The Rise of Gig Economy Warfare

If you’re confused about what happened at a British air base last week, you’re not alone. Five men arrested on suspicion of terrorism — and then let go. A prime minister citing “strong indications” that Iran was behind it — but not explaining how. Nobody got hurt, and no damage has been done, as far as we know. But over the weekend, the U.S. military suddenly pulled all of its B-1 bombers from the base, a highly unusual move. War used to be more or less clearly defined: armies fighting on the battlefield. These days, it takes many hard-to-grasp forms. Today’s newsletter is about one of the newest. Image Near the R.A.F. Fairford military air base in England last week. Credit... Leon Neal/Getty Images The mysterious story of what didn’t happen at a British air base At first, it seemed like a large terror attack on a British air base had been thwarted. Then the story turned stranger. The five men arrested last week had been traveling in white vans in the middle of the night near a base in southern England that the U.S. has used in its war against Iran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps had warned over the summer that “any base used to launch attacks on Iranian territory” would be “a legitimate target.” The arrests suggested that threat had materialized. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in . Want all of The Times? Subscribe .