UK Counter-Terrorism (merged thread)

[davidbfpo]

This murder was not unexpected - in the general sense - and the response has been media-driven. Partly as Woolwich is in South East London, so close to the home of most UK broadcast media and the decision by ITN to use a film clip of one suspect murderer giving his reasons.

There is a deluge of reporting, some of which is speculative, so I have selected a few which I found helpful.

Once more Raffaello Pantucci, of RUSI, is worth a read:http://www.rusi.org/analysis/comment.../#.UZ90AFIayc1

He ends with:

From a security perspective, the dilemma is two-fold. On the one hand, how to identify lone actor terrorists who may feature in a larger intelligence picture, but do little to distinguish themselves from the crowd. And on the other, how to manage societal tensions when extremists on both sides prove eager to incite violent reactions in others.

Steve Hewitt, an academic, being a Canadian based here, offers a calm response and this point is one too many ignore:

The terrorists can’t defeat British society; only British society can do that by exaggerating the power of the terrorists. That happens when we overreact to their atrocities.

Link:http://www.cityam.com/article/woolwi...-crude-threats

Simon Jenkins, a London-based commentator, looks at the all powerful role of the media, with a pithy few passages:

When Cameron yesterday said we should defy terror by going about our normal business, he was right. Why did he not do so?

It is this echo chamber of horror, set up by the media, public figures and government, that does much of terrorism's job for it. It converts mere crimes into significant acts. It turns criminals into heroes in the eyes of their admirers. It takes violence and graces it with the terms of a political debate. The danger is that this debate is one the terrorist might sometimes win.

Link:http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...ria?CMP=twt_gu

Kings of War asks whether ITN was right, with fifty-four responses (as yet unread):http://kingsofwar.org.uk/2013/05/dea...out-terrorism/

Alan Judd, a more conservative writer uses a "broader brush" and ends with:

We should be watchful, very watchful, but not afraid. To fear them would be to grant them a kind of victory.

Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...the-radar.html

What was the "tipping point" for the two suspects to move from being extremists to using violence? In the last hour one friend has alleged:

Woolwich terrorist...en route to al-Shabaab.... allegedly imprisoned and tortured by Kenyan authorities. This flipped him.

Actual BBC Newsnight interview on link, after the interview the speaker was arrested on the premises by the police:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22664457

As they say a "developing story".

One suspect features in a short film clip "preaching":http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=gyT6Wqc_HZc

In the clip a white male, with a ginger beard holding a camcorder features; is Richard Dart, a convert, who was recently jailed for terrorism matters:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-offences.html