I've skimmed through this thread and cannot easily identify if discussed before, although it may appear in other threads.
The recent furore in the UK after the Binyam Mohammed court case is well covered on the Crime, Terror and Law thread:http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...3254#post93254
At the conclusion the UK-USA 'Special Relationship' in intelligence sharing, the role of the UK domestic intelligence agency, the Security Service (MI5) took an unusually public turn and the oversight of all UK intelligence agencies has re-appeared for discussion.
The public turn described as:Intelligence oversight is a particular issue for academics and I know a few in the UK who have written extensively on the subject.In an unprecedented intervention on 11 February, the Director of the Security Service, Jonathan Evans, made a spirited and public defence of the service, urging commentators to resist 'conspiracy and caricature' when writing about the Service, especially in the case of MI5's alleged role in the incarceration of Binyam Mohamed.
Into the fray has come RUSI, a Whitehall "think tank", long known for it's close links to officialdom and now seeking an independent role - with this commentary:http://www.rusi.org/analysis/comment...4B7A7E6F3328C/
A tasterCombined with the Detroit mishap IMHO a broad-ranging review is due, including intelligence oversight. Maybe this should go in the Politics thread? No, left here for the moment.The post-'War on Terror' world has revealed aspects of this activity that is far beyond distasteful. What has become increasingly clear is that, now, nine years in the wake of 9/11, there were plenty of otherwise decent right-minded people who temporarily lost sight of what most fundamentally needs protecting in Western society: its values and democratic principles.
This myopia was most acute in the Bush Administration, but it afflicted many in the UK too.
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