The Rest Is Classified – Episode 129: Al Qaeda’s Deadliest Plot: Why You Can’t Bring Liquids On Planes (Ep 4)

Hosts: David McCloskey (former CIA analyst, spy novelist) & Gordon Corera (veteran security correspondent)
Date: February 18, 2026

Episode Overview

In this gripping episode, David and Gordon dissect the inside story of the infamous 2006 transatlantic airline liquid bomb plot—unraveling a cascading tale of spycraft, inter-agency friction, counterterrorism panic, and a global legacy that persists every time you empty your water bottle at airport security. They reconstruct how Britain's MI5, the CIA, and Pakistani intelligence found themselves both collaborating and clashing in the race to stop an attack that could have eclipsed even 9/11. The conversation also explores how these events changed not only security procedures but also the dynamics of intelligence alliances—issues that resonate today.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: The Liquid Bomb Plot Emerges

• [00:04:19] The episode picks up with the arrest of Rashid Rauf, the plot’s UK-born mastermind, by Pakistani authorities at the likely behest of the CIA—without the knowledge of British intelligence.
• Gordon: “It’s happened without the Brits knowing … you can see everyone knows that this is gonna be an awkward conversation.”

Notable Insight: The unfolding operation illustrates the high-stakes, pressure-cooker environment where both intelligence and law enforcement must work together—but sometimes collide.

2. Anger and Chaos: British Response to CIA Intervention

• [05:08] Police at Scotland Yard were blindsided by the premature arrest, furious that their surveillance was upended and potentially the entire investigation jeopardized.
  • Gordon: “They are furious … it was a breaking of trust.”
• As a result, an urgent late-night operation is launched to arrest all key British suspects before they disappear or accelerate their attack.
  • [06:36] David: “Worth reminding … MI5 does not have powers of arrest, so … the intelligence picture needs to get transferred to the police …”
  • “It’s chaos in the operations room at the police, the phones are ringing, communications are hard.”
• Memorable Moment [08:44]:
  • There’s no dramatic showdown: “The two men get out, greet each other … something appears to be passed … the martyrdom video which just been recorded a few hours earlier … at that moment they get arrested … they don’t put up a fight.” – Gordon

Key Takeaway: The UK police and MI5 lost critical time and (possibly) key evidence due to the U.S.-prompted, Pakistani-executed arrest of Rauf, leading to a rushed and chaotic clampdown.

3. The Global Travel Fallout: Liquids Ban on Planes

• [12:57] The hosts revisit the now-familiar legacy: global bans on liquids in hand luggage.
  • David: “There was an era where you could just walk onto an aircraft with a bottle of water … and so now you have to adapt the rules.”
• The ban had to be implemented instantly, with no warning to airlines: “Flights are getting stopped, people are being told they can’t take any liquids on … airlines and airports knew nothing about it … it was total chaos that day.” – Gordon [14:43]

Notable Quote:
David [12:57]: “For all of the Gen Z types that are listening … there was an era where you could just walk onto an aircraft with a bottle of water. Sounds amazing.”

4. From Arrest to Trial: Challenges and Friction

• [15:21] The hosts delve into why MI5 was waiting—the hope was to catch the conspirators with viable bombs or preparations.
  • Gordon: “One of the problems is no actual bombs have yet been built … Sarwar hadn’t concentrated the hydrogen peroxide, you don’t have a workable bomb …”
  • Much of the evidence was coded, circumstantial, or ambiguous, making prosecution far more difficult.
• Despite martyrdom videos and to-do lists, juries initially balked at the strongest charges, leading to multiple trials over several years with mixed verdicts.
  • [18:24] Gordon: “There was a lot of skepticism … it seemed extraordinary at the time … and so they don’t get as many charged or even the verdicts they expected initially.”
  • Some in UK blamed the Americans for moving too soon: “The fact we didn’t get these verdicts was because we didn’t have those extra two-three days to really have them bang to rights.” – Gordon

Notable Quote:
Jose Rodriguez, former CIA: “The liquids plot saga turned out to be emblematic of my CIA career—… the importance of swift action, of nimble decision making, and of being able to hold and interrogate key terrorist suspects ourselves without relying on surrogates …” [19:57; quoted by David]

5. The Rashid Rauf Saga: Escape and Endgame

• [23:29] After his 2006 arrest in Pakistan, Rauf’s fate spins into almost farcical territory:
  • Rauf is moved between army and police custody, claims torture, ISI fears exposure of links with Kashmiri jihadist groups.
  • [27:54] In December 2007, after a series of bizarre stops—including a McDonald’s and a mosque—Rauf escapes, apparently with police complicity.
    • Gordon: “Rauf’s uncle convinces [the police] to ride in his car ... they stop at McDonald’s … then a mosque … he doesn’t come back …”
    • His lawyer: “was told of his client’s escape hours before it actually happened and predicted his client would eventually be dead.” – David [29:09]
• Rauf resumes plotting for Al Qaeda, involved in further attack plans in UK, US, Scandinavia.
  • [31:02] David: “… the US is pushing to do much more unilateral operations … eventually … a massive Predator campaign in the tribal areas.”
• [32:27] In November 2008, Rauf is (reportedly) killed in a US drone strike, though doubts persist.
  • David: “Reliable sources have told The Rest Is Classified that Rashid Rauf has passed.” [32:32]

6. Wider Lessons: The “Special Relationship” Under Strain

• [34:43] The hosts extract bigger lessons regarding Anglo-American intelligence relations:
  • David: “Throughout the story you see … tremendous intimacy between the two services, but also … friction … If there are even slight differences … that leads to mistrust.”
  • Gordon: “At the end of the day they [the U.S.] are the bigger partner in this relationship and they can do that … the Brits basically had to deal with it.”
• The contrast with the US-Pakistan “liaison”—plagued by deep strategic differences—is drawn to underline how even close intelligence partnerships can be undermined by diverging tactics, priorities, or sheer power asymmetry.
• The episode closes by questioning whether growing modern differences (e.g., over Russia, China) make similar ruptures more likely today, even if operational cooperation remains close.

7. Legacy: Why You Still Can’t Bring Liquids (Mostly)

• [38:48] The plot’s security legacy continues two decades on—restrictions on liquids at airports remained “only now … getting over.”

David: “Twenty years on you haven’t been able to take liquids on planes—although it’s starting to change …”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Gordon [05:17]: “They are furious … it was a breaking of trust.”
• Gordon [08:44]: “It’s pretty anticlimactic isn't it … there's no sort of fight, no, they just surrender … something appears to be passed … it's actually the martyrdom video … at that moment they get arrested and you're right they don’t put up a fight.”
• David [12:57]: “There was an era where you could just walk onto an aircraft with a bottle of water … sounds amazing.”
• Jose Rodriguez, via David [19:57]: “No good deed went unpunished … the importance of swift action … being able to hold and interrogate key terrorist suspects ourselves without relying on surrogates …”
• David & Gordon [27:54-28:20]: Describing the McDonald’s-and-mosque escape with a mixture of incredulity and black humor, highlighting gallows wit and the bumbling farce of international counterterrorism.
• David [34:43]: “Throughout the story you see … tremendous intimacy between the two services, but also … friction … that leads to mistrust.”
• Gordon [36:35]: “At the end of the day they are the bigger partner in this relationship and they can do that and they did that in this case … the Brits basically had to … deal with it.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:04:19 – Rashid Rauf’s arrest in Pakistan sets off diplomatic and operational chaos.
• 05:17 – Scotland Yard learns of the arrest, anger and rushed operations begin.
• 08:44 – Arrest of lead conspirators—martyrdom video handed over, suspects surrender.
• 12:57 – Introduction of global airline liquid bans.
• 15:21 – Aftermath: evidence uncertainties and prosecution hurdles.
• 19:57 – Jose Rodriguez mindset and US-UK friction articulated.
• 23:29 – The strange saga of Rashid Rauf post-arrest, including his escape.
• 31:02 – US response: shift to increased drone strikes.
• 32:27 – Reported drone killing of Rauf and its ambiguity.
• 34:43 – The intelligence “special relationship” and enduring legacies.

Tone and Language

• Conversation is often wry and lightly sardonic, especially when discussing police bureaucracy or the almost comic details of Rauf’s escape.
• The hosts maintain a sense of operational urgency and the gravity of near-misses, but punctuate their analysis with dry British/American humor and the occasional pop-cultural allusion (“Gen Z types … bottle of water”; “could have had that meeting at the soccer game or on jet skis”).
• The mood is reflective, especially in the final third, with a sense of awe at how history could have turned on a knife-edge.

Summary for Non-Listeners

This episode unveils the behind-the-scenes drama around the 2006 liquid bomb plot: how covert operations, inter-agency trust and mistrust, legal complications, and sheer luck kept thousands from dying in a disaster that would have shattered transatlantic relations and global air travel. The chaotic restrictions on liquids—still with us today—are just one visible scar. The rest? It’s classified, but you’ll find it here.