In the last decade, now 7/7 has dropped out of this statistic, only one person has been killed in the UK by an Islamic terrorist attack. Let me repeat that. In the last decade, one person has been killed in the UK by an Islamic terrorist attack. That unfortunate death was Lee Rigby.
Rigby’s tragic murder illustrated how easy it is for terrorists to commit an outrage. Two very disorganised Nigerian nutters murdered him with knives. Unfortunately, if a couple of nutters decide to go at someone on the street, they have a high chance of success.
Which is why you would have to be a lunatic actually to believe MI5’s repeated claims during the last decade that there are thousands of dedicated terrorists out there, fanatical determined and organised, but in a decade of constant effort they have succeeded in killing nobody else. There were, MI5 claim, six actual terrorist plots this year but fortunately MI5 saved all of us.
If you believe MI5’s stories, there are two possibilities. The first is that we have security services of a quite incredible efficiency, able to foil random terrorism, generally regarded as near impossible. The second is that we have thousands of dedicated terrorists of such incredible ineptitude that they can’t manage to kill anybody, even when they could choose any random undefended target in the entire UK and any method from knives to poison to hit and run to shooting to bombs, and don’t mind losing their own lives in the attempt. We have rubbish terrorists.
There is of course a third possibility – that these thousands of dedicated terrorists and these scores of foiled plots in the last decade were inventions, or at least the grossest exaggerations, by the security services. A number of fantasists have indeed been convicted and jailed. But the only, single, potential attacker in recent years who actually possessed a viable bomb was a British army soldier with a hatred of Muslims. And naturally he was not counted as nor convicted as a terrorist. Terrorists are Muslims.
The famous “liquid bomb plot”, in which it eventually transpired, unreported by mainstream media, that there were in fact no bombs and no plane tickets and the suspicious chemical found in baby bottles was Milton sterilising solution for baby bottles, is perhaps the best example.
But of course, lots of people are convicted of terrorism. Indeed law after law has stretched the definition of terrorism so far that I am almost certainly guilty of it just by publishing this blogpost. Meanwhile the Government is concentrating on bullying universities and students to ban speakers who say exactly the kind of thing I am writing here, speakers who protest against the detention and harassment of Muslims, and the continued policy of bombing Muslim countries and killing civilians.
Because there is almost no Islamic terrorism in the UK. It is virtually non-existent. It is not the true reason the corporate state wants ever more surveillance power, ever more restriction on freedom of speech and even, in universities, freedom of thought. Do not be fooled. Fight back.
This is why ‘Four Lions’ was such an outstanding film.
It’s curious that Radio-4 announced the current supposed plot as “The greatest threat to us since 9/11” – apparently forgetting that “9/11” didn’t happen over here, and forgetting that the London Underground attack happened at all.
Perhaps they read the same script here that was supposed to frighten our American friends?
We have to be reminded periodically that we’re all in terrible danger, and must run to our great, strong leaders, pleading “Save us! Please, please protect us!” Or at least, “Bomb someone, we don’t care who, but bomb them to keep us safe!”
Naturally, ever greater powers are needed to achieve this safeness we’re supposed to crave. All of which intrude on our hard won civil liberties.
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By the way, didn’t Some 2,380 people die soon after being found fit for work and losing benefits- 90 people a month, since 2011?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34074557
By jove – if terrorists had killed a small fraction of that, we’d just have to get a war on. As it was, it got a collective “Meh” from the government.
“There is of course a third possibility – that these thousands of dedicated terrorists and these scores of foiled plots in the last decade were inventions, or at least the grossest exaggerations, by the security services.”
They have a saying in Chicago, Mr Murray: Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times, it’s enemy action.
When America sneezes, and all that…
http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/07/21/us-terrorism-prosecutions-often-illusion
Its makes you wonder why if we are to believe the press why bloke who was droned back in July or was it August and had his phone tapped by the security services and his UK contacts were being monitored; why they killed him.
Providing invaluable intelligence to Mi5 from a position where he could do no physical harm himself and they killed the goose laying the golden eggs of intelligence in a manner that would make it impossible to identify his remains other than through DNA.
I bet Mi5 were hopping mad when their patsy got squished or maybe he wasn’t and he will die for a third time at some point.
Some say there has not even been the one person killed in an Islamic terrorist attack in the last decade… a risky thing to say:
http://www.essexchronicle.co.uk/Conspiracy-theorist-claimed-Lee-Rigby-murder-hoax/story-27689839-detail/story.html
” Terrorists are Muslims.” Real IRA actions 2014:
11-13 February: The RIRA claimed responsibility for sending letter bombs to British Army recruitment offices in south-east England. They were sent to offices in Oxford, Reading, Slough, Brighton, Aldershot, Canterbury and Chatham.[
6-7 March: The RIRA claimed responsibility for sending two letter bombs to senior prison staff at Maghaberry Prison. It claimed that republican prisoners there were suffering degrading treatment. The letters were intercepted at sorting offices.
14 March: A PSNI landrover was hit by a horizontal mortar on Falls Road, Belfast. The mortar launcher was attached to railings at Belfast City Cemetery and detonated by command wire. A civilian car was also hit by debris, but there were no injuries. The RIRA claimed responsibility.
29 May: A large firebomb exploded in the reception of the Everglades Hotel in Derry, causing extensive damage. It had been left by a masked man who gave a forty-minute warning. The hotel had hosted a PSNI recruitment event and was due to host another.
30 July: A PSNI landrover was struck by gunfire in the Bogside area of Derry.
7 October: A pipe bomb was thrown at a PSNI mobile patrol on Crumlin Road, North Belfast. It failed to explode and was made safe by ATOs, who described it as highly sophisticated.
14-23 October: There were two attempts to kill PSNI officers with booby-trap bombs; one in the Ballyarnett area of Derry and another in the Ballycolman area of Strabane.
2 November: A PSNI armoured jeep was hit by a horizontal mortar in the Creggan area of Derry. A rear door was blown off and a passing car was damaged, but there were no injuries. The RIRA said it had fired an “EFP mortar-style device triggered by a command wire”. In the security operation that followed, youths attacked the PSNI with stones and petrol bombs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Real_Irish_Republican_Army_actions
The other strange thing was the statement: “They are using secure apps and internet communication to try to broadcast their message and incite and direct terrorism amongst people who live here who are prepared to listen to their message”.
Now I’ve always thought that encryption and broadcasting were pretty much mutually exclusive.
Wasn’t Netanyahu in London for 7/7?
” ” Terrorists are Muslims.” Real IRA actions 2014: ”
IRA actions are Mi5 actions
Info : “Some say…”
Yeah, well some freaks and nut-jobs will say just about anything. Particularly if it gives them publicity. Fortunately, nearly everyone isn’t stupid enough to pay attention to the crass attention-seeking Spiveys of this world.
“They have a saying in Chicago, Mr Murray: Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times, it’s enemy action”
Ian Fleming actually. Goldfinger I think.
Some of us freaks and nut jobs watched the TV reports of Rigby’s death and in one clip the killers hands were dripping with blood, the same clip was then aired with no blood on his hands.
Now that’s odd.
Craig, thanks mate, you have said what has to be said.
The Muslims are an excuse to enslave the rest of us in a whole raft of legislations that will include thinking out loud to be a terrorist activity and the offender to be liable to life imprisonment.
Alas the racist undertones of the oligarch owned media have dulled the sense of we the people, into believing death could only happen to the neighbors so to speak of! ie it is only Muslims who will be getting the brunt of it all!
As you have said, and we have seen the anti terror laws are applied to find and dog poop on the pavement offenders, and unmarked cars with cameras (ANPR of course) to identify parking law offenders!
Our universities are now high schools and they are getting pushed back to the juniors levels of enlightenment at this rate.
“Jeremy Corbyn is a patriot – he would never have waged the illegal war that killed my son ”
Reg Keys on Jeremy Corbyn
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/17/jeremy-corbyn-patriot-war-tony-blair-iraq-labour
Spot on Craig.
Very well said.
Some claim one of the Rigby killers was linked to MI5.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22664468
I agree Mr Parker, sitting on his high horse in Thames house, with coordination from Whitehall has pushed the terrorist button onced to often.
Fear sells, put the fear into the public minds and they will allow a government to impliment laws, laws, that we don’t need that infringe our civil and human rights.
If we let the Westminster government continue down this road of restrictions through fear, we will be handing them the key to our gilded cage.
Perhaps the extraordinary reach of anti-terror legislation is because of politicians’ bad conscience and fear?
It seems very inadvisable to pursue a war of assassination by drones in the Middle East. Leaving aside moral and legal objections, there are two huge reasons not to do it.
First, we are killing potential leaders, with whom we might one day wish to negotiate. Surely, killing present and future leaders in the Middle East is more likely to produce anarchy in the future than reasonable political negotiations for peace?
Second, war by assassination has been a risky strategy throughout history because two can play at that game.
I suspect that it is our own leaders who are most afraid…and this is one reason for this extraordinarily legislation.
Glen: “…nearly everyone isn’t stupid enough to pay attention to the crass attention-seeking Spiveys of this world.”
Nearly everyone, except Greater Manchester Police and Essex Police, and possibly the Metropolitan Police as well!
‘Terrorism is theater’.
http://www.ted.com/talks/trevor_aaronson_how_this_fbi_strategy_is_actually_creating_us_based_terrorists?language=en
Yes, Netanyahu was in London on 7/7. And so was Rudolph Giuliani.
Coincidentally, Craig, I blogged on this subject a few days ago.
“Now that’s odd”
Peter Beswick: all attempts to get a birth certificate for Rigby have drawn a blank. That’s also odd.
Also, it has never been revealed which school he went to, so no-one has been able to talk to his schoolmates and find out what sort of lad he was etc. That’s odd too.
Chris – absolutely – its politician’s fear. They’re worried about themselves, not everyone else. Prior to 7/7 they took all kinds of measures to protect Parliament. While doing nothing at all to protect the ordinary people who travel on the underground who were attacked.
During the cold war – the Queen and government had nuclear bomb shelters to go to. Jo Public would have got a leaflet pushed through the door saying about hiding under the stairs.
“There is of course a third possibility – that these thousands of dedicated terrorists and these scores of foiled plots in the last decade were inventions, or at least the grossest exaggerations, by the security services. A number of fantasists have indeed been convicted and jailed.”
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I suppose what is happening in Syria and Africa is also an invention, Craig. Or, at least, the many thousands of horrific murders are gross exaggerations. Incidentally, fantasy is not a crime – conspiracy is. I’m surprised you are revisiting that misconception.
But since you have chosen to highlight the apparent disproportion in the response to perceived Islamist terror threats in view of actual deaths, perhaps we can also say that the responses to mad cow disease, HIV AIDS, Ebola, the IRA, multi-drug resistant organisms, avarian flu and a raft of other threats has been similarly disproportionate and we should just stop overreacting. I mean it’s not like any of these threats would actually cause many many more deaths if they are not actively contained — or cause massive disruption to people’s lives, would they?
No to refugees, the Trade Union Bill, the attempts to dismantle the EU Human Rights Act. The concentrated attacks on the sick disabled and poor, the removing of Tax Credits, the pre-empting of the renewal of Trident. The Snoopers Charter, and the possibility of the Tories changinging constituency boundaries in 2020.
Now with Andrew Parker scaremongering, no doubt the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act will be beefed up….what the hells happening to Britain, it appears to be morphing into North Korea.
Nicely skewered.
I thought via Needleblog that Mi5 were mostly paedos and weirdos anyway.
No, you are so misinformed, there was a plethora of perpetrations, included this comprehensive guide on how to survive a nuclear war;
Civil Defense
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My CIA handlers cheated me out of $5million… then set a trap to murder me: He was the spy who’d risked everything to bring down top terrorists. His reward? to become a target himself
The SIS are feeding on their own paranoia and helping the legislature to further feed the security monsters roaming the land and on the loose. Fact that before the invention of terrorism most of these securitycrats tops they could do was to guard a supermarket from the shoplifters, and now they are lording it on all and sundry as they strut their stuff! It is good to be the king!
One of the ‘disorganised Nigerian nutters’ was very well known to the Security Services, seeing as our own diplomatic services swung into action to get him out of Kenya, where he was netted along with a load of alleged Somali terrorists. Our chaps went to some effort to get him out of Kenya.
The point is that it took no high-tech surveillance, or snooping systems, or extra powers, to notice this man. He was right in front of them. He would have been known in the age of ink pens and notebooks.
They don’t need extra powers. They need some brains.