Police report: foreign policy helped make UK a target

[bigtree]

Friday July 7, 2006
The Guardian

The effect the war in Iraq has had on motivating Muslims planning acts of violence in the UK is underlined to senior Scotland Yard officers in a private briefing document compiled by anti-terrorist specialists.

The document, marked "restricted", says the conflict in Iraq has had a "huge impact". It explains that British policy over Iraq and Palestine is used by terrorists to justify their violence, and early progress in reducing the threat to the UK is not expected.

After the London bombings, British counter-terrorism officials intensified their efforts to understand why some Muslims turned to violence. The document, which has been seen by the Guardian, is the product of that work, and was completed within the past three months before being distributed to senior officers across London. The document says in a headline introducing one section: "Foreign policy and Iraq; Iraq HAS had a huge impact."

It continues: "Iraq is cited many times in interviews with detained extremists but it is over-simplistic to describe terrorism as the result of foreign policy. What western foreign policy does provide is justification for violence ..."

{snip}

In a speech weeks after London was attacked, Tony Blair said it was not the Iraq war but an evil ideology that was to blame for attacks on Britain: "If it is Iraq that motivates , why is the same ideology killing Iraqis by terror in defiance of an elected Iraqi government? What was September 11 2001 the reprisal for?"

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/foreignaffairs/story/0,,1814771,00.html


related:

I blame war in Iraq and Afghanistan, 7/7 bomber says in video

By Sean O’Neill and Daniel McGrory

AL-QAEDA marked the first anniversary of the July 7 bombings by releasing a propaganda video of Shehzad Tanweer, the young British Muslim who blew himself up on a Circle Line train at Aldgate.

In a hectoring address, Tanweer, who killed seven passengers, said that his actions had been provoked by British foreign policy and the persecution of Muslims. He said that terrorist attacks would continue British forces were withdrawn from Afghanistan and Iraq.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2259892,00.html


my take:


Tuesday, March 28, 2006

What the Insurgents Want

We rightly condemn these bombers for their barbarous slaughter of innocents, as well as anyone who aided them in their attack. Violence as a means of political expression or for anything other than legitimate defense should be condemned.

But these perpetrators don't act out of a vacuum filled with their own unattributable hatred, or evil, as Bush and others like to brand all violent acts against the U.S. and our agents. Many are angered by a war of opportunity against a country which had nothing to do, at all, with the participants and perpetrators of the attacks on the World Trade Center.

The invasion of Iraq was calculated to, as Tony Blair admitted a week before the London bombings, "draw a line in the sand". It was meant to send a message of 'shock and awe' throughout the world to bolster the weak images of Bush and Blair following the devastating attacks in New York. Here at home, we were led by the hand through the niceties of the administration's pre-war justifications.

more: http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_ron_full_060328_what_the_insurgents_.htm

[Kutjara]

1. What a sad indictment about the level to which...

...public debate has descended, that this statement of the completely bloody obvious looks like rare wisdom.

[Greeby]

2. Well, everyone here in the UK knew it from minute one

It's just President Tony and his bobbleheads who can't get it through their thick skulls

[Vidar]

6. Puts you light years ahead of our populace, but why is Tony still there?

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. Labour got 35% of the vote, in a 61% turnout in 2005

which shows, I think, that a significant amount of Brits didn't care too much that the Iraq invasion was illegal, and either didn't vote, or continued voting Labour (or Tory, who got 32% of the vote, but most of them supported the Iraq invasion too). But the general feeling that "terrorism is more likely because of the Iraq invasion" would have been a significant factor in voting for almost no-one.

The other way Tony could have been got rid of is by his party - but most of the Labour MPs cynically look at Labour's wins with him in charge and keep him there, to preserve their jobs.

There are Labour supporters on DU who voted Labour at the last election because their own MP had opposed the Iraq invasion (about half of the Labour MPs who don't have executive jobs rebelled against Blair). The other problem is that some people refuse to take the Lib Dems (the biggest party that was whoolely against the invasion) seriously, and so in many constituencies there was a choice of a pro-war Labour MP or a pro-war Tory challenger. The UK system of many 1-seat constituencies encourages a 2 party dominated system - not as much as the US, but still more than just about every other European country.

If you really want to know why Blair is in power, the Labour supporters in the DU UK forum are as good a place to start as anywhere.

[Vidar]

8. Thanks for the detailed response.

[ContraBass Black]

3. I can't believe this is news to anyone.

But then, I've been shocked and amazed by stupidity far too often lately.

[bigtree]

4. I think the debate in Britain will move ours forward, they're ahead

they have a better capacity for self-criticism of their role in the war. Closest ally in this, I'd expect whatever they deliberate and decide will affect what we ultimately do.

[bigtree]

5. British policy 'motivates terror'

From: Agence France-Presse
From correspondents in London

July 07, 2006


THE war in Iraq has had a "huge impact" on motivating Muslims planning acts of violence in Britain, according to extracts of a secret briefing document to police published by The Guardian newspaper today.
The Guardian, which said it had seen the report to senior officers at London's Metropolitan Police, said that British policy over Iraq and the Israel-Palestinian conflict was used by terrorists to justify their actions.

The document echoes the conclusions of an official report published last November that British foreign policy, especially in the Middle East, was a "key contributory factor" in radicalising some British Muslims.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19713049-38200,00.html