Iraqi Sought in London Bombings

There were two car bombs in London’s West End yesterday; as the Sun reports in its inimitable style, the apparent al Qaeda plot was foiled by “a drunken reveller, a hero cop and a car clamper.” Thanks to London’s network of security cameras, it is being reported that the police have a clear video of a would-be bomber fleeing the car that was discovered next to a well-known night club.
Meanwhile, the Scotsman says the authorities are looking for a missing Iraqi:

Police say they are looking for an Iraqi who went on the run from a control order only 11 days before yesterday’s failed bombing attempts. The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, is part of a six-strong cell linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq.
He went missing on 18 June in north-west England, and his whereabouts are unknown.

This will no doubt heighten the controversy over “absconders,” terror suspects who are basically told by the authorities not to disappear, but who, unsurprisingly, often do so, much like illegal immigrants in the U.S. who are ticketed and told to show up for a hearing. Treating illegals this way is bad enough; treating terror suspects in such a cavalier manner is incomprehensible. Presumably the system will be tightened up following this near-miss.
UPDATE: Terrorism? What terrorism? The appalling Keith Olbermann and his guest, professional terrorism-denier Larry Johnson, explain why the London car bombs were really nothing to worry about, and the only thing we have to fear is Guantanamo Bay:

Via the Forum. For a contrary view of the damage the car bombs could have done, from the notoriously wild-eyed London Times, go here.
FURTHER UPDATE: More on the potential lethality of the car bomb here.
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