Thwarted: The massive terrorist attack that never came to be

During the summer of 2006 a group of al-Qaida operatives – British citizens of Pakistani origin – planned Operation Overt, a terrorist attack that would have rivaled 9/11 in its destructiveness. They intended to detonate bombs on seven transatlantic passenger flights, which would result in 3,000 deaths, including their own. The attack was stopped by MI5 and Scotland Yard, with help from the CIA. “Disruption” is former counterterrorism analyst Aki J. Peritz’s account of this plot and the