Category: Security

Categories
Politics Terrorism Uncategorized

I don’t want to live in a police state

Prime minister Tony Blair in his valedictory speech to the Labour party conference declared

I don’t want to live in a police state, or a Big Brother society or put any of our essential freedoms in jeopardy. But because our idea of liberty is not keeping pace with change in reality, those freedoms are in jeopardy.

Those freedoms are in jeopardy from him and his government that are pushing through legislation that will create a Big Brother society. He went on to say

We can only protect liberty by making it relevant to the modern world.

That is why Identity Cards using biometric technology are not a breach of our basic rights, they are an essential part of responding to the reality of modern migration and protecting us against identity fraud.

I remember when I introduced the DNA database. On it go all those who are arrested. We were told it was a monstrous breach of liberty.

But it is now matching 3,000 offences a month including last year several hundred murders, and thousands of rapes and other violent offences.

The Identity Card system that the government wants to introduce really is the foundation of the Big Brother state that Blair says he doesn’t want to live in. I can only surmise that he intends to leave the UK once it has been implemented.

Categories
Politics Terrorism Uncategorized

Heckling the Home Secretary

The BBC reports that the Home Secretary John Reid was heckled by a couple of protesters during a speech he was giving to Muslims about combating extremists in their communities.

He was interrupted by Abu Izzadeen, an individual who it is believed is the leader of the banned group al-Ghurabaa, calling Reid an enemy of Islam.

The home secretary said “our fight is not with Muslims generally”.

Instead, he said, there was a “struggle against extremism”.

And, warning that terrorist fanatics sought to influence youngsters, he said: “There is no nice way of saying this.

“These fanatics are looking to groom and brainwash children, including your children, for suicide bombings, grooming them to kill themselves in order to murder others.”

Does anyone still believe this to be true that there are fanatics grooming young people to become suicide bombers?

What we know of the perpetrators of two of the most significant recent terrorist plots, the 7/7 bombers and the plotters of the failed plot of 21st July 2005, would refute that theory.

These men had become radicalized but there was no indication that they had fallen under the sway of a fanatic who had been a radicalizing force. Meetings with members of al Qaeda occurred after they had already decided to carry out attacks as a response to what they saw as the murdering of their Muslim brothers in the war in Iraq.

Far from these extremist bogeymen that John Reid would have us believe in the thing that is most radicalizing young Muslim men is the actions of the British and American governments overseas and at home. That’s not to say that the ultimate ends of the government’s policies are without worth but the means to those ends were clearly going to have negative consequences.

A free and democratic Iraq is a laudable goal but it is one that was never going to be simple to attain and the incredibly stupid idea of linking it in to the War on Terror gave the Islamic extremists the jihad they were looking for. Furthermore the incompetent manner in which the post-war operations have been carried out have resulted in thousands of innocent Iraqi lives being lost which furthers the extremists propaganda that the West has declared war on Islam.

Regardless of whether you believe that the War in Iraq was right or wrong only a blind fool could truly believe that it hasn’t resulted in an increase in acts of terrorism. How much longer can British ministers continue to perpetuate myths and avoid the stark truth that is obvious to the rest of us?

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) wrote that The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it’s natural manure.

Recent history may yet prove him right as it is the blood of innocents that is being spilled at the moment and the tree of liberty is far from refreshed.

Categories
Politics Terrorism Uncategorized

Regime change for Iran

Newt Gingrich argues in today’s Guardian that attacking Iran is not a long-term solution. He does however believe that a regime change in Iran is needed in order to stabilise the Middle East and maintain the security of the US and the rest of the world.

Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear program in defiance of the United Nations has led some to call for military strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities to prevent the terror-sponsoring regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon. While I agree that a military option to replace the regime must be left on the table, I worry that some believe a military strike on Iran’s nuclear installations is a viable long-term solution to stopping the Iranian regime’s pursuit of greater power in the region.

In truth, until the Iranian regime itself is replaced with one that does not sponsor terrorism and does not seek a nuclear program, then the threat will remain and grow.

I agree with his assessment that military strikes are not the most sensible option. Such strikes would undoubtedly have to come from the US and its allies all of whom are currently overstretched as it is and even at full capacity those military forces would face a massive challenge to neutralise Iran.

But I disagree on his other points. Gingrich states that Iran must be stopped not because of its weapons and its pursuit of nuclear weapons but because of its evil intent. I believe it is the characterisation of Iran as evil by the US that is to some extent to blame for this situation.

It is because of the disengagement from Iran by the US that it suffers from significant gaps’ in intelligence, which would undermine any attempts to force Iran to comply with UN directives. I don’t believe that I’m an expert on Iran but even I can see that President Ahmadinejad’s commitment to seeing Israel “wiped off the map” is empty rhetoric to gain public support in a country where such statements can be heard everyday on the streets of Tehran.

I too believe regime change must occur in Iran but I believe it will come from within in fact I believe that it must come from within for it to hold fast. The population of Iran is a young one and the old guard will fall under the liberalising westernised attitudes of that youth. But as Iran is a country with a long history of being manipulated and oppressed by western powers the regime change must be initiated from within or else it will be rejected as yet another intervention from outside powers for the pursuit of their own ends.

It can be seen from the examples of Iraq and the current crisis within the Labour party that forcing regime change ends badly with unforseen long term repurcussions and no one comes out of it smelling of roses.

Categories
Terrorism Uncategorized

The path to 9/11

Ze Frank recalls what he was doing five years ago on September 11th. Sombre yet still with that Ze Frank tinge of wry humour.

Meanwhile the ABC production The Path to 9/11 which stars Harvey Keitel will screen this Sunday and Monday on BBC Two. Rumour has it that the blame for the attacks that day are laid at the feet of the administration of President Clinton who apparently were so caught up in the Lewinsky affair that dropped the ball and failed to stop Bin Laden when they had the chance.

Wow, have I woken up in some bizarre parallel universe where things are very similar to my own but oh so slightly different. Was it not Bush who was the POTUS at that point and had been for several months and whose administration being informed of the threat that Al Qaeda posed instead chose to focus their attention on giving tax cuts, establishing a New American Century and planning regime change in Iraq.

In any case I expect that it and the many other documentaries and news reports over the next few days will do Bin Laden’s job for him by plunging the populations of the US and UK into a state of terror yet again. Who needs to blow up planes and buildings when the public can be forced into a state of terror by a box of flashing lights in the corner of their living rooms?

Categories
Security Terrorism Uncategorized

Police given extra time to question ‘bomb plot’ suspects

BBC News reports that the police investigating an alleged bomb plot targeting UK to US flights have been given extra time to question 23 of the suspects.

The time police can hold 23 of the 24 suspects expired on Wednesday and a district judge had to decide whether to grant detectives an extension.

Warrants given to the Metropolitan Police Anti-Terrorist Branch allow them to question 21 people until 23 August.

Another two of those held can be detained until 21 August.

The maximum period that someone suspected of terrorist activity can be held without charge is now 28 days following the extension in the 2006 Terrorism Act.

This is the extension that the Home Office said was vital to the security of the country and it’s ability to counter the threat posed by international terrorism. The extension that was actually a compromise between the former period of 14 days and the 90 day period that the Home Office and police wanted.

Curiously the 28 days detention without charge part of the 2006 Terrorism Act was not commenced when the rest of the act was in April but was actually only commenced as of July 25th 2006.

Odd that the extension to the detention without charge period that was so vital to our security that the powers weren’t given to the police until just a few weeks ago.

Categories
Politics Security Terrorism Uncategorized

Loss of life on an unprecedented scale

In an addendum to my previous post about the UK Threat Level it’s good to see Home Secretary John Reid keep his tendency for hyperbole under check. Quoting from this BBC News report.

Home Secretary John Reid said the government was “confident” the ring leaders were in custody but it was not complacent.

He said had the plot been successful, it would have meant “loss of life on an unprecedented scale”.

I think the precedents of massive loss of life in our history are pretty fucking massive even if we only take a single incident rather than the wars or genocides of the last century the precedent of the dropping of an atomic bomb on Hiroshima killing instantly about 80 000 people easily outweighs any possible loss of life if this latest terrorist plot had been successful.

Categories
Politics Security Surveillance Terrorism Uncategorized

Current UK Threat Level: Critical

At some point today unbeknownst to me the UK entered into the highest level of threat that of critical.

Oh my! How in the world could I have missed such an important event as the changing of our current threat level to its highest possible state? Whatever shall I do now?

That’s the pertinent question what shall we as the public do now? No one knows because there is nothing for the public to do other than get scared.

The Threat Level System has according to the Home Office website been created to keep the public informed about the level of threat to the UK from terrorism. But it’s of no practical use it’s like shouting DANGER in a crowded city centre street, it can do nothing but cause confusion and fear as there is no specific advice associated with each different level of threat.

So what event has caused the threat level to be raised?

It was the arrest of 24 people by police who were suspected of a plot against UK flights to the US. The police believe they have disrupted this plot to blow up these transatlantic flights and are convinced they have detained the key players, but believe the network involved is large and global.

The plot apparently was to smuggle liquid explosives onto around ten transatlantic flights in water bottles or similarly innocuous containers. Airlines have now taken the precaution of preventing people taking anything other than the most essential pieces of hand luggage onto flights leaving the UK. The police have said that the plotters could have caused “mass murder on an unimaginable scale”.

Yes they could have blown up many airliners and killed hundreds of people but for the fact that the people involved had been under surveillance for some time. We shall have to wait and see when more information is released about how far along there really were with their plot whether they were a credible threat to our security. I do not want to get caught up in the politician’s gambit of who can imagine the worst scenario possible.

Security chiefs said the group believed to be planning the attack had been under surveillance for some time.

US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the plot was “in some respects suggestive of al-Qaeda”.

“They had accumulated and assembled the capabilities that they needed and they were in the final stages of planning for execution,” he said.

It had only become apparent in the “last two weeks” that the target of the flights was the US, said Mr Chertoff.

Another problem I see with having a public Threat Level System is that surely it tips the terrorists off to the fact that they might be under surveillance. If the level increases correspondingly as the terrorist group gets closer to the commission of their act of terrorism is that not an indication that the UK Security Services are onto them.

Categories
Security TV

Cheyenne Mountain to close

I read in the Times newspaper today that NORAD were to move out of their nuclear bunker facility underneath Cheyenne mountain to a more regular air force base.

Unlike most readers of the story though my first thought on hearing the news was “Well what are they going to do with the Stargate then?”

Categories
Surveillance Uncategorized

Police use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras could ‘break human rights law’

Police number plate cameras may breach RIPA

ANPR’s problem has been spotted by Chief Surveillance Commissioner Sir Andrew Leggatt, part guardian of liberty, part doormat, who notes in his annual report that RIPA requires authorisation for operations involving intrusive surveillance. This is usually granted for surveillance operations on named suspects, but clearly fixed ANPR cameras scanning for large numbers are suspects (e.g. those recorded as not having tax, insurance or MoT) don’t readily fit into such a system.

The ways of modern policing introduce the technology and worry (or not) about the legality and ethics of its use later.

Categories
Security Terrorism Uncategorized

No individual charges in de Menezes shooting.

The lead item on today’s Channel 4 lunchtime news was that the in the case of the mistaken shooting of the Brazilian born electrician Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell Tube Station no individual officers of the Metropolitan Police would be prosecuted.

Instead the Office of the Commissioner of Police is to be prosecuted under Health and Safety legislation and therefore will at most receive a fine.

The Criminal Prosecution Service believe that there is not sufficient evidence to give a realistic prospect of conviction of any individual if they were to be prosecuted.

But from my perspective the officers involved do not seem to have followed the guidelines drawn up for Operation Kratos.

“The guidance states that in extreme circumstances an armed officer can shoot a suspect in the head if the intelligence suggests that he is a suicide bomber who poses an imminent danger to the public or police. This is to avoid setting off any explosives that might be attached to his body. Five shots are deemed necessary to render a terrorist incapable of detonating his bomb.”

Imminent danger is the key they cannot shoot someone they simply suspect is a suicide bomber. They must believe that individual is actually in the process of setting off a bomb.

Maybe it is a judgement call but clearly they judged wrong and the witness statements would seem to indicate there was nothing unusual about the behaviour of Jean Charles de Menezes prior to his being shot in the head.

Also this from the Channel 4 news site. http://www.channel4.com/news/content/news-storypage.jsp?id=615040

He was only intercepted when he was actually sat on the train, when he was suddenly grabbed from behind, had his arms pinned to his side and was shot seven times in the head at point blank range, according to reports.

The purpose of the shooting to the head under the guidelines of Operation Kratos is to render a terrorist incapable of detonating his bomb. Would not the grabbing and pinning of his arms be sufficient in this case?