Revealed: MI6 plan to infiltrate extremists (and steer them from violence)

[muriel_volestrangler]

The letter reveals that the FCO planned to spread anti-Western propaganda as a way of gaining the trust of Islamic extremists and then arguing that violence was not the way forward.
...
The confidential letter from the Foreign Office's top intelligence official, William Ehrman, to the government's security and intelligence co-ordinator, Sir David Omand, dated 23 April 2004, proposed that spies should infiltrate extremist websites posing as radicals and dissuade extremists from taking up arms. His only concerns were that similar operations during the Cold War 'had a mixed record' and that he might not have the linguists and Islamic experts necessary for the job.

The letter reveals that Britain's foreign intelligence service, MI6, was already working to 'export' propaganda techniques used by its counterparts in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Ehrman's high-risk strategy distinguishes between overt diplomacy and covert propaganda. On the one hand, he suggests that diplomats should continue to promote 'messages that will bolster modern Western-orientated currents of thought in Islam'. But behind the scenes he proposed developing 'messages aimed at more radicalised constituencies who are potential recruits to terrorism'.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,6903,1562428,00.html

Which actually sounds quite a good idea to me. You're unlikely to get potential bombers to turn into enthusiastic integrators with Western society, but you might be able to persuade them that violence isn't the way to get what they want. It would be interesting to know if they tried it.

[RaleighNCDUer]

1. It's a variant on the old FBI tactic of infiltrating a group and

steering it TOWARD violence.

[Kipling]

2. Good idea indeed.

How about a C18 style honeytrap for nutters?

[sweetheart]

3. maybe they should just talk to them

"Hi, i'm from MI5, and we're concerned that you are involved with a
group that intends to use violence against innocent people. We'd like
to talk to you about this and establish a dialog, so that our concerns
can be alleviated, and your liberty and freedoms can remain unimpeached."

[SweetLeftFoot]

4. The old rumours

about Gerry Kelly being a tout spring to mind.