Summary
THE horrific events of 9/11 in America, the subsequent attacks on Australian tourists in Bali, the station bombings in Madrid earlier this year, and the various explosions at British offices in Turkey - they all prove without doubt that, currently and for years to come, there is a major terrorist threat to ordinary western civilians going about their daily business. However, there is a growing feeling in Britain that the government is exploiting this sad fact for electoral purposes. And that is both wrong and dangerous.
The government, to give it its due, has been highly active on the anti-terrorist front. As well as introducing tough legal measures - some would say draconian - it has spent more than GBP 2 billion on anti-terrorism activities in the last three years, greatly expanding the Special Branch Anti- Terrorist Unit. While there can be debate over the merits of specific measures, the Home Secretary, David Blunkett, cannot be accused of complacency. But in recent weeks there has been a slight tinge of hysteria in government pronouncements on the anti-terrorist front. Yet there seems no good evidence to suggest that the terrorist threat is suddenly any worse. Could it be that the new anti-terrorism rhetoric is more to do with the forthcoming election than taking genuine security measures?See the full content of this document
Extract
Leader: Exploiting the Terror Threat?
Exhibit One: at the beginning of this week, there was a carefully- orchestrated leak to a major newspaper and to ITN that the British security forces had foiled a plot to fly planes into major London of...
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