Following the recent terrorist attack in London that left seven dead and several wounded and in light of the previous two attacks on Westminster Bridge and in Manchester, British Prime Minister Theresa May has promised to allow for more extensive law enforcement measures in fighting extremism. The Prime Minister stated that if human rights laws would prevent the government from pursuing their agenda against extremism, the government would “change the laws so we can do it”. UK intelligence services already possess a variety of intrusive powers to manage the threat that is perceived as especially challenging in Great Britain today, namely identifying, monitoring and countering ‘homegrown’ extremists and their supporters.… Seguir leyendo »
The leaking of sensitive information about the investigation into Monday’s terrorist attack on the Manchester Arena, including forensic images of bomb apparatus, to United States media caused dismay and anger among British officials. The prime minister, Theresa May, went so far as to raise the issue directly with President Trump when they met at Thursday’s NATO conference in Brussels.
To modify George Bernard Shaw’s maxim, Britain and America appear to be two countries divided less by a common language than by common secrets. While British investigators jealously guard detailed information about their operations, seeking to run their leads to ground before they are exposed to view, their American counterparts seem more willing to put what they know directly into the public domain.… Seguir leyendo »
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron is determined to deal with the threat from international terrorists. Or so he keeps saying. The problem is that Cameron's proposed air strikes in Syria are likely to escalate the threat, while his government's policies elsewhere in the Middle East are also providing nourishment to "Islamic State" (ISIS) and al Qaeda.
Just as his predecessor Tony Blair ignored intelligence warning that invading Iraq would increase the likelihood of terrorist attacks, Cameron is playing fast and loose with the safety of the British public, and the wider world.
The plan for bombing "Islamic State" in Syria that Cameron laid before the British Parliament last week started to unravel almost immediately.… Seguir leyendo »
On 13 November, France was struck at its very heart. These terrorist actions were the bloodiest and most horrifying attacks France has experienced in more than half a century.
They caused hundreds of casualties, including one British citizen, brought devastation to their loved ones and outraged millions of people throughout France, Europe and the world, bound together in a movement of shared solidarity that was heart-warming to all French people in these terrible times.
We were struck, and moved, by reactions in the United Kingdom, both official and unofficial. Spontaneously, British citizens gathered to observe moments of silence and remembrance. People from every neighbourhood in London came to our embassy to demonstrate their solidarity with the French people.… Seguir leyendo »
This Monday morning I am visiting Paris to show our continued support to the French people and to discuss with President Hollande how we can work together to rid the world of this evil terrorist threat.
As the murders on the streets of Paris reminded us so starkly, Islamic State (Isil) is not some remote problem thousands of miles away; it is a direct threat to our security. So I want the British people to know they have a government that understands the importance of our national security and that we will take whatever actions are necessary to keep our country safe.… Seguir leyendo »
Outside the circle of his friends and family there will be few tears shed at the death of Reyaad Khan, a 21 year old from Wales, targeted and killed in Syria by the RAF on 21 August. From being an engaged and articulate youth activist in Cardiff, he subsequently followed what he himself in an earlier interview with The Guardian had hinted was the wrong path by joining the so-called Islamic State. His subsequent boasts on social media, graphically illustrated, suggested his direct involvement in many killings in Syria, some of them by his account quite likely murder.
But his own death was not in response to these actions, it was, as the Prime Minister told Parliament on Monday, because he presented a threat to the lives and security of British citizens in Britain.… Seguir leyendo »
Two years ago, the UK parliament rejected a plan for air strikes on Syria, a decision accepted by the prime minister with good grace. Two months ago the new business secretary, Sajid Javid, appeared to speak for the government when he tartly dismissed calls by former members of the top brass for “boots on the ground” to try to halt the advance of Islamic State, saying it was up to the people in the region to fight their own wars.
Two weeks ago David Cameron mooted UK participation in allied air strikes over Syria for the same purpose, but promised to place any proposal before parliament in the autumn.… Seguir leyendo »
La primera semana de Gordon Brown como primer ministro británico ha estado plagada de sorpresas. Después de los atentados frustrados en Londres y Glasgow, los servicios antiterroristas elevaron la alarma a la categoría de "crítica", que implica que otro atentado es inminente. Nunca hasta entonces se habían disparado las alertas hasta ese punto y, pese a ello, la reacción del nuevo Gobierno ha sido serena, profesional y tranquilizadora. En claro contraste con la política "sensacionalista" de Tony Blair, la ministra del Interior de Brown, Jacqui Smith, no ha mencionado el "extremismo islámico" ni la "guerra contra el terror", ni ha aprovechado los atentados frustrados para obtener una rápida aprobación de la legislación antiterrorista que en este momento está examinando el Parlamento y que significaría un endurecimiento considerable.… Seguir leyendo »
The attacks on London of July 7 2005 triggered a searching debate about the ability of the police and MI5 to cope with the threat of terrorism. Some people said that we needed further curbs on civil liberties; some pointed the finger at British Muslims and demanded more cooperation from them. But it is the competence of the security services that is now in question after revelations from the trial that ended yesterday at the Old Bailey with five men found guilty of plotting to cause mass murder in Britain using fertiliser-based explosives. Some of those convicted yesterday were seen by MI5 meeting two of the July 7 bombers.… Seguir leyendo »
Predictably enough, the action of the police in last year's Forest Gate raid has been excused with the mildest of rebukes. Out of more than 150 complaints, only a tiny number were upheld. The whole operation, you will recall, was a figment of the security services' imagination. A fortnight ago, there was another spectacular anti-terrorist operation, this time in Birmingham, concerning an alleged plot to kidnap a Muslim member of the armed forces. The pattern of these operations is now well established. The police swoop on an area, make dozens of arrests, accompanied by lurid media reports about the would-be plotters' intentions.… Seguir leyendo »
What is it about a desert that drives men mad? On Monday morning the prime minister stood on the Afghan sand and said: "Here in this extraordinary piece of desert is where the fate of world security in the early 21st century is going to be decided."
Tony Blair was talking to soldiers he had sent to fight the toughest guerrillas on earth for control of southern Afghanistan. He told them: "Your defeat [of the Taliban] is not just on behalf of the people of Afghanistan but the people of Britain ... We have got to stay for as long as it takes."… Seguir leyendo »
Dan Plesch, a research associate at the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (THE GUARDIAN, 11/08/06):
Popular trust in government is a necessary foundation of a society's defences against terrorism. We need to believe we are being told the truth and that our government is acting in good faith. Unfortunately there is now sufficient reason to be sceptical about who we should entrust our security to.The alleged plot to attack aircraft and passengers announced by Scotland Yard yesterday obviously concerns us all and, for the time being, we have to take it at face value.… Seguir leyendo »
Dan Plesch es investigador asociado del Centro de Estudios Internacionales y Diplomacia de la Universidad de Londres (EL MUNDO, 12/08/06).
La confianza del pueblo en el Gobierno es imprescindible en la defensa de la sociedad contra el terrorismo. Desgraciadamente, en estos momentos hay razones para mostrar escepticismo acerca de las personas en las que deberíamos confiar nuestra seguridad.
La conspiración para atentar contra aviones anunciada por Scotland Yard nos afecta a todos y, de momento, debemos tomárnosla tal y como nos la cuentan. Hasta ahora se ha registrado algún éxito de los servicios de seguridad, que han conseguido llevar a juicio a algunos terroristas.… Seguir leyendo »
Is Osama Bin Laden winning after all? Until recently I would have derided such a thought. How could a tinpot fanatic who is either dead or shut in some mountain hideout hold the world to ransom for five years? It would stretch the imagination of an Ian Fleming.
Now I am beginning to wonder. Not a day passes without some new sign of Bin Laden’s mesmeric grip on the governments of Britain and America. His deeds lie behind half the world’s headlines. British policy seems obsessed with one word: terrorism. The West is equivocating, writhing, slithering in precisely the direction most desired by its enemy.… Seguir leyendo »
José Antonio Martín Pallin es magistrado del Tribunal Supremo (EL PAIS, 17/09/05).
Los poderes dominantes siempre se muestran reacios a mantener diálogos con los discrepantes. Desdeñando sus propuestas, cercenan cualquier debate intelectual o político con unos seres a los que consideran extraños, soberbios y olímpicamente recluidos en sus torres de marfil.
Los reproches y el confinamiento proceden normalmente de los líderes políticos. Generalmente los desacreditan atribuyéndoles una actitud insolidaria, exquisita, distante y desviada de las verdades oficiales. En una sociedad plural, crítica y respetuosa con la disidencia nadie debería ser excluido de participar en la búsqueda de soluciones alternativas al pragmatismo político coyuntural.… Seguir leyendo »
Nile Gardiner es Doctor en Filosofía y miembro de la Anglo-American Security Policy de la Fundación Heritage (GEES, 31/08/05).
El ministro de Interior británico Charles Clarke declaró esta semana la intención de su gobierno de deportar o excluir a personas que aboguen o apoyen el uso del terrorismo. Clarke trazó a grandes rasgos una lista de “comportamientos inaceptables” para extranjeros viviendo en Gran Bretaña. Incluye la expresión de opiniones que “fomenten, justifiquen o glorifiquen la violencia terrorista para promover sus creencias políticas” o “que busquen provocar a otros a realizar actos terroristas”.[1] Esto cubre “cualquier recurso o medio” incluyendo publicaciones, charlas públicas, prédicas, sitios web y posiciones de responsabilidad tales como profesorado o ser líder de una comunidad.… Seguir leyendo »
Gilles Kepel es profesor en la Facultad de Ciencias Políticas de París y ocupa la cátedra de Oriente Próximo y Mediterráneo (EL PAIS, 31/08/05).
El 5 de agosto de 2005, Tony Blair anunció una serie de medidas antiterroristas que representan un cambio radical de la estrategia británica respecto al movimiento islamista, puesto en evidencia tras los atentados del 7 y el 21 de julio. La política de Londonistán -el asilo político concedido a los ideólogos islamistas radicales a cambio de convertir el Reino Unido en santuario- ha quedado definitivamente enterrada: Omar Bakri, el extravagante sirio fundador del grupúsculo Al Muhayirun, aficionado a ensalzar a Osama bin Laden y los "219 magníficos" -los terroristas del 11 de septiembre-, se fue a Líbano, después de dos décadas en Inglaterra, para pasar unas vacaciones rápidamente convertidas en destierro por el ministro de Interior británico.… Seguir leyendo »
Irshad Manji is the author of The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim's Call for Reform in Her Faith (NEW YORK TIMES. 09/08/05).
For a European leader, Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain has done something daring. He has given notice not just to the theocrats of Islam, but also to the theocracy of tolerance.
"Staying here carries with it a duty," Mr. Blair said in referring to foreign-born Muslim clerics who glorify terror on British soil. "That duty is to share and support the values that sustain the British way of life. Those who break that duty and try to incite hatred or engage in violence against our country and its people have no place here."… Seguir leyendo »
Walter Laqueur, director del Instituto de Estudios Estratégicos de Washington (LA VANGUARDIA, 27/07/05).
El día siguiente de los primeros atentados en Londres, una veintena de líderes de la comunidad musulmana se reunieron en el número 10 de Downing Street, la residencia de Tony Blair. El primer ministro británico los había congregado para iniciar un diálogo sobre la forma de afrontar la nueva y peligrosa situación. La idea era buena y de hecho se ha fomentado desde hace años en Europa. Es evidente que el deterioro de las relaciones con las minorías musulmanas debe evitarse a casi cualquier coste. Y, por otra parte, las autoridades en Gran Bretaña y otros países europeos no pueden pretender hacer progresos importantes en la lucha contra el terrorismo sin la ayuda de miembros de comunidades musulmanas; en realidad desconocen lo que se cuece en el interior de determinadas mezquitas, ya sean importantes o no, así como en el seno de diversas organizaciones secretas y no secretas de la comunidad musulmana.… Seguir leyendo »
Richard Norton-Taylor es responsable de temas de Inteligencia en el diario británico The Guardian (EL MUNDO, 20/07/05).
Si los ministros y diputados no pueden reconocer que la invasión de Irak ha aumentado la amenaza terrorista, dejemos que otros lo hagan. Podemos empezar por los responsables de velar por la seguridad del Reino Unido y los intereses británicos en el exterior.
El 10 de febrero de 2003, un mes antes del ataque a Irak, la comisión mixta de Inteligencia de Whitehall informó a Tony Blair de que «Al Qaeda y los grupos vinculados a dicha organización seguían representando la mayor amenaza terrorista para los intereses occidentales y que esa amenaza se agudizaría como consecuencia de cualquier acción militar contra Irak».… Seguir leyendo »
Utilizamos cookies para el correcto funcionamiento de la página web y analíticas para estadísticas.ACEPTARPolítica de privacidad
