After hunting down Islamic terrorists for 20 years, often at great personal risk, Jean-Louis Bruguière is better placed than most people to predict al-Qaeda’s next move. France’s best known anti-terrorist judge says he was “unfortunately not very surprised” by the July 7 bombings in London. “Since the Madrid attacks [in March 2004] there has been a strong upsurge in the threat to Europe,” says the 62-year-old, nicknamed “le sheriff” for his old habit of carrying a handgun in public. He says there were signs the UK was likely to be the next target well before July 7. “In my opinion the most interesting attack for analysis is the one in Istanbul [in November 2003]. It is incontestable that the real target was British, with the consulate and HSBC [bank] being hit. It was a direct warning.” Full Story