British spies go public with official history

A new book says Britain's domestic spy service thinks the threat from Islamist terrorism has stopped growing but remains severe, with terrorists eager to acquire weapons of mass destruction

Historian Christopher Andrew says the MI5 agency was initially slow to grasp the threat from militant Islam. But since Sept. 11, 2001, it has foiled several major terrorist plots.

"The Defence of the Realm," published Monday in Britain is the first authorized history of MI5. It quotes MI5 chief Jonathan Evans as saying that recent counterterrorism successes have had "a chilling effect on the enthusiasm of the plotters."

But Andrew says terrorists remain determined to get chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.

AP