We keep getting lucky, which many times is better than being good:

Police searches are said to have uncovered two issues of the al Qaeda extremist magazine Inspire, which is published in English in Yemen and is aimed at a Western audience. An article in issue one was entitled "How to make a pipe bomb in the kitchen of your mom", while issue two included "What to expect in jihad" and "Tips for our brothers in the US".

Other allegedly extremist material found was entitled 39 Ways which said it was intended to help people "serve and participate in jihad".

Anwar Al-Awlaki, the extremist Yemeni preacher whose teachings support and encourage violent jihad against the West, is alleged to be the inspiration for the plot, the court heard. Between Oct 1 and Dec 20, the men are alleged to have downloaded information from the internet, discussed acts of terrorism and tested explosives while "unlawfully and maliciously" conspiring to "endanger life or cause serious injury" with one or more explosions.

Targets included Big Ben, a couple of synagogues, Westminster Abbey, and the US consulate among others.

The American terrorist cleric Anwar al-Awaki was supposedly the "inspiration" for the plot. Curiously, all nine men were Bangladeshi.

How the authorities sniffed out the plot isn't detailed in the article but one can infer that they were observed scoping out targets. Whether some alert passer-by or a sharp eyed bobby saw the men acting suspiciously, it reinforces the notion that in this case, we were probably lucky rather than good.