Britain Foils Major Bomb Plot

The Straits Times pg1, Fri 11th Aug 2006

With the recent foiled bomb plot in Britain, which is believed to be linked to Al-Qaeda, it makes me wonder whether we are safe in this world. I shudder to think what might have been if the bomb plot had not been foiled and how many countless innocent lives would have been lost. Many people could have died that day but thanks to the intervention of the police, those lives have been given a second chance at life. I am highly disturbed by the fact that the people who were going to carry out the bomb plot were going to use beverages, liquids, electronic devices and other common objects mixed together to form a bomb. This is really bad news as it means that it is harder to detect people smuggling bombs onboard a plane as now even liquid bombs can be made. Thus the metal detectors in the airport would be of no use to eliminate such threats like a bomb. With the advances in today's technology, people are able to conjure a bomb out of liquids and common devices, making detecting a bomb such a complicated and difficult task. Technology has helped the world in many aspects such as improving communications around the world, however it has also cost us in many ways. Technology has led to the creation of many deadly weapons and today, this new kind of liquid bomb. It makes me wonder whether technology has in fact help improved our lives or actually made it worse as the world is now a more dangerous place to live in. This foiled bomb plot in Britain certainly sends out a clear message, that we all have to be on the alert and also that we should be thankful for each day we live. I hope that the airports around the world will be able to adapt to these new forms of threats(liquid bombs) and set up more advanced and stricter security measures to counteract these terrorists.