Britain’s On Again, Off Again War on Terror
A number of recent developments have illustrated the problems facing the British government as it struggles to combat Islamic terrorism. Most significantly, Britain’s highest court of appeal, the Law Lords, ruled that Abu Qatada, the extremist preacher who has been described as Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe, can be deported to Jordan, where he faces jail for terrorist offenses.
Unfortunately, we haven’t seen the back of Qatada just yet. His lawyers are appealing to the European Court of Human Rights, meaning Qatada could remain in Britain for another year or more. And ominously, the very next day, that same European court awarded Qatada and several other terror suspects thousands of pounds in compensation, after ruling that their detention without trial breached their human rights.
Meanwhile, the International Commission of Jurists claimed that British and American actions designed to combat terrorism had undermined international law, and Stella Rimington — who as the head of MI5 in the 1990s was charged with protecting Britain from terrorists attacks, but these days prefers to endear herself to the chattering classes and boost her book sales with attacks on the UK and U.S. anti-terror policies — accused the British government of exploiting the public’s fear of terrorism to curtail civil liberties.
In other news, a think tank revealed how pupils at some Muslim schools in Britain are being exposed to material that attacks “anti-Islamic” culture and rejects integration (one website likened a child who plays chess to “one who dips his hands in the blood of swine”); librarians were told to move the Bible and other religious books to top shelves, along with the Koran, after Muslims demanded their holy book be placed above other books; and education chiefs decreed that pupils should talk about the July 2005 terror attacks which killed 52 people in London “from the perspective of the bombers” — a move guaranteed to launch a thousand essays that go something like “alienation, yadda yadda yadda … British and American foreign policy, yadda yadda yadda.”
In other words, it’s been a typical couple of weeks in Britain’s half-hearted, half-baked war on terror. Many of the government’s problems are self-inflicted. On one hand, the security services struggle to combat the immediate threat posed by extremists. On the other hand, ministers signal that they will tolerate a certain degree of extremism with craven acts such as the banning of Geert Wilders, while civil servants and NGOs roll out a steady stream of initiatives which reassure Muslims that, while their integration into British society is desirable, they can pretty much dictate the terms.
Excellent article. I noted the silence of the otherwise ubiquitous and intensely irritating. Shami Chakrabarti. And there is a special place in hell reserved for Gareth Pearce – a woman, belive it or not – who defends terrorists’ “human rights”.
Our government’s policy is hopelessly muddled.
It’s the same illogic seen amongst the “progressives” here in the U.S., who believe that “We hate America and the West, the Islamists hate America and the West, ergo, we are natural allies, so let’s support them any way we can.”
And yes, they believe that after the Islamist “triumph”, said Islamists will not only be grateful for their help, but will recognize their “innate superiority and fitness to rule”, and let the “enlightened elite’” run the world for them.
One wonders if they will realize how mistaken they were, even when being bent over the block for the headsman’s sword.
clear ether
eon
I love these education chiefs who insist that students see the London Tube bombings from the perspective of the bombers.
Should we start to learn Holocaust history from the perspectives of the SS? What exactly is the difference? Both the SS and Islamic terrorists are fascists, both hate Jews and, frankly, anyone who disagrees with them on virtually anything.
But twenty-first century fascists, masked in the “religion of peace,” are apparently a different breed from the brutes of the past. Multiculturalism will be our downfall.
Mary: Pierce (I think that’s the spelling) has yet to meet a terrorist she doesn’t like. It’s surely only a matter of time before she’s caught actively co-operating with one, as Lynne Stewart was caught helping Abdel-Rahman in the US.
Eon: if you haven’t already, check out ‘Unholy Alliance’ by David Horowitz, which has lots to say about the links between the left and Islamists. His central thesis is that the Marxist left believes Muslims have only turned to religion because of their poor socio-economic conditions, and oppression by the West – so if the Western oppression is removed, they’ll no longer have any cause to embrace Islam.
Also, as you say, both parties take the view that ‘my enemy’s enemy is my friend’.
Britain is in a PC death spiral. I honestly see no hope for them. And now with Obama in the White House, it seems that we are preparing to hop in after them.
London needs a 100K casualty event and then the Brits will be more clear on what they need to do. Obviously not enough people died in the last incident.
Just deport them. My God. That will send a message to the other islamist jihadist types that they won’t tolerate calls for terrorism and the violent overthrow of the British governmnet. These nuts are brainwashing the youth of the Western world.
Testing 1, 2, 3
Pope Linus:
“Should we start to learn Holocaust history from the perspectives of the SS? What exactly is the difference? Both the SS and Islamic terrorists are fascists, both hate Jews and, frankly, anyone who disagrees with them on virtually anything.”
They have done that already, imagining the Holocaust from the perspective of the SS.
I lived in England for three years, about two years ago, this didn’t catch on in the mainstreame Brit press, only the Jewish press picked it up, it was discovered a school had awarded a prize to a student writer for something like, “Jews, Jews go to your places, the gas chamber, I am glad that you are dead.”
The winning stories were put in a book and sent to students from the school. A Jewish parent got upset and broke the story.
I wrote to the Education Secretary’s office and was told that a) the contest was sponsored by an private publishing company so the school and faculty could not be held responsbile and that b) the kids were taking the point of view of historical figures, in this case, Adolf Hitler, which, I pointed out, WAS in keeping with the curriculum.
Same nonsense they are pleddling with the bombers.
Well, when the Brits lose a few hundred or thousand more people in the next terrorist attack to hit their shores (which it will), then maybe they will start taking things more seriously and oust the clowns they’ve got running the show …
The UK is a place where schools fore go teaching anything about the holocaust because it “offends” Muslims.Not sure why this is, except maybe they fear that the Palestinian support of the NAZIs may become better known. In any event, a society that allows immigrants to dictate its educational policies can’t be relied upon for very much
The UK is a place where schools fore go teaching anything about the holocaust because it “offends” Muslims.
Wrong. Teaching about the holocaust is in fact compulsory up to age 14.
The same goes on in every western country, but the UK and France are lost. A study predicted that Russia would be a Muslim-majority country in 20 years. It boggles my mind how any thinking person can miss then obvious: the Muslims are coming, the Muslims are coming, and they will take over.
Yet, in every European country where islamization is in full speed, the parties opposing radical Islam and further immigration are winning. But the governments are not listening – at least not yet.
Yesterday a Norwegian paper run a story on a Paki imam who did his best to counter Norwegian’s anti-Islam party leader’s declaration that Islam is sneaking into the country. Sitting in his $10,000,000 mosque he demands separate schools, hospitals and services to Muslims, and other mosques are the center of drug trade. These misunderstood sons of Islam.
Psychobarb: “They have done that already, imagining the Holocaust from the perspective of the SS.”
Whoa, hadn’t heard about that. I never thought that something like that was actually possible. Thanks for the story. Absolutely nuts.
Mary Jackson:
Absolutely correct, the Holocaust is taught in schools PLUS the Imperial War Museum has a first rate Holocaust exhibit that, I believe is now permanent. Lots of British school children pass through.
“And professing to be wise, they became fools…”
Stick a fork in their butt and turn them over.
Britain is done.
“The UK is a place where schools fore go teaching anything about the holocaust because it “offends” Muslims. Not sure why this is, except maybe they fear that the Palestinian support of the NAZIs may become better known. In any event, a society that allows immigrants to dictate its educational policies can’t be relied upon for very much”
You are either blatantly deceitful or just plain ignorant, in any event you can’t be relied on for very much.