Letter Bombs Sent To Prominent Britons By Jewish Terrorists

The King David Hotel Jewish Terror Attack Against British Troops

Jewish terrorists have admitted sending letter bombs to, prominent Britons. The Stern gang said operations were being carried out by the European branch of the -."fighters for the freedom of Israel."

British Military Intelligence and Scotland Yard believe the letters have been, coming from Italy, and officers are be flying there in an attempt to break down the gang.

According to Reuters, Italian inquiries are now, centred in Milan.

A private secretary; at the Foreign Office received one of the letters addressed to the Foreign Minister (Mr. Bevin) and handed it to Scotland Yard. It was expected that an attempt would be made to injure Mr. Bevin and a special watch was being kept.

Mr. Anthony Eden, former Foreign Secretary, also received one of the letters, says, the "Daily Express." It was delivered at the House of Commons, but he carried it home unopened with other mail.

Next morning he kept an appointment without opening what appeared to be less urgent letters. When he arrived home, Scotland Yard warning was awaiting him.

Today Dr. H. E. Watts, chief surveyor of explosives at the Home Office, carried out experiments with bomb letters. They' consisted of two envelopes, the outer one of normal type and the inner. one of thin cardboard. Inside the inner envelope is an explosive like gelignite and a battery shaped like a pencil, wired to a detonator. The sides of the f cardboard envelope, keep a little, string colija pressed. . Anyone tearing open the envelope would release the spring and set off the detonator and possibly suffer enough wounds, from the gelignite to cause death.

Source: The National Library Of Australia

New Nanomaterial Can Detect & Neutralize Explosives

A test strip changes from blue to colorless in the presence of peroxide-based explosives like those favored by terrorists. (Credit: Allen Apblett)


Mar. 31, 2011
Courtesy Of "Science Daily"

Scientists have described development and successful initial tests of a spray-on material that both detects and renders harmless the genre of terrorist explosives responsible for government restrictions on liquids that can be carried onboard airliners. They reported on the new ink-like explosive detector/neutralizer on March 31 at the 241st National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Anaheim, California.

"This stuff is going to be used anywhere terrorist explosives are used, including battlefields, airports, and subways," said study leader Allen Apblett, Ph.D. "It's going to save lives."

The material is a type of ink made of tiny metallic oxide nanoparticles -- so small that 50,000 could fit inside the diameter of a single human hair. The ink changes color, from dark blue to pale yellow or clear, in the presence of explosives. It also changes from a metallic conductor to a non-conducting material, making electronic sensing also possible.

This color-change feature allows the material to work as a sensor for quickly detecting the presence of vapors produced by explosives, Apblett said. Soldiers or firefighters could wear the sensors as badges on their uniforms or use them as paper-based test strips. Airports, subways and other facilities could use the sensors as part of stationary monitoring devices. The sensors could even be engineered into jewelry and cell phones, the scientist added.

The same color-changing material can also serve as an explosives neutralizer. Firefighters and bomb squad technicians could spray the ink onto bombs or suspicious packages until the color change indicates that the devices are no longer a threat, Apblett said. Technicians could also dump the explosives into vats containing the ink to neutralize them.

Apblett notes that authorities are concerned about peroxide-based explosives, made from hydrogen peroxide, which are easy to make and set off. These explosives first drew public attention in 2001, when thwarted "shoe bomber" Richard Reid tried to use one such substance as the detonator onboard a commercial airliner. In particular, they are concerned about a substance called triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, sometimes used in suicide vests and improvised explosive devices that have claimed such a toll among troops and civilians. However, current methods of detecting this explosive are ineffective, allowing the material to easily escape detection at airports and other locations.

The new ink provides a quick way to detect and test these explosives, which might be hidden in clothing, food, and beverages. The ink contains nanoparticles of a compound of molybdenum, a metal used in a wide variety of applications including missile and aircraft parts. The dark blue ink reacts with the peroxide explosives and turns yellow or clear.

When used as an electronic sensor, the highly-sensitive material is capable of detecting TATP vapors at levels as low as a 50 parts per million, equivalent to a few drops of the vapor in a small room, within 30 seconds. The same chemical reaction allows the materials to serve as an explosives neutralizer. In lab studies, the scientists showed that they could add the material to TATP or HMTD and make them nonexplosive.

"This does a really good job of neutralizing terrorists' explosives," said Apblett, a chemist at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Okla. "I'm excited to see it moving from the lab to the real world."

The material can also improve safety at laboratories that use explosive chemicals. Recently, Apblett developed pellets containing the ink that can be added to laboratory solvents to prevent the build-up of levels of dangerous peroxides, which can cause accidental explosions. The color-changing feature allows the users of the solvents know that they are safe.

Apblett and colleagues founded a company called Xplosafe to develop and market the material. They hope to see the explosive detecting ink used in airports in as little as a year.

The scientists acknowledge funding from Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, the National Science Foundation, Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology, Xplosafe, and Oklahoma State University.

IED Threat Known Before War

By Peter Eisler, USA TODAY
Updated 5h 27m ago (12/10/2008 11:14 AM)
Courtesy Of USA Today

WASHINGTON — Military leaders knew the dangers posed by roadside bombs before the start of the Iraq war but did little to develop vehicles that were known to better protect forces from what proved to be the conflict's deadliest weapon, a report by the Pentagon inspector general says.

The Pentagon "was aware of the threat posed by mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) … and of the availability of mine resistant vehicles years before insurgent actions began in Iraq in 2003," says the 72-page report, which was reviewed by USA TODAY.

The report is to be made public today.

MRAP REPORT: Official summary (PDF file)

Marine Corps leaders "stopped processing" an urgent request in February 2005 for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles from combat commanders in Iraq's Anbar province after declaring that a more heavily armored version of existing Humvee vehicles was the "best available" option for protecting troops, the report says.

Marine officials "did not develop a course of action for the (request), attempt to obtain funding for it or present it to the Marine Corps Requirements Oversight Council for a decision on acquiring" MRAPs, the report says.

The military continued relying mainly on Humvees until May 2007, when then-incoming Defense secretary Robert Gates called procurement of the MRAPs his top priority. Since then, the Pentagon has spent more than $22 billion to buy more than 15,000 of the vehicles.

When field commanders first began requesting MRAPs, military officials saw the armored Humvees as a more immediate option to countering IEDs, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said. "The threat has evolved and our force protection measures have evolved with it," he said.

The Marines requested the inspector general's investigation in February after an internal report accused the Corps of "gross mismanagement" of the urgent request for MRAPs. Hundreds of Marines died unnecessarily because of delays in fielding the vehicles, said the Jan. 22 study by Franz Gayl, a retired Marine officer and civilian science adviser.

Two U.S. senators — Democrat Joe Biden of Delaware, now the vice president-elect, and Republican Kit Bond of Missouri — demanded an investigation after details of Gayl's study were published.

"The Pentagon was aware of the threat IEDs posed to our troops prior to our intervention in Iraq and still failed to take the steps to acquire the technology needed to reduce the risk," Bond said after reviewing the report. "Some bureaucrats at the Pentagon have much to explain."

USA TODAY detailed the Pentagon's failure to move quickly on MRAP development in a series of stories last year. Gates credited one of those stories with sparking his interest in the vehicles.

Marine commanders in Iraq's then-volatile Anbar province sought 1,169 MRAPs in the February 2005 urgent request. "There is an immediate need for an MRAP vehicle capability to increase survivability and mobility of Marines operating in a hazardous fire area," it said.

The inspector general's report says that Marine officials advised Marine Corps commandant Michael Hagee at the time that armored Humvees were the "best available, most survivable" vehicles to meet the request.

MRAPs are far more resistant to IEDs and landmines than armored Humvees because they're higher off the ground and rest on a V-shaped hull, which deflects blasts from the vehicle's underside.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: Congress | Iraq | Pentagon | Marines | Anbar | Defense Secretary Robert Gates | Humvees | Defense | Geoff Morrell | IEDs | Robert Gates | V-shaped | MRAPs | Mine Resistant Ambush Protected | Franz Gayl | Marine Corps Commandant James Conway | Naval Audit Service | Michael Hagee | Republican Kit Bond of Missouri | then-Marine

LIGHTER VEHICLES:Pentagon looking for MRAP hybrid for Afghanistan

DELAYS: Sen Kennedy hammers Marines for ignoring MRAP request from field

LIFESAVERS: Gates calls MRAPs lifesavers, says USAT story piqued his interest

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Share your thoughts on modern-day combat