Friday 18 January 2008

Mr Brown's Mrs Smith...


The new Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, speaking yesterday in her first major speech on Islamic Extremism, spoke of the introduction of new security measures and methods which are specifically designed to crack-down on the growing number of terrorist sympathisers in and around the British Isles. In the week where Al-Qaeda has publicly declared online the existence of a British wing to its organisation, and called to arms' many Muslims in Britain, the Home Secretary expressed the need to treat the use of internet terrorism with much the same seriousness as internet paedophilia; requiring the co-operation of both intelligence agencies and local authorities to help stop such activities. The speech comes after it was revealed that American Security chiefs are said to see Europe as 'riddled with terrorists', and a plot to blow-up Paris's Eiffel Tower by French-born Algerians was uncovered by French and U.S agencies. The main focus of the speech however was the decision by the Government to, in future, refer to any incidents of Islamic extremism or terrorism as 'Anti-Islamic activities', a term coined to supposedly prevent the portrayal of Islam as a malicious religion. The move is part of a wider Government strategy to re-label terms used in speeches and the like, which might serve to hinder Labours other political operations. The terms 'War on Terror' and 'Axis of Evil', first introduced by the Bush administration, were the first to go last year amid the succession of Gordon Brown as PM. Other examples include the scrapping of the word 'Immigrant' in favour of a less negatively sounding 'Migrant' in an attempt to dispel the negative-stereotypes which are commonly, supposedly unfairly, attributed to people from other countries.

One has to look at the facts of the matter when making such decisions, as the ordinary sense of most people will tell them that those who sympathise with terrorists are going to do so whether they are branded anti-Islamic or not, especially by a 'Crusader' Western Government. It may be said that the move has been taken to protect British Muslim communities from backlashes by the mainstream majority, or to provide a deeper understanding of Islam to those whom the Labour movement rely so heavily on for votes. But as Conservative MP Phillip Davies expressed, if the government spent less time worrying about things like this and more time on controlling our borders, the actual threats from terrorism and increased immigration levels might be disrupted, rather than the disruption of the opinions of the public. Gordon Browns Government has also decided to stop referring to the plight against terrorism as a war, seemingly claiming that by doing so would be playing into the hands of terrorists, and creating an all too apparent void between the values of the West and those of the Islamists. The treating of plotting and succeeding Jihadist groups in Britain as no more than petty criminals or common murderers cannot possibly have any benefits. I have heard people say it acts to give the groups less credibility when recruiting or trying to gain support, but groups such as this do not work like any other public enemy most can recall. They do not require a large amount of support in Britain to launch attacks on infastructure, government buildings or senior figures, they often work in groups of 10 or less and usually have extensive support, links and funding all from outside the country. The support of the masses in the West is not, and has never been, a main concern for Al-Qaeda's 'Ayman Al-Zawahiri' or (should he still be alive) his partner in crime 'Osama Bin Laden'. The 'home-grown' phenomenon has ensured that a significant enough amount of people are now prepared to attack the country of their nationality, the country that has mothered them often from childhood or birth, in favour of foreign doctrines of which we have no conception.

The 'home-grown' phenomenon, we must remember, is not uniquely British or European, but also concerns the Governments of the United States and surprisingly Canada. Last summer Canada thwarted a plot by 17 Islamic extremists to storm Parliament, take hostages and behead the prime minister and other leaders. The group also supposedly planned a bombing campaign in the country and imported weapons and ammunition from the U.S. for the purpose of terrorist training and operations. I find the argument that we are somehow more susceptible to threats of terror due to our foreign interventions quite lacking in this case, as it is widely known that Canada did not participate in the invasion of Iraq at any point, even though relations with the country and the United States suffered as a consequence. The Canadian Government even offered to pledge $300 million dollars to the rebuilding of the war-torn country, an offer which if anything shows the concern of the Canadians for the well-being of the Iraqi people. As for Afghanistan, Canada's intervention there is in line with international law, and it is supported by the UN and the newly appointed Afghan Government for having presence there. I find it difficult to see why those opposed to Canada's involvement in Afghanistan would plan to commit such acts in the country in which they live. Surely if they cared so much about the Taliban and thought that they were somehow unable to look after themselves, they would be fighting with them in the deserts of Kandahar, not beheading irrelevant people in Canada. I do not believe this dribble, this complete nonsense perpetuated by the dying remnants of the 60's anti-war movement about how wars in foreign countries significantly affect matters here. I would like to know why terrorist sympathisers, all too often European and American, sought out the terrorist training camps of Afghanistan before 9/11, before the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan if this were true. After all why attack the West if we haven't intervened anywhere? Support for Israel (as was the supposed reason of the 9/11 attacks) is a petty excuse for such an reaction, it would be like America launching an attack against Syria for supporting and funding Palestinians, its just not their war to fight; and I might add many, even Jewish, Americans support the plight of the Palestinians. To label everyone as having the same view is just the way these ignorant, seemingly primitive terrorist groups work, if we are western we are Kaffir, if we are non-Muslim we are Kaffir, if we are liberal or even moderate Muslims we are Kaffir; and despite the lefts attempts to somehow gain favour with groups by attacking those in opposition to terrorist activities, western members of the 'anti-war' movement are just as much hated by these horrible people as the rest of us.

As most of you would agree, the term 'Anti-Islamic' stirs up connotations of a group that is hell-bent on eradicating Islam, not a group that seeks to carry out attacks in the name of Islam. This decision by the Home Secretary just shows us how British anti-terror measures are going to work in the next few years, I can't wait to see what Mrs Smith comes up with next. The IRA was never referred to as being 'Anti-Catholic' or 'Anti-Irish', and I'm sure a decision to actively do so would have amounted in the British Government being seen as very weak by the international community, seemingly having no real line of defence left but to patronise their enemies, much like Browns Government now. The man wants to show that New Labour under him truly is New Labour, and any policy or action which might be deemed reminiscent of Tony Blair's conservativity by the electorate must be abandoned. The values of Islamist militant groups here and abroad, set on destroying our way of life in favour of an Islamic-World-State mimics the very mentality of groups like the American Klu Klux Klan, a mentality which is brutal, intolerant and animal-like...

(Picture: Home Secretary Jacqui Smith & Foreign Secretary David Milliband.)

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