A start of systems disruption in earnest?
7/12/05: Zawahiri video posted to the Internet: "I call on the holy warriors to concentrate their campaigns on the stolen oil of the Muslims, most of the revenues of which go to the enemies of Islam. The enemies of Islam are exploiting such vital resources with incomparable greed, and we have to stop that theft with all we can and save this fortune for the nation of Islam." (this is a follow up to bin Laden's earlier call for systems attacks)
11/12/05: The Bruncefield Total/Texaco oil depot northwest of London exploded. The explosion was so intense, there is very little likelihood that any cause will be found. 400 tankers offload everyday at the facility which stores 4 million gallons of gasoline, diesel, kerosine, and aviation fuel. As one of the top 5 facilities in the UK, it supplies 5% of the country's energy needs.
NOTE: If so, this attack was probably due to the same community dynamic we saw in the London subway attacks. Also, if this attack is not claimed it doesn't mean that this wasn't terrorism, it might mean that the threat has evolved to a more effective form. Anonymity is a weapon.NOTE2: Here's some more from Zawahiri on al Qaeda's focus on oil production from Jamestown.org. Again, this development is a strong confirmation that al Qaeda is aligning itself with the Global Guerrillas approach to systems disruption.
In particular, he called on the mujahideen to "make every effort in your power to stop the greatest theft in history of the natural resources of both present and future generations." To do this, they should "focus operations on [oil production], especially in Iraq and the Gulf area, since this will cause them to die off." The gravity of these statements was graphically demonstrated last September when Saudi security forces, after a 48-hour armed confrontation at al-Dammam, uncovered a stash of forged documents aimed at providing militants with access to some of Saudi Arabia's principal oil and gas facilities. Since this time, forum traffic has kept the "U.S. thirst for oil" theme at the fore as an explanation for American strategy in the region, and, accordingly, has highlighted the vulnerability of the superpower, as illustrated by the episodes of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Comments to this effect populate the forums passim.