Pesky terrorist ringleader not a terrorist

As I mentioned in a previous post, the big sensational British Summer terrorism bust (the one about blowing up 10 airliners, and "mass murder on an unimaginable scale") is quietly disappearing. Suspects are being released, bailed, or charged with lesser offenses.

The latest news is that the supposed ringleader has just turned out not to be a terrorist after all:

The arrest of Rashid Rauf in Pakistan triggered arrests in the UK of a number of suspects allegedly plotting to blow up transatlantic flights.

The Pakistani authorities described him as a key figure.

But an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi found no evidence that he had been involved in terrorist activities or that he belonged to a terrorist organisation.

I have previously posted doubts about the whole thing here, here, here, and here.

I don't think the public will notice. Innocent people don't generally make for good headlines. The police and politicians certainly won't be anxious to remind us about the whole affair. All that will remain in the public memory will be some vague, false notion that Tony Blair saved us from terrorists this Summer. All of the UK's big terrorism busts have turned out to be bogus in the end, but the public don't seem to have noticed. We therefore remain as fearful, gullible, and manipulable as ever, and Tony Blair gets to look "tough on terrorists".

Do you spot a pattern? Will you believe them the next time?