2006 TOP TEN Number 5

2006 was a rooler coaster ride of terror threat ups and downs. It all began when seven people were taken into custody after a sweep by law enforcement authorities in connection with an alleged plot against targets that may have included the Sears Tower. No weapons or bomb-making materials were ever found in the searches in the Miami area by FBI and state and local law enforcement officials. The city of Chicago was adamant in assuring its citizens that there was no eminent threat.

In the summer, the US finally got its ground-based interceptor missile defense system operational. And Canadian police halted a real and serious terror threat in and around Toronto. Twelve men and five youths said to have been inspired by al Qaeda were arrested in the operation involving hundreds of officers. The group was planning to commit a series of terrorist attacks against solely Canadian targets in southern Ontario. The group took steps to acquire three tons of ammonium nitrate and other components necessary to create explosive devices.

But the biggest terror threats came in August, when terrorists were in the final stages of planning to blow up planes heading to the United States from Britain. The plans were suggestive of an al Qaeda plot. British police apprehended 21 suspects involved in the plot. The U.S. raised the terror threat level to "severe" for all flights leaving Britain for the United States. Britain raised its alert level to "critical" and involved hiding liquid explosives in carry-on luggage and targeted Continental, United, British Airways and American Airlines flights to New York, Washington and California. Six to 10 flights were targeted. Flights were canceled or delayed at airports across Europe and the United States as the new security measures produced massive lines at airports.

The threats hit home when three men purchased cell phones from the Wal-Mart store on M-81 near the corner of M-24 in Caro. The three men allegedly bought 80 by purchasing them three at time so that an alert wouldn't be triggered by the cash register. They also paid cash. Once apprehended, the suspects had 1000 other cell phones in the van. There was also a bag of receipts showing that someone was in Wisconsin the day before. The Michigan State Police bomb squad says this has all the tell tale signs of using cell phones to detonate bombs. Federal authorities helped with the investigation into the possible terror threat assuming the suspected tarted to be the Mackinac Bridge. The bridge security had already been increased for several months due to elevated terror alert levels. Cameras on the bridge are monitored so that any suspicious packages or activity will be responded to by authorities. One theory is that the men weren't targeting solely the bridge itself but the people on it. The Annual Labor Day Bridge Walk has drawn over 60,000 people in the past few years. When the dust finally cleared, the three Dallas-area men arrested turned out to be well-known to cell phone resalers in the Dallas area. All charges were eventually dropped and the men were free to go.