that London plot

I was pretty skeptical at first. Because every time we hear about a new terrorist plot -- be it the dirty bomb scheme that Ashcroft announced from an emergency press conference abroad, to the recent story of the people who were going to blow up the Sears tower -- it turns out to be garbage.

But everyone kept saying this one was real.

Well, NBC has what may be the beginning of the unraveling:

NBC News has learned that U.S. and British authorities had a significant disagreement over when to move in on the suspects in the alleged plot to bring down trans-Atlantic airliners bound for the United States.

A senior British official knowledgeable about the case said British police were planning to continue to run surveillance for at least another week to try to obtain more evidence, while American officials pressured them to arrest the suspects sooner. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case.

In contrast to previous reports, the official suggested an attack was not imminent, saying the suspects had not yet purchased any airline tickets. In fact, some did not even have passports.

If what this British official is saying is true, it means that some American 'senior officials' have been lying in at least part of their descriptions to media about this whole thing. And if they're lying about this part of it, they could be lying about lots of other parts of it, too.