(They're still out there...)

According to England's Sun newspaper, a MAJOR assasination plot was foiled in Turkey — one that aimed to wipe out President George Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and 50 other leaders.

It would have effectively been 911 for the world's ruling elite. The Sun reports this:

AN al-Qaeda plot to blow up Tony Blair, George Bush and up to FIFTY other world leaders has been foiled. Cops in Turkey yesterday unveiled a huge arsenal of weapons and explosives found stashed in preparation for a terror doomsday.

They are convinced the target was next month's Nato summit in Istanbul.
And they believe the aim was to wipe out the West's commanders of the War on Terror in an outrage that would dwarf the impact of September 11.
Simultaneous raids led to 25 members of the fanatical Islamist group Ansar al-Islam being arrested.

Pretty scary stuff? Yes...and some deja vu:

Cops seized guns, explosives and bomb-making booklets, along with 4,000 compact discs giving training by al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden. There were also timing dev-ices linked to mobile phones — like those used in the Madrid bombings — and fake ID cards. Nine of those held in Bursa were last night charged with being members of an illegal organisation, an offence which can carry a ten-year sentence.

Meanwhile, the report says there were also plans to attack U.S. troops in Iraq. The moral?

As the U.S. gets focused on provincial matters (the election campaign) there is a tendency to think that everything is back to normal. Madrid showed it wasn't.

It's clear that the temptation for terrorists is to try and do something so dramatic that it tops 911 and Madrid. Consequently, in future years, pre-911 days may be seen as an era of innocence akin to pre-World War II days.

The bottom line is this: it sounds like a terrible cliche, but there really can be no let-down. The second demcratic governments (and even undemocratic ones like Saudi Arabia) let down their guard, they're vulnerable.

It truly is an ongoing war. And although it sounds brutal, in a war against terrorism the prevailing question is this: who can physically eliminate more of the other side first?