their country's economic future than at any time in the last 20 years, according to a Mori poll published Thursday.

Why? Have the Taliban decided to wage a war against the Brits? We're the infidels, not they. By the way, what exactly does it mean to be an "infidel". Sounds kind of romantic to me.

Just looked it up in Websters: A disbeliever; a skeptic; one who does not believe in God or Christianity.

Well I suppose I used to be a disbeliever but Osama and the Taliban have turned me into a believer and I think they will eventually pay for it.

-- Guy Daley (guydaley1@netzero.net), September 27, 2001.

Sure hope your are right, Guy.

-- Uncle Fred (dogboy45@bigfoot.com), September 27, 2001.

infidel (în´fî-del, -dèl´) noun 1. An unbeliever with respect to a particular religion, especially Christianity or Islam.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation. All rights reserved.

-- Joe (CactusJoe001@AOL.com), September 28, 2001.

<< Why? Have the Taliban decided to wage a war against the Brits? >>

Guy, I can only assume you are being sarcastic or something. Not only have there been all sorts of arrests of suspected bad guys in Europe with various plots thwarted (or so we are told), and not only has Britain been a close ally of the U.S. in various military adventures past and future, but also perhaps the Brits understand their global economic connections with the U.S. and the rest of the world.

The U.K. economy was tanking before 9-11, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out things are picking up speed in a downward direction.

Also, lest we forget, a large number of Brits (along with an astonishing array of other nationalities) were killed on 9-11.

-- Andre Weltman (aweltman@state.pa.us), September 28, 2001.

Andre - No I wasn't being sarcastic. We are the number one target for the Taliban and from what I've seen and read over the last few years the ONLY target although they are upset with Saudia Arabia for allowing us to be based in their country.

Of course the whole world is spiraling into a recession and naturally the Brits have to be concerned BUT not because they are a target of terrorists. Its much easier to target the U.S. We let everybody in the country and they get to stay until they commit a crime. If they do commit a crime then they get to stay in jail at taxpayer expense until we ship them back, again at taxpayer expense. The whole world is entitled to the American dream as long as they can sneak in and sometimes with legitimate visas because they won't go back when they expire.

During the upcoming recession, I predict that this mass invasion of illegal aliens will become less and less wanted as we compete for the remaining "unwanted" jobs. UNLESS they've already achieved sufficient voting mass to make that impossible.

-- Guy Daley (guydaley1@netzero.net), September 28, 2001.

(Those silly Brits... It's the French and the Dutch who should be worried...oh wait, they don't look too happy either.)

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Terror Plot Foiled; Bin Laden Operative Revealed Targets, Terrorists' Names

ABC News, 27 September 2001

WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 — An ambitious terrorist plot to attack a host of American interests overseas was foiled when a captured Osama bin Laden operative divulged the list of targets and the identities of his fellow conspirators, sources tell ABCNEWS.

Intelligence sources in Europe and the United States say the intended targets included the U.S. Embassy in Paris, the U.S. Consulate in Marseilles, France, buildings at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium and the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, France.

The outlines of the plan were known to French and American authorities before Sept. 11, but the attacks were not scheduled to take place until much later this year. Authorities had reportedly been surveilling the suspected terrorist cells for several weeks but moved in quickly after the attacks on New York and suburban Washington.

Sources tell ABCNEWS the terrorist ring was broken-up after key bin Laden operative Djamel Begal, an Algerian national, was captured this summer in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Begal, under interrogation by Dubai authorities, revealed the list of targets and the identities of other members of the ring.

Sources say the terrorist ring was made up of roughly 50 individuals, 30 of whom have been taken into custody in France, Britain, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium. Twenty are still being sought in a manhunt across Europe...

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Britain prepares for terror attacks Reuters, 26 September 2001

The chilling headline said it all for the city that survived the wartime blitz by Germany and then lived through a concerted campaign by Irish Republican Army bombers.

Gas mask sales have rocketed, tourists have vanished in droves and architects ponder the wisdom of building more skyscrapers. Big banks have already canceled corporate Christmas parties.

Even the actress daughter of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has been forced to pull out of a London show. Linda Powell's father feared she could become a terrorist target.

With Britain standing shoulder to shoulder with the United States in its "war on terrorism," that has inevitably sparked security fears that London could follow in the wake of New York and Washington.

Police chief John Stevens, who put the British capital on the highest peacetime security alert in its history, was the first to admit: "London is at risk because it is one of the world's major capital cities."

No specific threat has been issued but the authorities are taking no chances. If extremists are ready to use airliners as guided missiles, the unthinkable is now possible.

The nightmare that haunts every disaster planner is a chemical or biological attack, and the World Health Organization has warned Western governments to prepare for possible assaults. Leading WHO executive David Nabarro said on Tuesday: "Alarm bells are starting to ring. Under these circumstances it would be imprudent not to be thinking at least and planning as hard as possible."

The warning has certainly not fallen on deaf ears. Britain is reviewing national contingency plans for dealing with deadly anthrax or plague attacks. "Events in the United States have changed things somewhat and we will be looking at those plans again to ensure the right level of preparedness," said senior health department official Nigel Lightfoot. "The risk is low but the risk is there."

"The New York attack showed that indiscriminate (action) on a massive scale is now acceptable to these people and that's a worry," was how one government source graphically portrayed the threat in the Sunday Times. The paper painted a doomsday scenario of armed troops in full nuclear, biological and chemical suits taking command of the city.

In a bio-chemical attack, Prime Minister Tony Blair would escape in tunnels beneath his Downing Street residence to a Ministry of Defense bunker. Secret tunnels under London's underground railway system could take up to 8,000 people — but that shelter would be powerless to keep out the deadly effects of a chemical attack.

Up to 250 fire engines could be immediately directed to a bomb site. Every firefighter is trained to tackle skyscraper blazes. The "gold control room" at Scotland Yard, London's police headquarters, could tap instantly into CCTV cameras around the city. So now, with any scenario however horrific firmly on the drawing board, minimizing the mayhem is a top priority.

Brian Ward, chairman of the Emergency Planning Society, which groups emergency specialists, is a realist, concluding: "If an attack occurs, initially you have chaos." He said the aim of planning was to return to order from chaos as quickly as possible.

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Ireland's airports in suicide bomber alert [excerpts] Unison [Irish News Service] Sunday 23 September 2001

Serious concerns have been raised that Irish airports could be used to launch suicide air-attacks on London targets, the Sunday Independent has learned. The fears have been raised by security experts advising a high-powered group of top Army, Garda and Civil Service personnel, established by the Irish Government after the terrorist attacks on the US.

These experts have also revealed that they view Ireland's almost total lack of capability to defend our airspace as a serious liability. This shocking revelation places a question mark over EU summits or visits of dignitaries to Ireland while the current crisis continues. The possibility of airliners being hijacked in Irish airports, and flying unchallenged towards British targets less than half-an-hour's flying time away, has been discussed by security chiefs in an ongoing review since the US attacks. A Government spokesman confirmed that a high-level contact group has met every day since the attacks in the US, "looking at all aspects of security in the light of the US events".

There were other fears yesterday that Ireland itself could become a target of Islamic fundamentalists after the Government made Irish airports and airspace available to the US. The offer is to be made at a meeting in Washington next week with US Secretary of State Colin Powell by Foreign Affairs Minister Brian Cowen…

…The US has deployed up to 130 warplanes and about 2,000 marines to the Gulf. A naval battle-group led bythe carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt left the US on Wednesday, bound for the Mediterranean. Also yesterday, 12 British warships and a submarine, the HMS Superb, passed through the Suez Canal in a steady build-up of British forces in the Gulf. A total of 25 ships are expected to be deployed in the region, in addition to ground troops and warplanes. It is the biggest deployment of Royal Navy ships since the 1982 Falklands War. Britain has also offered to contribute to a military force the US is assembling for a campaign against terrorists.

Meanwhile, as Ireland reviews its security, it seems certain that amendments will be made to the current White Paper on Defence. Published last February, it states: "There is no particular threat to the State from other externally based subversive groups. While some continental countries fear the actual or potential activities of international terrorist groups, there is no evidence to suggest that any of these groups has reason or desire to undertake attacks against this State."

Yesterday, however, security sources said Ireland's ability to defend its airspace against the new-style terrorist attacks seen in New York was "problematic". Ireland has no capability to intercept a hijacked airliner. Fine Gael's Foreign Affairs spokesman Jim O'Keeffe said the security situation should be reassessed in the light of the current threat, taking the best advice from our own security people and internationally…

…Also yesterday it was decided that Europe will cover the insurance risk of war and "terrorism" for its airlines after the US attacks. This means that Aer Lingus will take to the skies this week after the Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy and his EU colleagues struck a last- minute deal on special indemnities for beleaguered airlines.

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Bomb Alert Closes Dutch Traffic Tunnels Reuters, 27 September 2001 AMSTERDAM -- Dutch police closed tunnels and threw up roadblocks in Amsterdam and Rotterdam on Thursday after a warning that cars packed with explosives would blow up inside and cause rush hour carnage.

Amsterdam's Coentunnel and Zeeburgertunnel were briefly shut and Rotterdam's Beneluxtunnel and Botlektunnel were partially closed off. Traffic slowed to a trickle as armed police in balaclavas made spot checks.

Dutch news agency ANP on Wednesday received an anonymous letter warning of attacks the following morning.

The letter said that three stolen cars loaded with a mixture of sulphur, nitrate and oil would drive into tunnels in the country's two biggest cities, and would explode at around 0600 GMT.

"The intention is to cause as many victims as possible because it is hoped that the tunnels will collapse," said a copy of the letter, obtained by Reuters. "I back the armed struggle against the pernicious West but in this case there would be so many victims that I feel I must warn you," the letter said.

"I cannot say who I am or how I obtained this information, because that would endanger me and my family, but I ask you to take this letter very seriously," it read.

Officials said there was no immediate evidence linking the threat to militant Islamic groups. Such groups are considered responsible for the September 11 suicide hijack attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and Pentagon near Washington. They said no arrests had been made.

Airspace above part of Amsterdam was also closed for more than three hours from 7:30 a.m. (0530 GMT), causing air traffic delays, officials said.

The Netherlands has already tightened security in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

Dutch police earlier this month arrested four people in the port city of Rotterdam suspected of belonging to a radical Islamic network.

The warning was the second major bomb scare in the Netherlands in as many weeks. Former Vice President Al Gore was among 4,000 people evacuated from a congress center in The Hague last week after officials received a bomb threat.

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-- Andre Weltman (aweltman@state.pa.us), September 28, 2001.

Andre - articles noted. When is the last time you saw the Taliban burn the U.K. flag or the Netherlands flag? We're the number one target, everything else is collateral damage.

Lets do a perspective check. What does it boil down to? Fear of an unexpected death at the hands of terrorists? Isn't that about right? Can we agree on that? We aren't safe, the terrorists could attack at any time right?

What are the odds of expiring via a terrorist attack, extremely slim. In fact the odds are much greater of dieing in a bus in a foreign country. Is everybody terrified of taking the bus in a foreign country? Do me a favor and do a Google search on "bus plunge". Its an entire website devoted to bus crashes around the world.

Now compare unnecessary paranoia that's causing untold economic damage vis-a-vis layoffs, family upheaval, bankruptcy, eviction by the thousands because of the way we react irrationally to what just happened. So yes, Britain is overreacting by damaging there own country. If they want to do something constructive without destroying there own economy then evict the damn middle easterners or screen them with a fine tooth comb! Its time the nation of Islam start policing its own borders and stop letting the fanatics run amok!

-- Guy Daley (guydaley1@netzero.net), September 28, 2001.