Al-Qaida, the terrorist organisation is bracing up for an attack on a big financial centre in Asia, such as Tokyo, Singapore or Sydney, in a bid to undermine investor confidence in Asia, opined Jean-Louis Bruguiere, a top terrorist investigator of France in an interview to the Financial Times, the business daily of Britain.
He rued that several Asian countries were less prepared than Britain or the US for such an eventuality. He regretted that “Despite the threat, we are somewhat neglecting the capacity or desire of the al-Qaida to destabilise.
Bruguiere has been warning about the threat of terrorists since a string of bombings rocked Paris in the mid-1980s. He has overseen the arrest of more than 500 suspected terrorists over the past 20 years, heading up a specialist team of judges who work alongside anti-terrorist police and intelligence agents.
He warned of the danger of terrorists hijacking aircraft well before 9/11 attacks in 2001, after foiling a 1994 attempt by Algeria-based terrorists to crash an Air France jet into the Eiffel Tower in Paria. He said there were signs that Britain would come under attack well before 7/7 attacks.
Bruguiere recalled that the British consulate and HSBC Bank in Istanbul (Turkey) were bombed on the day in November 2003 when President Bush was paying a state visit to London. 7/7 attacks coincided with the first full day of the Group of Eight summit in Scotland, hosted by Prime Minister Tony Blair and attended by President Bush.
“The symbolism is a fundamental element that we neglect in the overall problem,” Bruguiere said.
via ft
