Omlets vs. Quiche

I just watched the first episode of the BBC series MI-5 last night on DVD. Great stuff. The only quibble I had with the pilot was with the villain, who was an American anti-Abortion activist named Mary Kane that wanted to start a reign of terrorism in Britain. Of all the actors they could have gotten to play this Southern character, they chose a New York actress who couldn't do a good Southern accent to save her life. Oh well.

But here's an interesting point: One of the plot complications was how the CIA representative in London wanted to bring in the terrorist now so the American government could have someone to parade out in front of the American people and say "Hey! We're doing our job!" (The pilot takes place some six months after 9/11). Nevermind that the British agents did all the work and had the subject under constant surveillance so she couldn't do anything. Also, the CIA also doesn't seem to care that MI-5 wants to follow her around a bit longer to find her associates and where the rest of her explosives are hidden, thus possibly saving some British lives that could still hang in the balance.

So, considering that storyline, it's interesting to read this (Via Boing Boing):

NBC News has learned that U.S. and British authorities had a significant disagreement over when to move in on the suspects in the alleged plot to bring down trans-Atlantic airliners bound for the United States.

A senior British official knowledgeable about the case said British police were planning to continue to run surveillance for at least another week to try to obtain more evidence, while American officials pressured them to arrest the suspects sooner. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case.

In contrast to previous reports, the official suggested an attack was not imminent, saying the suspects had not yet purchased any airline tickets. In fact, some did not even have passports.

Go read the rest. It's worth it.